Post 2

Only two posts?! That can’t be right... we’ve been doing this for a month!

Whence to begin after such a hiatus? Much to tell...

Like now, the sun shining through pine boughs, speckling the cement road. Our White Planetary World-Bridger cruises onward, our destination unknown as we look for any spot to boondock. 

What else?

Well, recalling a recent day past, Day #15 (non-exact), a defining moment for me, Ashleigh, was walking among the Coastal Redwoods for the first time at Big Basin. It’s where we stayed for four nights, and it’s where I jogged each morning, waking just before 7AM to breathe and be among the Sempervirens. Shortly thereafter, around 8AM, Joe and I would drive 17 minutes down the hill into Boulder Creek to begin our work day in a place with cell coverage. On a great tip from a local ranger, we stopped each morning at Jenna Sue's Cafe and got one breakfast burrito for two, and small and large coffees. These routines we welcomed easily.

Upon leaving the redwoods, we drove North of course, and enjoyed lunch in Cupertino with several friends and fellow Apple colleagues. First, Joe made the pilgrimage to Apple Park Visitor Center to meet with Rachel and Brian, and then over to Infinite Loop #7 (IL7), for a late (mostly liquid) lunch with Rod, the awesome founder of our mint-themed Burning Man camp.

That night we street camped in San Mateo, and the next morning we parked at a highway overlook in Pacifica for the workday, with beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean and the fog rolling in. Shaun met us there in the middle of his workday to catch up and share some great tips and hard-won street smarts from his own years of nomadic travel.

Dandelion Chocolate

House Mocha (Hot Chocolate with Espresso) for Ashleigh, and an Iced Mocha for Joe. This is what we call Therapeutic Grade Chocolate. They literally have a big thing of homemade marshmallows and you can just take as many as you want for your hot chocolate.

Portrait of a Chocolate Lover

Maybe the name Moore predisposes her to love S’mores, but c’mon… just read this description: “PAPUA NEW GUINEA S’MORE. Homemade graham cracker, marshmallow, and chocolate ganache. Toasted to order.”

Following this, we drove right on to San Francisco where we stayed three nights at Brad and Monica's place, only a 5-minute walk from Golden Gate Park and Haight Street. Shaun met back up for dinner, with Spiro joining us too. There are so many highlights from our two days and three nights touristing the city... like our hot chocolate high at Dandelion Chocolates... or eating Bi-Rite ice cream in the sun at Dolores Mission Park. But the best of all was time with our DeMentha crew. A big crowd of us were in attendance at F8 on Friday night hearing Ronin play a special set in celebration of Yaz’s birthday. Also copacetic was visiting with Brad and Monica for a few days, just lounging at their home, chatting and laughing and walking around the city. Justin spent some quality time with us too, as we ate take-out, laughed at a drama, and tested our teamwork skills on one of Brad’s favorite video games. This right here, was just the homegrown love we’ve come to know from our California friends – it was this feeling of home that we took with us, proceeding ever Northward.

We did it!

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We’ve arrived!

Salinas, CA (5/28 - 5/30)

I’m sitting by a blaze in an iron pit – Joe crouches over me with a camera and a drink. The numerous large, black crows that have righteously encircled the skys all day have now taken up for the night, putting to rest their squawks and squabbles, only to be replaced in the morning by the roaring of Formula 1 cars on the track behind us, in circles they’ll drive.

We have arrived somewhere, anywhere; our home is always with us. The Benz – Benny – Benzo? No... our White Planetary World-Bridger – y'know, that thing we call home.

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Moss Landing & Monterey Bay (5/31 - 6/2)

We’ve moved to Moss Landing, having just left our racetrack campsite in Salinas, California, a 24-minute drive from the famed and pebbled Monterey Bay, where days ago we played barefoot in the tide pools, stared awhile at breezy multi-colored anemones, and perked our ears at the playful harbor seals, their heads and flippers bobbing and waving.

We stared and we sighed. On this day – day 5 of RV living – we felt the excitement of our adventure, the new landscape and sounds, all of it alive, pieces of our new life felt, seen, and tasted (that salty coastal air!), but not yet fully realized; like the energies of our bodies, still adjusting to the difference in time and geography, the realization of our adventure had not yet settled in – had not yet become known. Like being on vacation, or visiting for just a while, we hadn't and could not yet integrate the big change we had made, the year-long travel we had just begun. "We have time," we reminded ourselves. We then sat for a beer and some garlic fries and toasted to our epic achievement - we're on the road!

Los Angeles (5/20 - 5/24)

Ten days prior we were checking out of the Sheraton in Los Angeles and checking in to our ‘Benz. We graciously parked in the driveway of our friends' home for several nights, moving all of the clothing, camping gear, and gadgets we had packed, shipped, or lugged – an improbable amount… no, really – an embarrassingly large overestimation of actual need – into our new four-wheeled home. Magically, forcefully, creatively, all of it fit – can you believe it? 

Update: we’ve a running total of at least 3+ broken latches on various drawers and cabinets, due to the shifting pressure of overpacked gear within. "We'd rather have it, and not need it (a good thing, because it got broken anyway!), than need it and not have it."

Anybody need an entire life's worth of dried blueberries? Can we interest you in a pair of Ashleigh's shoes? How 'bout some yoga tops, or any number of USB cables?

Malibu Creek Canyon (5/24 - 5/25)

Beyond the great sushi and sun of LA, and the great love of our friends, M&J, we arrived a couple nights in Malibu Creek Canyon, where we touristed the forest, taking pics with abandoned relics of the famed CBS television show, M*A*S*H.

Malibu Creek Canyon was the perfect mashup: the city of Los Angeles meets the country of California. Just the place to start our journey.

Onward to Week Two!!!

We’re really doing it

We’re in the airport waiting for our flight to start boarding. We’re early. We had plenty of time to get checked in, go through security, have three bags reinspected, walk through the entire concourse, get a coffee at one place and a meal somewhere else, and now we’re going to buy a neck pillow. It feels luxurious to have time on our side. Not to dwell on it, and this will not be a shock to those who know us, but we’re pretty sure this has never happened to us before. We think it bodes well for our trip.

Here’s to having time on our side during this next phase of our life!