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And we are off! After a short, but intense, stay in Chicago it is time to explore other parts of the world and paths of life...
12 Hours and about 1,000 miles later I arrived at the Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado intersection. Luckily there was campground right off I-80. I set up camp around 2 A.M. and it was 20 degrees with 40 MPH wind gusts. Unfortunate that the car was packed to the brim, so I couldn't find gloves + hat. So it goes. The tent exceeded my expectations! Was simple to set up in the pitch dark and was insulated nicely.
Made it to the future hometown. Came to drop items off in a storage locker and register the car. Another long day of driving and finished up cleaning the car out around 9 P.M. Too dark to find a nice off-road spot to set up camp unforuntately. So, settled on an RV park in downtown Salt Lake. This morning I registered the car, so now that it is clean and the errands are done I can make way up to Seattle to actually start the trip for what it is supposed to be. Will be searching for more peaceful, beautiful spots.
Arriving here was quite scary. Though, I did spend a few months with clear thinking and came to the conclusion this was a good decision. It might be scary, but I have to have confidence that it will be good for me.
I drove 8 hours, then slept at a rest stop for 3 hours, then hopped back on the road to get to Seattle by 8 A.M. Clayton welcomed me with a shower and a bed to rest in before a job interview at noon. I got the job offer but after speaking with the management team and hearing about my role it cemented my opinion that the trading industry is definitely not for me.
Clayton and I are planning on going to the Olympic Peninsula to see the ocean, mountains, and rainforest. Should be an exciting venture. The ferry ride we took had a gorgeous backdrop of the city.
After the ferry we drove to the coast and found the Mora campground and set up tent there. We were able to cook breakfast with the induction burner and make coffee using the electric kettle but the battery was running out of juice. Solar panels not too effective up here in the Pacific Northwest...
The day started with a walk along the beach. We saw the geography for all its glory. The waves crashed hard, giant rocks, big ole' trees. Pretty impressive stuff.
Later on in the day we went to Olympic National Park and saw the Hoh Rainforest. The trees here were gorgeous.
After the rainforest, we drove to the northwest corner of the state and settled at a campground around 6 P.M. It was a long day of seeing stuff and we were pretty kicked, so just chilled out for most of the night.
The night was crazy rainy and windy. The tent shielded us but we got soaked packing up the car. As cool as the cascading geography is, I'm really not of fan of the constant rain. Beautiful geography for rain is not a trade I'm willing to make.
We made it to Cape Flattery in the morning. This is the home of the Makah Tribe. Clayton and I imagined the lives of Native Americans and found the views to be pretty mesmerizing. This is the most Northwest Corner of the lower 48.
We are taking the Ferry back to Seattle, getting cleaned up and grabbing dinner. I'm going to take Clayton to work tomorrow and will see the Microsoft campus.
Dropped clayton off at worked and walked around the Microsoft campus. It was pretty wild that this sprawling collection of buildings and greenery was for a single company. In some ways fascinating, but in my eyes felt excessive. Does an enterprise software company need to have a soccer field on their campus? If this isn't a "Monopoly" then what is...?
Spent a couple days hanging out in Seattle recovering from the crazy amount of time driving. Then I left to start the trip down the coast!
My first night was in Lincoln City, Oregon and this was my first true "off-road" experience. I pulled up to the trail pretty late and started driving towards the top. It was dark when I set up the tent but then woke up to this view. I loved it. Pretty cool being appreciative of the simple things.
I really want to learn how to surf. It seems like it shares a bunch of similarities with skiing (competitor is Mother Nature & it rewards aggression). When I tried to first surf the week in Costa Rica I loved being in the water and caught a couple baby waves, which gave me hope that I could take it a bit more seriously.
So I picked up a wetsuit and board and tried surfing in Otter Rock, Oregon. The waves were 5-8 feet with strong force and a powerful current. Not a break for beginners. So I kept it simple for the first day and was just practicing my paddling close to the shore. Still a really good workout, but seeing the other surfers attacking those big waves made it clear I have a lot of learning to do.
Going to continue driving south because there are a lot of things I'm planning for California and the waves will be more beginner friendly.
Had a really peacful wakeup in the mountains in Southern Oregon. Cooking breakfast using the energy from the sun hits different! Loving the battery and other toys.
After some breakfast and reading (Ben Franklin biography) I drove to Coos Bay, Oregon. The break here was a bit easier, but still not beginner friendly. I met some awesome people on the beach (marine biologist, carpenter, farmer) who were all surfers and were very helpful with giving me tips to understand what to try and read in the Ocean. The beach was nice and quaint and has probably been my favorite stop in the trip so far.
Going to drive to the redwoods in Northern California tonight and planning on driving to San Fransciso tomorrow night (April 8th) to hang out with Charles & Co. for the weekend.
After sunset in Coos Bay I drove to a campground in Redwoods National Forest (outside of Crescent City, California). The trees were big, but honestly didn't feel too special. Didn't spend much time here and immediately woke up and started driving to the Bay Area. Passed by some beautiful overlooks in NorCal.
After 7 hours of driving I made it to Bolinas Beach (an hour north of SF) and hopped in the water. The ocean here was vastly different than what I saw in Oregon. Calm water, with predictable waves. Felt like the same Ocean as in Costa Rica and I was able to catch a wave fully. Great feeling and gave a confidence boost and sign of potential.
Looking forward to going out in SF with Charles and his friends. Will be taking a couple nights away from the tent and on a couch instead.
Had an awesome weekend in SF. We went out on Friday night, had delicious Dim Sum for recovery on Saturday morning with Charles and Rishay. Then we went to see Pacific Heights and chilled in hot tub. Walked around The Marina and took in beautiful weather. Went over to Finn's house to watch the UFC card with Charles, Finn, and Will. Then we met up with Mickey and he brought us to Brazenhead (local divey bar) late night when it was empty and we were having some real conversations. This was the best part of the weekend. Sturdy. Sunday was casually hanging out after a diner. Great guys and looking forward visiting them all again.
Tonight (Sunday night) I'm leaving to go to Big Sur for a couple days then Yosemite for a couple days. Will be back in SF next weekend to see Max and John before heading down to LA.
The plan was to go to Big Sur for a few nights then Yosemite. However, the weather wasn't looking so great and John is coming earlier than planned before. I woke up in Monterey, but then started driving to Yosemite.
Truly phenomenal couple days. Hard to not be humbled by this park. Everything about this place was great. Clean air, nice areas to set up camp, great hikes, tremendous views. Felt isolated, but also weirdly at home.
After driving back from Yosemite on the night of the 13th I stayed on a trail near Santa Cruz. In the morning I went surfing at a famous spot called "The Hook" where the waves were pretty big (for me at least). I did catch a baby wave, but there were serious surfers here doing the real stuff. I mostly came to observe.
Picked up John in San Francisco and started to drive south along the coast. Woke up to some nice views.
FYI: I'm 5'7.25", John is 6'4"
The classic Big Sur picture: McWay Falls.
We drove down the coast after Big Sur and stopped in Santa Barabara. We drove up 3000 ft on the hills behind the city (where there were some insane houses) and found this spot off the the side of the road. These were views we woke up to.
After some hiking in Malibu, John and I went to Santa Monica to hangout at the beach and found a park to see the sunset. We are going to dinner with Rachel tonight and then dropping John off at airport at 3 A.M.
Not sure what the next week is looking like, but will probably stay a few nights with Rachel. The nomadic car-camping lifestyle of traveling and having no agenda has been nice, but is getting a bit old and making me feel a bit anxious...
Met up with Evan that I met on trip last summer. He took me to Huntington Beach so we could do a sunset surf. Really peaceful.
Stayed with Rachel for 4 nights. Good to see that she is doing well. The stay in LA came at a much needed time – my energy for the tent lifestyle is dwindling. Luckily, staying with them re-energized me for the last few days of the journey.
I am going to see my favorite museum now, the Getty Villa. The rest of trip will be: San Diego for a night, then Joshua Tree, and lastly Zion before moving in on Saturday. Los Angeles is a beautiful area, and I especially enjoyed the residential vibe of Orange Country. The problem with LA is that it actually might be
I had a short visit to the Getty Villa, but it was just a nice as I remembered it. Really did a remarkable job of encouraging the mind to imagine life in the Greco-Roman time period. It also reminded me of my prior trip to the museum and of latin class.
After the Getty Villa I drove down to San Diego to finalize the full west coast trip. I got there in the evening an made camp off-road in the Otay mountains. I stayed 2 miles away from the Mexico border. While I was in these mountains I saw a decent amount of choppers and border patrol. On my drive out of the mountains I passed by a white van with 2 mexican families and a border patrol agent – felt like something you'd see on one of those travel channel shows about immigration.
Then on the morning of 21st I drove to the most Southwest point. Just 18 days prior I was with Clayton in the most Northwest point. Unfortunately the road to get to the park ("friendship park" on the border with Mexico is what it is called) was closed off. I tried to walk there, but was turned away by a policeman. Then I took a different route, but the road became extremely muddy (without me realizing) – I got stuck in the mud. I took a couple pictures, made my way back to the car, then spent 30 minutes trying to clean the mud.
To better clean the mud, I drove to La Jolla shores. This was my last surfing spot on the trip and it was definitely the easiest location (predictable waves, easy to paddle). There were a lot of people on the beach and I didn't really like the crowds.
Now I will start driving back to Salt Lake City! Stopping at Joshua Tree tonight (night of 21st), then Zion tomorrow, and moving in on the 23rd.
I arrived in late afternoon. The desert was soothing and I took some nice pictures. Gave a nod to the Israelites by eating Matzah in the desert :p.
The night at Joshua Tree was one of the most memorable. The real beauty occurred when stars came out. I grabbed a blanked, a couple beers, and went to Hidden Valley to stargaze. The level of peace at this location was off the charts. I climbed up a couple giant rocks to get a good vantage point. I was in decent sized valley with various plants, wildlife, and rock structures and somehow felt "home" looking up at the stars. I recalled the last couple weeks of the trip and then recalled my 23 years more broadly really appreciating all that happened to get me to that point of smiling, starring at the stars alone in one of the most beautiful spots in America. A couple tears formed out of no where.
I didn't really see much of Zion National Park because it was a 7 hour drive from Joshua Tree and I wanted to leave early in the morning to get to my apartment. It is a 4 hour drive from Salt Lake so I can always come back.
I did find an awesome off-road trail to camp in for the night. I thought it was pretty fitting to camp in this spot as my last night for this trip. Atlas looking good. Maybe I should send some of these pictures in to Subaru for marketing. Then in exchange they can replace the windshield that cracked almost randomly (caused by very tiny pebble) on the highway on my way to Zion :/
The morning view was beautiful, but I didn't stay for long. I'm very excited to get to my apartment and shower.
Extremely happy with the travel journey. Made it to Salt Lake with a lot of terrific memories. More importantly, perhaps, is the heightened clarity and positivity.
Somehow, before I started, I knew that the this trip was going to a be a great bridge to a different chapter in life.
Anyways... back to the present! The mountain is in Little Cottonwood canyon, where I will be skiing the rest of year and next season :)