The Bay and the Redwoods

Let me tell you that Los Angeles has the worst rep for traffic. However, getting on the Bay Bridge felt much worse than sitting on the 10. It was such a long line I decided to pull over and park and go in the Yerba Buena Gardens for a free concert. That was pretty fun for a while. After a half hour I jumped back in the car to listen to the music through rolled down windows. After sitting for 30 minutes I was able to get on the bridge.

 

Before the traffic I went to the Tied Brewery and Cafe in Mountain View. They had a pretty good Oktoberfest and the Oatmeal Stout burger I had was pretty good. I got an Amber growler for my host, Anna Henry, and was on my way. Mountain view reminded me of a Denver suburb, like a mini Fort Collins.

Once I arrived at my cousin Anna's house I was ready to pick up some food. After leaving her lovely mirror decorated apartment we took off for some Burmese food. One of the greatest things about my short stint in Oakland¹ was the great variety in food. Burmese is like thai food, but with a slight variation in flavors. It was delicious and quite spicy. However, with my sun burnt and cracked lips it was a bit of trouble. Unfortunately, I left the Steak Kebat leftovers in her fridge.

The Redwood forest was beautiful and I have already concluded that I need to return and spend about a full week there. The beauty is indescribable, so I won't try.

I will try to explain my fellow campers at the small four site camping area. One was a pair of college aged² girls who may or may not enjoy the pharmaceutical nature of life. One introduced her self in 6 languages before I said a word.³ She was basically a moon child and was kind of staring off into the distance the same way as Luna Lovegood. Her friend was sporting the Rastafarian look of dreads, while eating berries on the side of the road proclaiming, “These are the greatest berries that have ever been created.” I wondered if they had been fertilized by the vault toilets, but didn't want to ruin her enjoyment of the “earth's feast”⁴. After asking me how long I have been on the road and what my end goal was I responded in kind. They are traveling until the end of the world. December 21, 2012. They have a long way to go and on the days leading up to it they are going to a huge party in Mexico for an End of the World festival. Apparently, everyone is going.

I try to convince myself that I am pretty play as it lies kind of guy. Just let people do their thing and support them when you can. Everyone has their reasons and standing in their way will just make you a bully. However, I could not come up with a way to respond in a positive manner without cracking up to these two girls. Luckily in the middle of the conversation a lady from Texas showed up. She was traveling with her girlfriend and started up a conversation. She avoided the end of the world talk, it made me intensely jealous and relieved. Her partner walked up and looked exactly like Harry Potter. I mean she had a red scarf on, with the exact same hair cut, and the identical glasses. Did I mention she had a scar on her forehead and was jumping around with a wand yelling expeliarmus?⁵

Right when the conversation was dying down a pair of college aged guys arrived asking if there was camping. When they were made aware that it was about a quarter mile hike they just nodded their head and talked among themselves. They also looked like they enjoyed the herbal life. They didn't say much however, just looked very confused.

At around 8 PM, bicyclists arrived. This couple took the site next to the bathroom and were cranking Red Hot Chili Peppers. I find them to be non offensive and generally an easy listen. However, it was 9 PM at night and they were around the age of 50. I know Californication was recorded a few years back, but it shouldn't really be in their time frame. It is an odd band to choose as well. It's not like listening to them you can claim you are young and hip. They also would never be confused with a classic band with unmatched talents. They also spoke loudly and were generally having a dull conversation with terrible jokes. This did not stop them from enjoying them however.

Before going to the site I ate at Lost Coast brewery⁶, took a walk on the beach where there was some remnants of civilization,⁷ and checked out a WWII radar station.⁸ Tomorrow, Portland.⁹

1OakLANDISH is a term for which one is allowed to be weird because they are OakLANDISH. Now if this has anything to do with Outlandish I do not know.

2Possibly graduates, probably dropouts. They both had at some point attended Applachian State and where from North Carolina.

3Aloha, Kanichiwa, Ciao, Hola, and Bonjour. She did not use Hello.

4Her words, not mine.

5These may not be facts.

6Had a really amazing Carnitas taco.

7Remnants of a native ceremony area. It looked too new though.

8This was the most disappointing part. It was just part of the building and rebuilt with cinderblocks. There was no entrance or information on what had went on.

9Heyoooooooooo RIVER.