Ojai, and Then Some

Shocker of shockers! It has been only a few days since my last post! Maybe this thing will happen. The truth is, Scott is the one who is more adamant about my blogging, which is sweet.

We left Orange County on Sunday, and didn't quite make it out before stopping in at Knott's Berry Farm. Maybe I should be learning something from these amusement park adventures, because just like Disneyland, I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it. The performances were honestly top notch, and the rides were SO FUN. I believe that this is a great example of how dating someone with different interests can be really GOOD. Sometimes I am reluctant to do things Scott wants if I don't feel immediately excited, but often I enjoy them more than I expected. I think this is called growing.

After Knott's we planned to go to Ojai and to Ojai we went, and in Ojai we are.

First, a glimpse at the New Betty White. Of course, now there is a ton of stuff crowding those drawers, and hanging from the ceiling, but she still looks pretty beautiful:

  

The seat back slides out and acts as an extension of the back to make a bed. 

  

I am honestly thrilled to be back at making French press in a van. There is just something about it that is great. Particularly when you are pulled up to a community park in the shade of the Oaks.

Honestly, Ojai wasn't exactly what we expected. We explored downtown (which was cute), but when we went up to the mountains it was barren and exposed, plus the campground we wanted to go to was closed. We spent a strange night an extra 30 miles away in a free campground with a broken down car and a cross made of ashes at our site. It was weird. We left early. Day two was much better though. We climbed some, and set up hammocks over a beautiful creek we finally found. Last night we made friends in a turn out. Today we sat by an even better river with swimming holes, and not a person in sight the entire day. Ojai really ain't bad.

Up next, San Bernardino. This time, pine trees for sure, and hopefully more sitting my streams and climbing. It is a good time.

Here Comes a Bunch of Pictures

      We are finally off again!  I am finally blogging again!

                  We finished our cross country trip well. There were close encounters with tornadoes and flash floods in the midwest, biscuits and gravy at an Amish bakery in Ohio, fireflies in Steubenville, an overheated car (ours) in Pennsylvania, and a final arrival at our end destination in Virginia. Between all of that were great visits with friends and family.

                   Sherrey and Kurt, we loved having dinner with you! You made Fort Collins feel like we

                      already had a home there. 

                   Jon and Diane, thank you for the hospitality in Chicago! And the amazing birthday coffee!

                   Justin, I'm sad we missed you!

                   Erick, it was great to meet you! Thank you for the floor to sleep on and the farm to
                     explore!

                   Katie, I loved getting to catch up with you! We could definitely be roommates. 

                

                  Getting to Virginia meant something great other than finishing the trip: spending time with my lovely sister and her family! My siblings are ALL OVER the country: Chicago, D.C., Atlanta, and then there's me - the wanderer. Spending time with them is precious, and I got to spend almost two weeks with my sister. She and her husband Erik could be famous with all their beauty and cool, and their kids are my favorites. 

        We spent two days at Disneyland, which was both EXHAUSTING (and the kids weren't even mine) and FUN. Have you ever seen children beam at Disney princesses? I'm not all that Disney crazy (Scott finds it hard to understand), and don't particularly love the princess THING, but I can't say I didn't tear up a little. It's precious.
         If you haven't had a chance to go to Cars Land I could recommend spending part of your child's college savings to go (Disnleyland is so expensive!!). Having never seen the movie, and again not being THAT into Disney, I was kind of whatever about getting into the park early to go. It turns out, it is really cool! As I told my friend Sarah later, "I was just in the desert, and it was like I was there again!"

Then we hung out on my dad's boat for a day. How beautiful are they, really?

Then Elisa, Erik and the kids left, and Scott and I were free to work on Betty for our next leg. Now we are (finally) leaving Orange County with a new back to the bench seat, and all new storage for our things. Betty looks great, and though I have enjoyed being at my parents more than I expected, I am so ready to get back on some rock, and back in some forest.

See you again in a month. 

     

     

Skipping Right Along

    Last night I sat down to blog about Yosemite and Bishop, but realized I was SO TIRED, and the things that are happening now are SO FUN, and really, I do not feel like trying to describe that time in one blog right now. So much happened. So much has happened. For now I am going to skip ahead to where we are, which is driving across this great (big) nation. 

First was the desert, and a lot of it. We cruised right passed Vegas (with a stop outside the city for Alien Jerkey), and made it to St. George, Utah faster than I had expected. 

I am a new, official fan of St. George. Surrounded by beautiful red stripped sandstone, filled with history, big enough for local shops to thrive and filled with kind people. Brigham himself was there to welcome us. We had a nice conversation. Totally friends now.

We stayed in a fancy hotel because the price was good, and ate at a place called George's downtown.  Everyone should know, I LOVE GEORGE'S.  The waiter actually laughed at me a little because I was so enthusiastic. It was just one of those perfect, delicious but not overkill, local joints. We had SPICY stuffed jalapeno's that were the best I've ever had, and I got a lamb burger with curry mayo and a super delicious salad. I mean, yeah, I was totally road weary and hungry so anything would have tasted good, but this was seriously great. Plus, feeding travelers is in it's history, so I felt like I was living out it's tradition. We also were there for the end of the Heat v. Spurs game, and I'm not really into basketball (or sports), but DANG that ending was crazy!

                                      

The next morning we drove through Utah, and into Colorado. My excitement level at the stone was pretty high, and makes me think that I'm going to be PRETTY pumped about the Grand Canyon next month. 

THEN WE SAW SOME ROCK THAT HAD DINOSAUR BONES!! Anyone who doesn't think dinos are awesome is a fool (if that's you, I'm really sorry and I take it back, but come on). We stopped at Dinosaur Hill in Fuita, CO, where a Brachiosaurus was excavated in 1906. It was 96 degrees, windy and wonderful. It was also free, which the dino museum was not. Below is me looking totally adventurous and cool. 

Finally at 9PM we made it into Boulder, found out that the room we thought we had we did not have, and learned that all rooms in Boulder were booked except for a few at this hotel, Boulder Outlook. It was so weird. There was a pool right in the middle, so it was humid and smelled like chlorine. Scott described it as an overpriced hostel, and when he said that I thought, YES. It was just like that. Really cool in some ways (zero waste, health conscious- except the fumes), and totally not in some ways (aforementioned fumes, no elevator, no privacy). An interesting experience, and good enough place to crash after 12 hours in the car, anyway. 

    And here I am now, on a bed at our next hotel in Fort Collins, blog updated! Shabam. Perfect timing to go hit up some Breweries.

                          Ciao.

The First Update: Big Sur

 A friend laughed at me last night when I said I had a blog, and asked when the last time was that I updated it. Okay, so I AM terrible at this thing, but at least I know someone is looking. Thanks, Alexia. :)

We left two weeks ago today, and it has been a FULL trip. To make it manageable, here is a short recap of Big Sur to start:

Tuesday, June 4: We barely fit everything into the van, adding two people to the trip (one on his way to move to Taiwan), and took off to Big Sur. I got a little crazy with the need to organize, the stress of driving Betty up and down hills (she STRUGGLED) and not enough alone time, and may have cried at the end of this portion. Sometimes you need to do it.

 The next day we hiked a trail that I took last summer when I lead backpacking trips. Last year it was high schoolers, this year it was friends. Not that I didn't love the high schoolers, but hiking with people who WANT to be there is a whole other thing. The wildflowers there are AMAZING! Columbine is my favorite. They are so intricate and vibrant. I was also very happy to see Indian Paintbrush and Sticky Monkey. I also might have given Scott a berry that I THOUGHT was coffee berry, but we don't have to talk about that, do we? Everything was fine. The ranger thought it WAS coffee berry. Let's move on.

       Betty did great, even though I stressed, and was like home the whole time.

    Since Big Sur we have been to Yosemite, Bishop, Atascadero and Orange County. I am very behind in all this, but I least I started. All of the Yosemite adventure (climbing in 101 degrees and thunder, things like that), will be next. For now I need to pack, because we were supposed to leave twenty minutes ago for Utah, and I haven't packed yet. Blogging isn't the only thing that I fall behind in.


Love Meg

I am. . .

turning 27 in twelve days.

moving into a van in 1 day.

sleeping at my house 0 more nights.

anxious.

thrilled.

sad.

nostalgic.

much more "Santa Cruz" then I was one year ago.

going to teach Scott how to drive stick this week.

headed to two of my favorite places in the world.

so terribly sad to say goodbye.

so very excited to drive into the sunset. or sunrise. or afternoon. whenever.

Reliving the Dream

               Yes, it is easy to complain about packing (obviously, I have taken advantage of that), but there is a part of it I love, and that is looking through all of the little things that I save just for the sake of remembering.  This time I found a stack of old photos from a disposable camera.  The photos were from the last time I hit the road in a car, which was a shocking three years ago.  I had hated where I was living (sorry, Brooklyn), was broken hearted from a whirlwind relationship, and was yearning for freedom and newness.  It was me and the Martrix against the world (and campsite hosts when they found out I wasn't paying). My days consisted of driving anywhere new, bathing in rivers, drinking coffee, and doing anything I wanted that cost almost no money. It was a beautiful time. 

             Beautiful as it was, I have been also been keeping in mind the things that I will miss.  Things like not having to go outside to go to the bathroom and using a shower whenever I want.  There is also the comfort of having somewhere to go home to that I remember being something I missed. Having a home is nice and comfortable, and in many ways I will miss it.  The simplicity and mobility of living out of a car is something I miss dearly, though.  Doing it before has taught me so much about what matters, and who I am without STUFF to distract me.  I will probably get tired of some things, but I can't wait to see what the future holds.

The Sight of Boxes Makes Me Tired

     The time has come, and cannot be put off anymore, to pack.  Of course, the reason I am writing this is because I am already tired of packing, and I have only filled a few boxes.  I don't have much to pack, but that only means I get to the worst part of packing sooner. That would be the part where you have all this little STUFF lying around, needing to be put in a box.  Things like pencils, tape, papers, headbands, water bottles and a handful of other random things.  Looking at all of it makes me tired. Being tired makes me sit on my bed and blog.  You're welcome.

     I have a hard time getting rid of books.  Preparing to travel for the summer, I can't help but think that maybe NOW I will want to read this one book I've had around in my bookcase and not touched all year.  Really, though, I might! This leads me to the idea of having a bookshelf in the van. How great would that be?  A bookshelf and christmas lights, and some pretty fabric to make it homey. This is where Scott would laugh at me like I must be kidding.  Fake wood floors really WOULD be nice, though. Wouldn't it?  Or maybe he is right and we should just get that fluid leak fixed first.  This is why we are good for each other.  These are the books I plan to take so far:

     Like I mentioned, the van has some kind of leak.  Unfortunately buying the Vanagon has not made us experts in Vanagon repair immediately, and we have to find a place to take it next week that works on diesel vans.  It will be very relieving to have it checked out and prepared for travels.

     Right now our travel count down is NINE DAYS! First stop, Big Sur.

The first caravan.

        Today, I took my first trip in the van with a bunch of passengers. These beautiful people are my coworkers and friends.

      Jamie will probably be really embarrassed that I posted this (am I right, or am I right?). Something that you might not know about this trip is that it is closely related to my work. These lovely people work with me at an outdoor science camp, teaching kids about ecology, team building, and breakdancing. Okay, not really breakdancing, but we all have pretty great moves. Hannah and Jordan can do the worm. You can ask them anytime. Anyway, the job is seasonal, and the reason the trip came up. What am I doing after the season, people asked? Well, get a van and cruise around, I guess. Why not? Why not run the van on veggie oil and rock climb everywhere, too? Oh, I don't know anything about engineering and you can't rock climb alone? PERFECT! I have a boyfriend who is GREAT at those things. It is really just meant to be.

     I am really going to miss the people I work with, and how good we look in our Monday work shirts.  It is really hard to believe that in two short weeks we will be moved out of our camp housing (goodbye raccoons, spiders, mice, carpenter ants, squirrels IN THE HOUSE, mold and so much more), and onto new things. Thankfully this picture was taken right after we made a community choice to go to Big Sure, Yosemite and Bishop together when work is done. Our love will go on, you guys, and I will always love you.

Change of Plans

    All that nervousness about Vanna White was just too much. It didn't feel right. Nothing was working and I felt like it must be a sign. I also felt like I maybe didn't believe in signs. I don't know how you feel about prayer, but I was so unsure of what to do that all I COULD do was ask God to please make it clear what to do. Whether it was God telling me, or my own being fed up with the situation, on Thursday buying Vanna White didn't work out and I called it done. Back to the hunt.

     Not far into looking I found a Bio Diesel ready, well maintained, VANAGON for sale. You know, the car that any person who dreams of adventure dreams of themselves in during said adventure. So far I hadn't found a VW that I felt willing to invest in, but this one looked like it could be it. When Scott and I pulled up to the house for a test dive, we both knew that I was hooked. The van is beautiful, and wonderful, and all I have ever dreamed of (I mean, whatever, I totally don't care). After looking for so long, and knowing that it had all the things I had been looking for, it was so hard not to say yes on the spot (if you don't count the fact that I said, "I love it!" after the test drive as "yes."). It was also hard not to get immediately sucked in when I simultaneously fell in love with Oakland. The owners are a sweet couple who just had a baby and run a community garden, and who knows, maybe I could just buy the car and live out front and be absorbed into the whole place? I miss the city. Just hours after the test drive I knew if was the one I wanted, and I put in my claim. This afternoon we drove back to Oakland to make it ours.

    I can't say that it doesn't freak me out a bit. There was the whole NOT BEING ABLE TO GET OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY thing when I tried to leave. That was embarrassing. It's been a while since I drove a stick shift, and being watched as I fail tends to make things worse, not better. Shoot. But I did get out, and around Oakland, and on the freeway, and over the 17 and back home with the van. Even though I feel a little like I just jumped off the high dive and I'm realizing I'm at the bottom of the pool, I'm really excited to be in the water. I've been dreaming of this for a long time. And, seriously, check out this van!

     The stick shift driving will come back with practice, and that's really my only concern right now. Scott, the van and I are ready for adventure. Now we just need a name for her.

The Mobile Dream

     I have officially made an offer on a van. Her name is Vanna White. She is a Ford E350 diesel cargo van, well maintained, with all sorts of possibilities for becoming my temporary residence. For how much I want all of this to work out for the summer, I am NERVOUS. Being a person who has moved six times since graduating from college four years ago, this kind of commitment is a bit staggering. It is hard to imagine that this van could me MY VAN. It could be the van I know and love, that I feel attached to the same way I felt attached to the Matrix. The Matrix, in some ways, was my stability. That car took me through most of those moves, even acting as housing in between places. It was reliable and familiar. In some ways, I am glad it was totaled because I'm not sure if I would have had the guts to give it up myself. 

       As much as I loved the Matrix, I have always wanted something bigger. Something I could could sleep in without taking all of my things out first. Something I could park at the trailhead, so I could roll out of it in the morning and walk right to rocks to climb. Vanna White could be the one. I mean look at her! She's pretty. 

     So I made the offer, talked down the price, and plan to go on Thursday to pick her up. Again, I am NERVOUS. There are still things I have yet to do. Like have the money, for instance. The process of getting the money from the insurance company, to my parents (who the Matrix was registered to), and back to me has been more of a process that I had ever imagined. For weeks I have been expecting that in just A FEW MORE DAYS I would have the money. Right now I'm counting on that being tomorrow. Then there is the getting there, the paper work, and things I probably don't even imagine. With all of this I can imagine that no matter how nervous I am now, once the van is in my driveway I will feel a LOT better.
I will probably dance.
And squeel.
Maybe even cry.
Who knows.
 I'll tell you when it happens. Even if it's embarrassing.

Coming Along Slowly

On Thursday Scott and I went to look at a van. It's name is Vanna White, as given by the previous owner. It is a great van, and really everything that I have been looking for. Diesel, good shape, reliable, cargo van that can be converted. Still, it is hard to commit to. What if we come across something better, more MAGICAL? What if right after I buy it I find a Vanagon that is in perfect condition, ready to move into, diesel and in our price range? Sure, it's unlikely, but WHAT IF? This process is reminding me a lot of dating, somehow. 

Coming back from looking at the van, Scott's car broke down. We ended up on the side of the road waiting for service, and I couldn't help but think about the fact that this is to some extent what our summer will look like. Hopefully not that our car is broken down, but at least the having to kill time. In the end I was able to encourage him, he picked me a flower, and we played killed time on his phone between chatting and laughing. It gave me a lot of hope for how we will work together on the road for the summer. 

On Monday I will give Vanna White's owner the definite word on the van. I'm nervous, especially since I am out of town visiting my family and can't look at other cars this weekend. Some serious thinking needs to be done tonight and tomorrow, or at least tomorrow.

The Great Plan

Many people have asked what "the plan" is for the summer. Typically I respond to that question the same way I did to people who wondered what my "plan" was for after I graduated college. That goes something along the line of "blah, blah, blah, here's a shot in dark, blah, totally I know what I'm doing, please believe me, blah." I'm sorry for any I have deceived. Truthfully, my life has never exactly been lived with a plan. Generally I live with about seven dreams I hope to accomplish, and wait for one to come to fruition. This doesn't work for everyone, but it works for me. Right now the "plan" isn't quite as vague as my post-grad plans, but it certainly isn't in stone, and I don't expect it to be. Here is the vague plan:


Go to Yosemite for the first week or two of June and climb all the beautiful granite we can.
Drive across the country, stopping in Kansas City, Chicago, West Virginia, and Northern Virginia.
Explore Salt Lake City/Utah, Colorado/ The West
Raft the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon (thank you, Scott's family!)
Head north to Seattle and possibly Canada

This may turn into more than a summer of traveling. 

At the Crest

 Have you ever been running up a hill, straining every muscle as you begin to see the top, wanting only to be there so you can begin to go down again? There seems to always be that moment for me when I am about to stop running and make the quick choice between getting there and stopping. That is where my life is right now. On the last uphill stretch before a downhill relief. I am going to keep running. In twenty-eight days I will be moving out of my house and into a van that I do not yet own. My gosh, I hope I get that van soon.