We "camped" last night in a motel. In Garberville, California, 50 bucks will buy you a motel room with one king bed, a half inch crack between the door and its frame and a painting drilled into the wall - upside down. I wonder how many people took notice? And how many people did not. It was plain obvious, but without my travel mate, I could have been in the latter group. And had we stayed at the Best Western for $117, we would have missed out on the opportunity to laugh so hard about it.
It wasn't exactly the "leave your key in the room when you check out" kind of motel.
There is quite a bit of plaid in this town. Plaid and flannel.
The bar at the "El River Cafe" in Garberville is exactly where I want to be this morning. And writing and reading while enjoying my third cup of coffee is exactly what I want to be doing right now.
I forgot how quickly the clouds can move across the sky. I spent part of my early afternoon watching the sky through the sunroof. I also forgot how quickly I get car sick when Heather is driving mountain roads and I am gazing up at the sky.
Scratch my previous notes of wanting to live in St. Helena. We saw the ocean today and I remembered how much the ocean means to me.
20 JAN 2008
19 JAN 2008
I went to the Book-Go-Round this morning, was drawn to a book called "Roads" by Larry McMurtry, read the dust jacket "...my destination is also my route...", bought it that very minute, picked up Heather and we hit the road.
Add to the list of places to live someday: St. Helena, just north of Oakville, California.
Why I love traveling with Heather:
1. Because when we see a gas station with an attached bar at the corner of two desolate roads in wine country, we don't have to consult the other, we just pull over.
2. Because when she says, "I have a story to tell you later", I already know the reason why she has to tell me later is because we'd both rather be listening to music together than talking together.
3. And during the very moment I see the light from the sun finally disappear from the sky, and I hear Patty sing at the top of her lungs as we wind through the redwoods, during this very moment when I am thinking to myself "I am so in love with this moment" - Heather says it out loud.
It was the second most perfect bar I've ever been in. We were outcasts until I put a dollar in the jukebox and played two songs that united us all. Fleetwood Mac's Go Your Own Way and Willie Nelson's Georgia On My Mind. The combination between the moment we became accepted patrons, and the most appropriate woman next to Heather at the bar made this bar the second most perfect bar I've ever been too. I can't explain how this woman was "appropriate", she just was - for the bar that is.
The music that we've been listing to has been a vital part of the overall experience. Without music, we'd only have thoughts. And right now, I have not a single thing running through my mind. I have no voice. I have no worry. Its fantastic really. It has allowed me to really absorb the beauty that is my environment.
