Los Angeles

                                              April 24th ^- 29th , 2013                      Mileage: 890

Venice Beach

Headed North on the 15, we made our way to LA, spending the night at a little park about an hour outside the city. Booking it west to the coast we spent our first night in Venice Beach. Katy was doing a little better but still wavering. We found a nice neighborhood spot a couple blocks from the main strip and the beach.

Setting up camp, we pulling out the beach chairs, socialized with the neighborhood duck, and enjoying the sunset on the roof.

I was expecting more body builders, street performers, and all around madness, but it seemed rather tame for a weekend. We still marveled at the stimulus street with sunglass shops galore, a mild range of street performing, and marijuana clubs for days. It was a gloriously sunny day that we took advantage of, burying our toes deep in the sand on the trek to the ocean, sprawling on green grasses, and sipping coffee-mug cocktails.

Thursday: Santa Monica

The next morning the three of us headed up the 1 and stopped in N Santa Monica so Katy could take a medicinal jump in the ocean. This little mermaid will dry out if not dipped in the ocean regularly, and the long week in the desert was messing with her system.

On a side note; People really seem to be tapping into their bright, bold side on the Los Angeles. There is a highly congested population of neon in LA beach towns. With the bright sun, the sparking ocean and neon splashed on various articles of clothing on nearly every hot-bod that jogged or roller-bladed past, sunglasses are a must.

Driving up Santa Monica Blvd towards Echo Park after our dip in Big Blue we checked out a camp store. Rob and I are eternally in the market and Katy was interested in finding a Hawaiian sling for Mexico. We got some sweet pointed-tip bows for my arrow (gunna kill me some wabbits) and some fishing line and trout bate for our “on the river” meals.

After that is was off to Echo Park to find a place to sleep.

Thurs- Monday Echo Park

Putting up Santa Monica Blvd we hung a right on Sunset blvd towards Echo Park and looked for a place to sleep. I have been to this neighborhood before visiting friends and with my mother to go to our all-time favorite vegan restaurant that doesn’t taste like a vegan restaurant, Sage. I was eager for us to spend some more time there and get to know the dad-to-day.

In the search for a sleeping spot we quickly realize that our rig was not cut out for the hilly terrain. Of course I was driving and feeling rather pressured by the fast-paced traffic of people who actually had places to be. I made a quick turn up a hill, sort of mindlessly following navigation directions, and obnoxiously bottomed out on the up hill ascent. The sharp angle smashed the back end of the bumper and thus the frame, making a disturbingly loud metal-on-pavement scrape that the entire group of LA-ite men on the street corner having a cigarette not only witnessed but vocalized the shock we were all feeling. I think I broke it.

We stopped to check it out and low and behold, the frame was broken. There are 4 “legs” on all sides of the camper to lift and set down the camper off and on the truck. The back legs hung another 3 or 4 inches from the bumper giving us less than a foot of clearance from the ground. Yes the blond broke it, ya we fixed it. No need to bring this up in conversation.

Exhausted and rather shaken up; it was time for bed. The habit of Rob driving the long passes and myself navigating the cities was starting to seem like we needed to take that idea back to the drawing board. After playing nurse for a week, the water pump breaking, and now my luckily minor destruction of our vehicle,  I was done driving, and didn’t really want to address this problem immediately. So the frame was a little cracked, pretty cracked, but the break was still level and it didn’t seem to be the sole responsibility for any weight bearing by any means. We/I decided/demanded that this be addressed in the very near future and we just park and get to drinking.

Bad things come in threes and they sure do make the good things a euphoric experience. We found the BEST spot. Now, the idea of searching for free parking in a truck and camper whose length reaches nearly 24 feet and 12 feet tall in a city where the smart car just keeps getting smarter and if you have a loud rumbling diesel it better stay on the construction sight seemed a little daunting. The neighborhoods are up high and post-bottom out seemed a little unobtainable. We were graced with the entrance to a trailhead along the boarder of Echo Park where we found a meter maid on lunch duty who gave us the thumbs up on overnight parking.

The trail splintered around the park, along the dodger stadium, and up to some awesome views of the city. The houses were big and beautiful but modest enough to relate to and given tons of privacy from the outside world and our ghetto selves with lush foliage. We were tucked away enough and only a couple blocks from Sunset Blvd. We broke out the lawn chairs with no need for shame and treated our misfortunate fortune to a cooler-cup cocktail and beer.

The next day, Saturday the 27th, I got in touch with my college friend, Jessie, who has been killing it in the character design world. She’s one badass monster maker with a hankering for leather and bones. She made me a custom leg holster perfectly suited for my needs with a slouched beltline to accentuate the girlish figure. She told us about a brewery art walk she was showing some work at that day just past china town. It was only a 15 minute bike ride away and with “brewery” perking up Rob’s ears and “art walk” calling my name we chose to address the whole broken frame thing later and have a fun day instead. It was an awesome bike ride past the stadium and through Chinatown to the old abandoned macro-brewery on N Main St. The brewery was shut down for a while and had been turned into a small-town sized slew of stacked studios dubbed the Brewery Arts Complex. There were over 350 artist spaces of various sizes, some of which were also used as small apartments and gallery spaces. The art walk was an open-studio wonderland of creativity of all dimensions. Jessie gave us a vague address and on the hunt for her location we wandered through the maze of high art, interactive psychedelic games and displays, and wacky entrepreneurship before finding this sculpture of hers (to the left) in the display window on the top floor of building 8. We caught up with Jesse for a bit before she packed up her display and made plans to meet up the next evening.

Sunday was fixing day. We found an affordable all day parking against an alley behind the shops on Sunset blvd. Rob called the closed camper repair shop who informed him that to get it back in working order again with the man-power that would entail after some seriously invasive surgery would come to about $4,000… Well that wasn’t going to work and we didn’t really have any intention of getting it back in working order. In my defense we were already not so hot on the idea of these legs and the limitation they ensued on our mobility. We couldn’t really think of any time that we would absolutely need or generally want to take the camper off the truck. So we opted to remove the back legs all together and store them on top in case of emergency. After spending about 5 hours there bandaging the break using the ratchet straps we hook on our bikes to the back with the wench in the metal frame, we removed the legs, taking off an extra 100 lbs or so from the back end and used the brackets they were fixed on with the bandage the wound so to speak. Katy hunted for food and multitasked at the nearby laundry mat with a wash for the clothes and a guarded wash for us in the laundry mat bathroom sink. All was well again.

That night Jesse and 3 other lovely gents from my college-crew, Erik, Enrique, and, Ben came to our neighborhood and shared some cocktails and good stories. We wandered down to the bar for sake of saying we did it. We wandered through the park getting silly and pondering back on the good ‘ol days when we didn’t have to worry if our art was going to earn us an income, just what grade it was given.

On Monday we were thinking it was getting close to go-time. Katy had a board shipped to her from a shaper in Australia who sent it over to her as general delivery to LA. We drove towards the airport to the freight building where we had an easy enough time getting there and in no time we were off to meet up with miss Emily Haney. Katy spent the previous mulling over ideas on how to get down south to Orange County and then back to Mexico. She was thinking of taking the train down to San Clemente and we got in touch with Emily to see if she could pick her up. Another burst of great luck arose when we called her and she told us she was spending the weekend in LA helping her sister brew a healthy and delectable batch of kombucha and was going to be in West Hollywood selling their pro-biotic teas at the farmers market on Monday. Instead of Katy having to deal with public transportation in her still feeble state, Emily said she’d gladly give her a ride down to the OC.

We found some easy parking above the market and helped Katy pack while taking care of some much needed curbside leg shaving. We found Emily manning the kombucha booth solo while her sister headed back to the kitchen for a bit. There they were selling Ashley, Em’s sister’s brand of fermented tea, Better Booch. With scrumptious flavors and an adorably attractive label designed by the ever-talented Camilla Beroozian.

We mulled around the farmers market gathering fresh berries and slurping up free samples. It was sad to say goodbye to Katy but she was in good hands. We bid our loving farewells and tossed her items into Emily’s car then finagled our way onto Hollywood Blvd.

Finally Rob got to see the Hollywood sign tucked behind buildings on the mountainside. We took the opportunity to drive down the famous blvd and were so happy we did. The streets were hopping and the sun way shining, making our exit from LA perfect and awe-inspiring. A lady sitting on a bench waiting for the bus yelled out, “welcome to Hollywood!” Rob tried to make out names on the stars embedded in the pavement and we waved and Wonder Woman and Batman as we cruised down the palm-lined strip.

Malibu Beach

We found ourselves back on the 1 northbound after passing through the McMansions and star-studded abodes. It felt good to be back to the water. We were in search of a campground to boost our electrical charge and dump our septic. We came into Malibu, ogling at the beachside cottages and primo surf spots. We found a nice little trailer park that, while humble in its appearance, held true to the upper class nature of Malibu. We got some funny looks from the full-timers and after almost closing the deal the guy behind the counter asked about Penny’s breed, and regretfully informed us that both the Akita and German Shepherd mixes were on their “aggressive dogs” list and not allowed admittance into the park. Note to self, go with the Golden Retriever or Lab mix next time. I quickly chimed in with my service-dog speech and ran back to the camper to search for proof. I planned ahead and got a note from the doctor for his recommendation that I have a dog with my during this trip and that she become an “emotional support” animal to ward off any anxiety experienced by being on the road alone… Though I did have that note it sure didn’t look like it but the guy was lenient enough after seeing Penny’s bid smiling face through the window and took my word for it. We cooked some campfire food and did some laundry with our bucket-system and foldable drying rack and settled into some evening movies with unlimited charge. Penny showed no signs of aggressiveness.

We woke up bright-eyed and bushytailed on Tuesday morning with the camper to ourselves again and everything taken care of. We stayed until the last minute of our checkout time and jumped back onto the 1 northbound. 

Joshua Tree

April 22, 2012          Mileage: 740

East Bound for Joshua Tree. 

We started making our way up towards the 10 freeway towards Indio to pick up my Aussie friend Katy after her long weekend at the Coachella music festival to come along for the ride for a while before she headed back down to Mexico where she had been living for the past few months.

Of course we were running late to pick her up at the Walmart she had been dropped off at, and then to top it off our truck randomly and instantly stops while going uphill... Mind you she has no phone or way to reach her so she was basically stranded there. 

Luckily we were on a side road leaving Fallbrook after we stopped through to grab a couple of forgotten items, and there was a fridge full of nerve remedies. We backed the truck up into a safe spot and made the first of many AAA calls of the journey. 

We scored with the service tech and got ol' Joe, the friendly hippie who had no problem overseeing our strange battery problem until he found the source of loose connector bolts that weren't able to supply any connection to the battery. After an hour of waiting for his arrival and an hour of trying to figure out what was wrong with the truck, we were on our way. Thanks Joe!

We picked up Katy a mere five hours after we told her we would be there. She was content on the corner of the supercenter, shoeless and clearly just having left a music festival, with all of her belongings stuffed inside a shopping cart.

We honked and hollered over hellos and apologies. She wheeled her cart over, unloaded, and off we went. Finally, onto Joshua Tree!

I can’t express my love for this place enough. It is the land before time, you feel like a gang of baby dinosaurs are going to peak their heads out behind the rocks at any time. With boulder-rock mountains and wacky palm-like Joshua trees, this desert oasis is one of the most magical places on earth. We got there at a great time in the year, with few and dispersed campers, a mild temperature, and cactus flowers in bloom. 

We spent a week in Joshua Tree, settling into our camper life. The problems with the truck and camper began to arise while we were there. Our water pump began leaking (of course this happens in the desert) and the house batteries for the camper were not working so all of our power was dependant on the truck. We working around these rather major problems by removing the water pump and emptying it into a 5 gallon tank for drinking water and a bucket for washing. Luckily we were still able to draw out water from the house tank, just no through the sink faucets. We started the truck regularly but with week-old batteries the lack of charge had not yet become a problem.

Our week in Joshua Tree was pretty magical. We cooked amazing meals over our campfire every night, took many hikes through the desert, and watched galaxy glimmer through the lightless sky. The full moon rose and turned the boulder filled valley into a blue-lit wonderland. We washed our clothes in buckets and hung them to dry on our little folding drying rack.

Katy unfortunately took a turn for the worse while we were there. She began feeling very sick with high temperatures. 

Sadly, we lost her.

Just Kidding

She made me promise not to take photos of her while sick in bed. I did get this outline of her while soaking up heat after a cold spell, resuming her deathly sprawl on pavement.

We played nurse for her, trying to keep her temperature down but she didn’t feel ready to go to the hospital. All the ginger tea, garlic bits, and cold compresses in the world coudn't make this girl feel better. Heinz sight I should have insisted on the emergency room, but at the time I was under her influence that she would recover quickly, but needed something to quench the thirst, and water wasn't doing it. She needed electrolytes badly as she seemed very dehydrated. She would feel better then a few hours later she’d be bed ridden again. We decided to ride our bikes into town to get her some electrolytes and supplies.

We started biking into town, thinking it would be about 15 miles. Well turned out it was 25, the last 5 or 6 being extremely downhill. It was too late to turn back then so we forged ahead. We got her some electrolytes and tinctures and whatever else she asked for. When we stepped outside to begin riding again, the heat hit us like a bag of bricks. We were exhausted. My knee was hurting pretty badly and Rob was rather chafed. Needless to say the intial 6 miles we needed to go uphill was seeming rather impossible.

We began our assent, knowing that catching a ride back would be our best bet, although a challenging one. I figured anyone going to Joshua Tree would have a full car, and possibly be their first time there. my positive thinking mantra was not speaking to me. I was seriously doubting anyone would want to pick up 2 strangers... With their bikes. But low and behold, luck struck! Thank you thank you thank you. A VW Vanagon passed by us while we were struggling uphill. Rob quickly stuck out his thumb and the van gave us a friendly honk, thinking Rob was flashing a thumbs-up. Fortunately for us, they pulled over a bit further up and waited for us to ride up to them. We let them know my knee was hurt and we would greatly appreciate a ride, as we did not realize 6 miles of uphill would be a big deal. Ah, life lessons. The two girls in the van said to hop in, and took us and our bikes the 25 miles all the way back to our campsite at the last campground in the park, Jumbo Rock.

Their names were Emily Edge and Crystal Rain. No joke. This radical duo were living in Joshua Tree, working at the gift shop, the Coyote Corner, and the neighboring Pub. We loaded Katy up with her meds and sat at the picnic table with our desert angels, sharing homemade lemoncello and beers and trading stories. Crystal told us how she spent the summers working in Skagway Alaska, and offered us connections for work when we get up there. She introduced the idea of taking a ferry either to of back from Alaska, getting us so excited for the unimaginable beauty of the last American frontier’s coastline on the “poor man’s cruise.” I noticed Emily’s gorgeous hummingbird tattoo and we chatted away on our connections to the little creature as one of our spirit animals. As she was telling me about her obsession with the ghost moth, one landed on the brim of my hats in mid-conversation. It was as though the moth was solidifying our friendship and the beauty of the universe lending a helping hand through the kindness of good people.

We headed out the next morning and popped into the gift shop where Crystal and Emily were working. We soaped up and took much-needed showers, perused the shop where we looked through desert statistics, plant identification, and survival books. After a previous conversation about how the boulder mountains were formed, I found out in one of the books.

Through millions of years of an active terrain, volcanoes and earthquakes pushed up the earth, forming rock-mountains. As the earth's surface continued to move, cracks spidered up the mountains, creating gaps in the rocks. Over time, the high winds would sweep away loose rock and rubble, forming rounded mounds that appear to be boulders piled on top of one another. So cool.

We stocked up on stickers and bid the girls farewell, leaving them with a little hummingbird watercolor to say thanks for their kindness and advice. These ladies brought light to our lives in a rather parallous time, and gifted us with a loot of spots to visit and connections to make along the way. Thank you again girls.

After Joshua Tree we headed west on the 10, LA bound.

San Diego and Orange County

April 20th, 2013        Mileage: 550

San Diego

Rob and I left Fallbrook in the middle of April to explore southern California. I went to college in Orange County and my parents moved to northern San Diego county a few years back, so I was eager to show Rob my favorite sights of Orange County and the desert. Rob had only been living in California for a year after moving from New Mexico, and hadn’t seen much outside of the bay area.

We spent some time in San Diego before our official departure from Fallbrook. Our sassy friend Laura showed us around a bit of Normal Heights and the bluffs of the shoreline. We ate and drank our way through town with fresh eyes and an excitement to see how hip and upcoming that city is. Already the world was becoming smaller for us. We met friends of friends who knew other friends and introduced both of our sides to one another. So far, traveling was a breeze in the park.

We met up with one of Rob’s besties, Matt, and his brother Mike to the local Stone brewery and indulged in a beer tasting and some shuffle board.

San Diego is such a young and dynamic beach city. We loved the young crowd, the restaurants and bars, the museums and art scene, and not to mention the unbeatable weather butt up against that big blue Pacific Ocean. The beer flows like waterfalls there and the sun just keeps on shining.

Orange County

After we left Fallbrook our first stop was San Clemente, one of the last little beach towns in Orange County. I lived in San Clemente for 4 years and was so excited to introduce this dear town to Rob. We met up with one of my closest girlfriends Emily, and went to the world famous longboarding beach, San Onofre. It was a gloriously sunny day with big, clean surf, and the best company.

We spent the sunset at the usual spot my friends would gather when we all lived in the same part of town, the vacant lot. We watched the trains roll by while penny manned the look-out over North Beach. The sun made a grand departure over the ocean’s horizon and we had our first delighting experience of free beach front parking.

Leaving San Clemente, we drove up the coast a bit through Laguna Beach then to Newport Beach. We came back to Laguna for the night and parked alongside the cliffs for another spectacular beach-front sleeping spot. I showed Rob the art college I went to, Laguna College of Art and Design, and the beautiful canyon it resides in. After a little exploring we headed inland for our next destination.