Today started off in the way I’d like to spend all mornings in Thailand, watching the sunrise over the ocean. There is a calm to the break of day here, where time slows for a few seconds as the sun makes its daunting and controlled entrance. The reflection of the new day’s sun over the ocean always brings family and loved ones to mind, hoping they could be beside me to share the experience.
But even before the sunrise, a companion awakened me in my single bungalow, of whom or what I still do not know. At 6am, right when I needed to get my ass out of bed for the morning spectacle, the calls of an unknown creature brought me out of my unconscious state. The sound was so close that it had to be coming from somewhere in my room, but after some investigation, the culprit was not to be found. Has anyone ever heard of ghost animals?
After breakfast and a swim, Gift and I decided to rent a motorbike for the day, which I was really excited about. There is a road that runs around the island of Samui perfect for motorbike, the preferred method of transportation for the Thais here and most of the other parts of the Land of Smiles. Gift was a little skeptical of the idea, and me almost crashing at the hotel did not soothe her confidence as we boarded the bike to peruse Samui.
The first stop was the Big Buddha Island. The island is the home of the Wat Phra Yai, and wouldn’t you know it, its got a big Buddha there. After milk tea, buying a horde of white clothing for my upcoming meditation retreat and some photos, it was off to another nearby Wat for more photos. ABW could apply in this situation. (Another Bloody Wat?) We then made our way through some beautiful countryside to Chaweng, the most touristy part of Samui. Upon parking our motorbike, I felt like I’d landed in San Diego, with the number of white faces quadrupling the natives and every sign catering to the farangs’ lack of ability to interpret Thai script.
Quickly exiting Chaweng, Gift and I headed inland to search of some more authenticity to our journey. We passed through some beautiful countryside, catching a glimpse of the durian fruit farmers collecting their daily harvest and the coconut trees providing a backdrop I’d only seen in movies or on cheesy screensavers. It seemed so different from the other parts of the island we’d seen that day that I had to think twice to realize we were still within Samui proper. Upon finding the entrance to a waterfall, Gift and I dismounted hoping to see it with our own eyes. After a half hour of trekking, there was no waterfall to behold, so we turned around, fearful of nightfall making the motorbike ride home an even more perilous voyage.
I could feel Gift’s uncertainty for the motorbike throughout the day, and I was trying my hardest to keep my attention on driving; to soothe her fears, as well as keep us both alive! These bikes are reliable, but when you are traveling 60km per hour on a hill and cars are passing just a few feet away from you, it makes for a interesting ride. As we were exiting the parking lot for the waterfall, I accelerated the bike and hit a batch of sand. The bike spun out of control, sending both Gift and I off the bike, onto the sugar-colored sand hands and knees first. Initially I was more concerned about Gift, seeing if she was ok and realizing that she suffered only a few scrapes and scratches. I wasn’t even conscious I’d suffered the same until I got back on the bike and saw my bloody feet and elbows. Funny how the mind works right? The part that sucked the most was that I’d put her in danger, but she took it like a champ and was laughing about it much sooner than I.
With my pride hurt more than anything and the blood beginning to dry, I started the bike again up the mountain to try to beat the sunset. But, with the lack of propulsion we’d gotten from starting our trek in the middle of a hill, our little bike would not make it up the inclines. This left us trying to find a flat surface to give our shitty Honda automatic the flatland it needed to climb the Samui curves, and when we did, the process was repeated again and again, with the bike loosing its steam each time the hills began. After a few minutes of trying, and the recent crash fresh in our memories, we decided to take the longer route back to the hotel, characterized by its beachside views and more importantly, flat surfaces.
We arrived an hour later, cleaned our cuts and I bought a big Chang beer to help me forget the annoyances and mishaps of the day. While on the walk home, Gift informed me of an interesting revelation. She’d been to see a fortuneteller a few months before, and the physic told her that she would be in a motorbike accident within the next year. Further understanding her apprehension and laughing to myself at the ridiculous nature of the situation, I wondered if going to the Thai fortuneteller might help me to ward off some avoidable pitfalls in the future as well!
Will we take the bike again, tomorrow only knows, so until then I’ll keep my helmet buckled tight.
Monday, December 28, 2009
12.27 Samui first impressions
While my travels in Asia have been going on for over a month now, this is my first full blog entry. I ask myself why it’s taken me so long to get the thoughts, impressions and incredible stories I’ve been lucky enough to experience down in some written format, and my best response is “It’s better late than never.” In that spirit, here’s where the spirit has placed me in this moment.
I’m sitting on the North Side of Ko Samui, an island off the coast of Thailand, at a beachside bungalow. I arrived here with my friend Gift after a full day of traveling which was not without its own adventures.
We started the day in Trang, Thailand, where we had been for a few days, being treated to the most amazing hospitality I’ve ever experienced by the parents of my friend Gibb. They deserve their own blog entry for all of the amazing stuff they did for us, but for now, let’s continue. So Gift and I boarded a bus in Trang to head north 3 hours. While waiting for the bus, a man walked up with a chicken, holding it in his arms as if it was his prize-winner (it turns out it was!!). When we began to board the bus, the man and his chicken joined us. I can check “Riding on a Bus with a Chicken” off on my list of life goals. Surprisingly, the chicken was very well behaved on the journey, and the only way I remembered he was a passenger was the by the occasional “Gobble, gobble,” that was too authentic to be smart-ass Thai making jokes.
The ride consisted of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Love in the Time of Cholera. I’m such a sucker for Marquez, but does prose get any more beautiful? I mean how could one quietly slip the quote, “He was still too young to know that the heart’s memory eliminates the bad and magnifies the good, and that thanks to this artifice we manage to endure the burden of the past,” appropriately into his writing without sounding pretentious? Only Marquez.
The book has had a big impact on me not so much for the story itself, but for the descriptions of the characters in this love story. Marquez is a genius for picking out the nuances of his characters that make them distinct, but that every one of us can find in the ones close to us. I read somewhere that Marquez considered himself to be more of a journalist than a writer, and from his sensitivity in describing people, places and, most heart-wrenchingly, love, its evident that his journalistic inclinations were just as honed as his gift for storytelling.
That being said, I’ve started to record information about folks I briefly meet on the road, hoping to record what I learn about them with as exactly and as revelatory as Marquez . . . we’ll see how that goes.
Ok, here’s one for you:
One the ride on the bus, Gift and I shared a seat with a man named Bao we’d met in Trang. Bao was in his mid to late 20’s, and with his ironed white shirts and designer shoes, you could tell he was off to either make impression or to maintain one. While Bao spoke no English (and my Thai won’t let me talk with anyone), you could see his kindness in some of the most beautiful brown eyes that ever graced a two-legged creature. He had an easiness to him that could make him forgettable, but behind his quiet voice there was a firmness to his words that forced you to take him seriously. He carried with him only a camera bag, meaning that he had clothes in the place he was going, and I later found out the purpose of his trip was to visit his girlfriend. They are to wed in August.
After leaving the first bus, another bus was in store, no chicken this time, that led to a ferry. The ferry ride took us to Ko Samui and offered up some beautiful scenery on the open sea.
Ko Samui was not what I expected at all, and I think the whiteys (or farang as the Thai call them) have overrun the small island. I wrote in an email to my brother that the island was like the Myrtle Beach of Thailand, and while this may have been a little of an overstatement, but yes, there is a Starbucks and a McDonald’s on this island (along with over 100 7 Eleven’s)!
Gift and I were exhausted from the traveling, so after a stroll on the beach, it was time to settle down for the night.
I’m looking forward to seeing more of Samui and getting to the good stuff the island has to offer in the morning.
This seems like a good time to end, so until next time, sawadee krab.
I’m sitting on the North Side of Ko Samui, an island off the coast of Thailand, at a beachside bungalow. I arrived here with my friend Gift after a full day of traveling which was not without its own adventures.
We started the day in Trang, Thailand, where we had been for a few days, being treated to the most amazing hospitality I’ve ever experienced by the parents of my friend Gibb. They deserve their own blog entry for all of the amazing stuff they did for us, but for now, let’s continue. So Gift and I boarded a bus in Trang to head north 3 hours. While waiting for the bus, a man walked up with a chicken, holding it in his arms as if it was his prize-winner (it turns out it was!!). When we began to board the bus, the man and his chicken joined us. I can check “Riding on a Bus with a Chicken” off on my list of life goals. Surprisingly, the chicken was very well behaved on the journey, and the only way I remembered he was a passenger was the by the occasional “Gobble, gobble,” that was too authentic to be smart-ass Thai making jokes.
The ride consisted of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Love in the Time of Cholera. I’m such a sucker for Marquez, but does prose get any more beautiful? I mean how could one quietly slip the quote, “He was still too young to know that the heart’s memory eliminates the bad and magnifies the good, and that thanks to this artifice we manage to endure the burden of the past,” appropriately into his writing without sounding pretentious? Only Marquez.
The book has had a big impact on me not so much for the story itself, but for the descriptions of the characters in this love story. Marquez is a genius for picking out the nuances of his characters that make them distinct, but that every one of us can find in the ones close to us. I read somewhere that Marquez considered himself to be more of a journalist than a writer, and from his sensitivity in describing people, places and, most heart-wrenchingly, love, its evident that his journalistic inclinations were just as honed as his gift for storytelling.
That being said, I’ve started to record information about folks I briefly meet on the road, hoping to record what I learn about them with as exactly and as revelatory as Marquez . . . we’ll see how that goes.
Ok, here’s one for you:
One the ride on the bus, Gift and I shared a seat with a man named Bao we’d met in Trang. Bao was in his mid to late 20’s, and with his ironed white shirts and designer shoes, you could tell he was off to either make impression or to maintain one. While Bao spoke no English (and my Thai won’t let me talk with anyone), you could see his kindness in some of the most beautiful brown eyes that ever graced a two-legged creature. He had an easiness to him that could make him forgettable, but behind his quiet voice there was a firmness to his words that forced you to take him seriously. He carried with him only a camera bag, meaning that he had clothes in the place he was going, and I later found out the purpose of his trip was to visit his girlfriend. They are to wed in August.
After leaving the first bus, another bus was in store, no chicken this time, that led to a ferry. The ferry ride took us to Ko Samui and offered up some beautiful scenery on the open sea.
Ko Samui was not what I expected at all, and I think the whiteys (or farang as the Thai call them) have overrun the small island. I wrote in an email to my brother that the island was like the Myrtle Beach of Thailand, and while this may have been a little of an overstatement, but yes, there is a Starbucks and a McDonald’s on this island (along with over 100 7 Eleven’s)!
Gift and I were exhausted from the traveling, so after a stroll on the beach, it was time to settle down for the night.
I’m looking forward to seeing more of Samui and getting to the good stuff the island has to offer in the morning.
This seems like a good time to end, so until next time, sawadee krab.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
For an old love
You haunt me
When I am on the way to work
Umbrella in hand
Brad Mehldau underscoring my consciousness
You haunt me
When I am in the arms
Of the girl I've wanted for months
But whose love wasn't real
You haunt me
On long car rides
As the meditative white lines
Bring my unconsciousness to the forefront
You haunt me
When I think about my future
Even though you told me not to
I know you're doing the same
You haunt me
While in the back of a theater
I think I see you with him
My entertainment turned to rage
You haunt me
As I stared out into the ocean
Hoping your eyes were fixed
In the same place
You haunt me
While in the train
Unconsciously scanning the faces
Of the strangers I call passengers
You haunt me
As I think about music
And the songs we shared
We are both lonely painters
You haunt me
As I think about having a partner
Who will push me
To be the best I can be
You haunt me
As I know
You will love me
Whoever or whatever I am
When I am on the way to work
Umbrella in hand
Brad Mehldau underscoring my consciousness
You haunt me
When I am in the arms
Of the girl I've wanted for months
But whose love wasn't real
You haunt me
On long car rides
As the meditative white lines
Bring my unconsciousness to the forefront
You haunt me
When I think about my future
Even though you told me not to
I know you're doing the same
You haunt me
While in the back of a theater
I think I see you with him
My entertainment turned to rage
You haunt me
As I stared out into the ocean
Hoping your eyes were fixed
In the same place
You haunt me
While in the train
Unconsciously scanning the faces
Of the strangers I call passengers
You haunt me
As I think about music
And the songs we shared
We are both lonely painters
You haunt me
As I think about having a partner
Who will push me
To be the best I can be
You haunt me
As I know
You will love me
Whoever or whatever I am
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Day 45 and 46 – Yellowstone National Park
From Portland, Daniel and I headed to Seattle where we stayed with the Heffernan’s, whose son, Joe, was in boarding school with Daniel. We had another amazing time with their family, meditating with Charlie (father), sharing stories and learning a little Arabic with Robbie (mother) and learning about Indian music and having a blast with Amanda (sister). Amazing folks and we are so grateful for their cooking, hospitality, and friendship which were fuel to keep on truckin’.
In the summer of 2007, I lived in Mendoza, Argentina with the Simpsons, an American family who had set up a program to teach kids to record music in Argentina. The Simpsons are now living in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and it was to their home we traveled after Seattle. Man, what a reunion. We arrived around 5 pm, and Daniel and I stayed up talking with Rich, Wendy, Matt and Andy (who arrived a little later) until almost midnight. It was so nice to catch up on all the folks in Mendoza, and all the stories I had missed in the interim 2 years. This was one of the personal highlights of the trip for me. We celebrated Wendy’s birthday with a lake side BBQ and even caught new Harry Potter movie at a local theater (highly recommended!).
After a bittersweet departure from Coeur d’Alene, Daniel and I set out for Yellowstone.
Day 45 and 46 – Yellowstone National Park
Spending the majority of the day in the car traveling, Daniel and I were both tired when we arrived in Yellowstone. After seeing that all the campgrounds within the park were full, we begrudgingly turned the car around and headed 16 miles outside the park to find a place to pitch our tent. After finding a suitable, but unusually uncomfortable campground, we settled down for the evening. I spent the night (and most of the day’s car ride) reading Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. Before leaving for the trip I received some travel recommendations from my old boss, Atesh Sonneborn. Atesh lived in various parts of California for years and he suggested visiting the Self Realization Fellowship in Pacific Palisades, CA where some of Ghandi’s ashes were kept. He also mentioned that the Fellowship was founded by Yogananda, but at the time I had no idea who this was. Then, upon arriving in DC to hang out before the trip, Daniel brought a book (Autobiography of a Yogi) with him and was telling me all about the wonderful, childlike, and amazing life of Yogananda. After listening to Daniel and visiting the Self Realization Fellowship for myself, I decided to pick up the book. It has been a wonderful companion on the journey and has really inspired me to renew and pursue my own relationship with God. Yogananda’s playful, ever seeking prose has made me realize that a spiritual journey does not have to be one of stoic practice and solitude, but rather a revealing search that can be fun, communal, and divinely rewarding. He does not leave out the difficulties of his stories, but the lessons learned and wisdom gained from these trials make the search all the more appealing. Thank you Atesh and Daniel.
After waking up to the coldest morning of the trip so far, Daniel and I got two cups of coffee, bread and some firewood, heading into the park to find what treasures lie within its boundaries.
The smell of Yellowstone is undeniable. Known for its geysers, the Park has omnipresent odor of deviled eggs. The mixture of sulphuric gas, water and heat leads to amazing sights (bubbling lakes and geysers), but was a constant of reminder of kindergarden (where deviled eggs were served as afternoon snacks). Aside from this little nuance, the geysers and hot springs in the Park were absolutely beautiful. Daniel and I were lucky enough to see a good many of them, also catching Old Faithful blow her load in front a huge, anxious crowd of tourists. It was really amazing to see this large hole in the ground one second, then a 50 feet tall blast of water emanating from its insides. What a funny planet we live on.
In the afternoon, Daniel and I took a long hike on the Elephant Bear Trail near Lake Yellowstone. The 3.5 mile hike was a needed exercise, and led to some amazing views at the summit. The hike was a little surprising because of the massive amounts of dead trees in Yellowstone, leading Daniel and I to question what had been happening to make all of this destruction take place. After grabbing some beer and a little ice cream, we made our way back to our campground.
One of the other amazing features about Yellowstone is the huge number of wildlife that are visible by simply driving through the park. Bison are very abundant throughout the Park and there were no shortage of them on our drives from location to location throughout Yellowstone. Such interesting creatures, these Bison are. Short legs, hairy in the front, not in the back, small eyes, hunched posture, and a massive body. I wonder if they think we are funny looking too. In addition to the bison, the Park is full of giant deer, wild birds and coyotes. Whenever any of these animals are visible from the road, a bottleneck of cars form, with each tourist grabbing as many photos of the unassuming animals they can, before they start to feel conscious of the line of traffic behind them. We learned this happens often in the Park, and not to freak out when a random line of traffic begins to form.
After gathering wood for the fire, and having some trusty soup for dinner, Daniel and I got the fire started and got out the guitars. After learning a song from Wilco’s new album, we tried to play the song together. While we have played music together for a long time, it has always been difficult. I come from the school where I am very accustomed to playing with other people, and very seldom play by myself. Daniel, on the other hand, plays by himself the majority of the time. With both of us expecting different things of the other and our personality differences as evident as our dirty clothes, we began to argue about how the music should be played. After telling Daniel that he was “so hard to play with,” he got up and left the fire. This was not the first and definitely not the last argument of the trip, but the difference with this one was that it involved music, something we both care deeply about, but look at from completely different perspectives. Looking back on the argument, I believe there was a lot of big brother/little brother anxiety wrapped up in the disagreement, hitting even closer to home. I guess there are some things that we are just not supposed to see eye to eye on.
With the funds running low and our time on the road growing short, we are in for some long travel days ahead. As I am writing this entry, Daniel and I have been on the road for 6 hours with another 2 ahead of us before our destination. Traveling to the Badlands National Park (which turned out to us staying at the Lakota Indian Reservation) yesterday, we clocked almost 11 hours in the car. These long hours are taking a little bit of a toll on our tempers (which may have been a big contributing factor to the earlier tussle), but with a new injection of music (thanks Oliver, Amanda, and the Heffernans!) hopefully the drives will be a little better.
Approaching Bloomington, Indiana as our next main destination Saturday-ish and more from the road soon. Thanks for reading.
In the summer of 2007, I lived in Mendoza, Argentina with the Simpsons, an American family who had set up a program to teach kids to record music in Argentina. The Simpsons are now living in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and it was to their home we traveled after Seattle. Man, what a reunion. We arrived around 5 pm, and Daniel and I stayed up talking with Rich, Wendy, Matt and Andy (who arrived a little later) until almost midnight. It was so nice to catch up on all the folks in Mendoza, and all the stories I had missed in the interim 2 years. This was one of the personal highlights of the trip for me. We celebrated Wendy’s birthday with a lake side BBQ and even caught new Harry Potter movie at a local theater (highly recommended!).
After a bittersweet departure from Coeur d’Alene, Daniel and I set out for Yellowstone.
Day 45 and 46 – Yellowstone National Park
Spending the majority of the day in the car traveling, Daniel and I were both tired when we arrived in Yellowstone. After seeing that all the campgrounds within the park were full, we begrudgingly turned the car around and headed 16 miles outside the park to find a place to pitch our tent. After finding a suitable, but unusually uncomfortable campground, we settled down for the evening. I spent the night (and most of the day’s car ride) reading Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. Before leaving for the trip I received some travel recommendations from my old boss, Atesh Sonneborn. Atesh lived in various parts of California for years and he suggested visiting the Self Realization Fellowship in Pacific Palisades, CA where some of Ghandi’s ashes were kept. He also mentioned that the Fellowship was founded by Yogananda, but at the time I had no idea who this was. Then, upon arriving in DC to hang out before the trip, Daniel brought a book (Autobiography of a Yogi) with him and was telling me all about the wonderful, childlike, and amazing life of Yogananda. After listening to Daniel and visiting the Self Realization Fellowship for myself, I decided to pick up the book. It has been a wonderful companion on the journey and has really inspired me to renew and pursue my own relationship with God. Yogananda’s playful, ever seeking prose has made me realize that a spiritual journey does not have to be one of stoic practice and solitude, but rather a revealing search that can be fun, communal, and divinely rewarding. He does not leave out the difficulties of his stories, but the lessons learned and wisdom gained from these trials make the search all the more appealing. Thank you Atesh and Daniel.
After waking up to the coldest morning of the trip so far, Daniel and I got two cups of coffee, bread and some firewood, heading into the park to find what treasures lie within its boundaries.
The smell of Yellowstone is undeniable. Known for its geysers, the Park has omnipresent odor of deviled eggs. The mixture of sulphuric gas, water and heat leads to amazing sights (bubbling lakes and geysers), but was a constant of reminder of kindergarden (where deviled eggs were served as afternoon snacks). Aside from this little nuance, the geysers and hot springs in the Park were absolutely beautiful. Daniel and I were lucky enough to see a good many of them, also catching Old Faithful blow her load in front a huge, anxious crowd of tourists. It was really amazing to see this large hole in the ground one second, then a 50 feet tall blast of water emanating from its insides. What a funny planet we live on.
In the afternoon, Daniel and I took a long hike on the Elephant Bear Trail near Lake Yellowstone. The 3.5 mile hike was a needed exercise, and led to some amazing views at the summit. The hike was a little surprising because of the massive amounts of dead trees in Yellowstone, leading Daniel and I to question what had been happening to make all of this destruction take place. After grabbing some beer and a little ice cream, we made our way back to our campground.
One of the other amazing features about Yellowstone is the huge number of wildlife that are visible by simply driving through the park. Bison are very abundant throughout the Park and there were no shortage of them on our drives from location to location throughout Yellowstone. Such interesting creatures, these Bison are. Short legs, hairy in the front, not in the back, small eyes, hunched posture, and a massive body. I wonder if they think we are funny looking too. In addition to the bison, the Park is full of giant deer, wild birds and coyotes. Whenever any of these animals are visible from the road, a bottleneck of cars form, with each tourist grabbing as many photos of the unassuming animals they can, before they start to feel conscious of the line of traffic behind them. We learned this happens often in the Park, and not to freak out when a random line of traffic begins to form.
After gathering wood for the fire, and having some trusty soup for dinner, Daniel and I got the fire started and got out the guitars. After learning a song from Wilco’s new album, we tried to play the song together. While we have played music together for a long time, it has always been difficult. I come from the school where I am very accustomed to playing with other people, and very seldom play by myself. Daniel, on the other hand, plays by himself the majority of the time. With both of us expecting different things of the other and our personality differences as evident as our dirty clothes, we began to argue about how the music should be played. After telling Daniel that he was “so hard to play with,” he got up and left the fire. This was not the first and definitely not the last argument of the trip, but the difference with this one was that it involved music, something we both care deeply about, but look at from completely different perspectives. Looking back on the argument, I believe there was a lot of big brother/little brother anxiety wrapped up in the disagreement, hitting even closer to home. I guess there are some things that we are just not supposed to see eye to eye on.
With the funds running low and our time on the road growing short, we are in for some long travel days ahead. As I am writing this entry, Daniel and I have been on the road for 6 hours with another 2 ahead of us before our destination. Traveling to the Badlands National Park (which turned out to us staying at the Lakota Indian Reservation) yesterday, we clocked almost 11 hours in the car. These long hours are taking a little bit of a toll on our tempers (which may have been a big contributing factor to the earlier tussle), but with a new injection of music (thanks Oliver, Amanda, and the Heffernans!) hopefully the drives will be a little better.
Approaching Bloomington, Indiana as our next main destination Saturday-ish and more from the road soon. Thanks for reading.
Day 40 and 41 – Portland, Oregon
Interstate 5 has been a companion on this leg of the journey and from within its white lines I start this entry. Daniel and I are on the road to Seattle and Mount St. Helens is staring at us as we look out of the right side of the CR-V (our other constant companion of our voyage). There are so many stories to be told since my last entry and I will probably have to share the majority of them individually with friends, family and fellow travelers as time passes on, but there is a beauty in sharing these undocumented experiences, letting time polish their individuality from the journey itself. I hope I’ll get to share some of them with you.
Day 40 and 41 – Portland, Oregon
Portland has always held a particular place in my psyche, one consisting of lots of young, hip kids in plaid shirts and think glasses, local brews offered at every hole in the wall, and a particular smugness exhibited by those living within its proper. All of these impressions were established when I was 3,000 miles away! Pulling into Portland, some of these expectations were met, some were debunked, but actually experiencing “Stump Town” firsthand was more satisfying than any IPA could be.
Two days before arriving into Portland, we had stayed with a woman named Megan in Medford, Oregon. We were Megan’s first couch surfers and we could tell by her nervous acceptance of our request that she was a little uncomfortable at the proposal of 2 young (and probably smelly) strangers taking shelter in her abode. However, after a long talk about India, the South, sharing some wine and cooking dinner with her, it was like we were old buddies (or cousins as we would soon become to be known). We told Megan we were heading to Portland and she graciously called her brother, David, and asked him if we could pitch our tent in his yard while we were in town. We did not hear his response before we left, so pulling into Portland a few days later, we cold-called David to see if he (and his family) might mind us crashing with them. It took them a little while to get back to us, so in the meantime, we investigated the city.
We were told by two girls we camped with to check out 21st and 23rd streets off of Burnside for places to eat, drink and take in the scene, so this is where we first headed. This was a cool area of the city and we caught an awesome street drummer (playing on buckets and pan lids) on 23rd! We also think we ran into Jim Gaffigan, the comedian, after his son he told us his 18 month old could skateboard. We still can’t figure out if it was him or not, but check the photos to see for yourself!
After a trip to the local Goodwill, we received the call from David we had a place to stay for the night. After checking out Hawthorne St. (another awesome area of Portland), we headed to Oregon City to meet the Annand’s.
An introduction of the family is necessary. David, the father of the household, is the brother of Megan (who we couchsurfed with in Medford, OR). Lisa is the mother of the house, and the two of them have two daughters, Chloe (14) and Emma (9). Oh, and I can’t forget Sammy, the brownish red dog who asked for love like people ask, “How are you?”
This family is amazing. The openness they exuded to Daniel and I was inspiring. There were instruments (guitars, ukuleles, pianos, marimbas, and harmonicas) all over the house, books scattered everywhere, the girls were both in a bi-lingual school studying Spanish, and the communication between the members of the family was really amazing to see. The children knew all about their parents’ work and the parents were familiar with most aspects of the children’s lives in a very organic way. We spent the night telling the family about our travels and getting to know each of them.
The next morning, while Chloe was sleeping, Daniel, Emma and I had an impromptu jam session on marimba, piano and harmonium over “No Woman, No Cry,” after finishing some of Lisa’s delicious pancakes. We then recorded a song together on Emma’s keyboard and had a blast doing it. We loved Emma’s openness to play with us and her enthusiasm for the music was contagious. Big kudos to her and her folks for giving her that exposure. After Chloe woke up, we heard her play piano and were very impressed as well.
Lisa and Emma then took us around downtown Oregon City to the end of the Oregon Trail (!!) and to their local Library to get a free pass to the Japanese Gardens in Portland! So cool this is offered by the library. Daniel and I then headed into the city to check out some of the sights. The Portland Japanese Garden was one of the coolest things we’ve done on the trip. This was a part of Portland’s Washington Park and seeing an authentic Japanese Garden was a photographer’s dream. The colors were subdued, yet vibrant, and the organization of the Gardens were designed with the precision of a surgeon’s hand. From there we headed back to Hawthorne St. to Powell’s Books and oh man, what a bookstore. Daniel went in before I did and would not let me browse around the store for fear of me being there all day. I could have stayed a week. It’s a must in Portland.
After talking to some locals in a community garden and hanging out in a park near Hawthorne, Daniel and I decided to get a burrito a Cha Cha Cha. We were enjoying our burrito, and I am not lying, none other than Dave Chappell walks by us on the sidewalk. Daniel and I both did doubletakes and looked at each other with the expression, “Was that who I think it was?” Sure enough, Dave was with his wife and had a entourage of fans following him down the street. He looked really healthy and muscular, which was amazing to see after his tough times following his TV show.
A quiet night of Indian food, meeting the Annand’s grandparents, aiding in Emma’s anticipation of seeing the new Harry Potter movie at midnight (!), and sharing stories with David and Lisa ended a great time with a wonderful family. I feel blessed to have gotten to learn, share and spend time with them. I hope I can adopt some of their family practices if I am blessed with a family of my own one day. Daniel and I both agreed that staying with a family was a rejuvenating and got us ready for the next leg of the journey.
Day 40 and 41 – Portland, Oregon
Portland has always held a particular place in my psyche, one consisting of lots of young, hip kids in plaid shirts and think glasses, local brews offered at every hole in the wall, and a particular smugness exhibited by those living within its proper. All of these impressions were established when I was 3,000 miles away! Pulling into Portland, some of these expectations were met, some were debunked, but actually experiencing “Stump Town” firsthand was more satisfying than any IPA could be.
Two days before arriving into Portland, we had stayed with a woman named Megan in Medford, Oregon. We were Megan’s first couch surfers and we could tell by her nervous acceptance of our request that she was a little uncomfortable at the proposal of 2 young (and probably smelly) strangers taking shelter in her abode. However, after a long talk about India, the South, sharing some wine and cooking dinner with her, it was like we were old buddies (or cousins as we would soon become to be known). We told Megan we were heading to Portland and she graciously called her brother, David, and asked him if we could pitch our tent in his yard while we were in town. We did not hear his response before we left, so pulling into Portland a few days later, we cold-called David to see if he (and his family) might mind us crashing with them. It took them a little while to get back to us, so in the meantime, we investigated the city.
We were told by two girls we camped with to check out 21st and 23rd streets off of Burnside for places to eat, drink and take in the scene, so this is where we first headed. This was a cool area of the city and we caught an awesome street drummer (playing on buckets and pan lids) on 23rd! We also think we ran into Jim Gaffigan, the comedian, after his son he told us his 18 month old could skateboard. We still can’t figure out if it was him or not, but check the photos to see for yourself!
After a trip to the local Goodwill, we received the call from David we had a place to stay for the night. After checking out Hawthorne St. (another awesome area of Portland), we headed to Oregon City to meet the Annand’s.
An introduction of the family is necessary. David, the father of the household, is the brother of Megan (who we couchsurfed with in Medford, OR). Lisa is the mother of the house, and the two of them have two daughters, Chloe (14) and Emma (9). Oh, and I can’t forget Sammy, the brownish red dog who asked for love like people ask, “How are you?”
This family is amazing. The openness they exuded to Daniel and I was inspiring. There were instruments (guitars, ukuleles, pianos, marimbas, and harmonicas) all over the house, books scattered everywhere, the girls were both in a bi-lingual school studying Spanish, and the communication between the members of the family was really amazing to see. The children knew all about their parents’ work and the parents were familiar with most aspects of the children’s lives in a very organic way. We spent the night telling the family about our travels and getting to know each of them.
The next morning, while Chloe was sleeping, Daniel, Emma and I had an impromptu jam session on marimba, piano and harmonium over “No Woman, No Cry,” after finishing some of Lisa’s delicious pancakes. We then recorded a song together on Emma’s keyboard and had a blast doing it. We loved Emma’s openness to play with us and her enthusiasm for the music was contagious. Big kudos to her and her folks for giving her that exposure. After Chloe woke up, we heard her play piano and were very impressed as well.
Lisa and Emma then took us around downtown Oregon City to the end of the Oregon Trail (!!) and to their local Library to get a free pass to the Japanese Gardens in Portland! So cool this is offered by the library. Daniel and I then headed into the city to check out some of the sights. The Portland Japanese Garden was one of the coolest things we’ve done on the trip. This was a part of Portland’s Washington Park and seeing an authentic Japanese Garden was a photographer’s dream. The colors were subdued, yet vibrant, and the organization of the Gardens were designed with the precision of a surgeon’s hand. From there we headed back to Hawthorne St. to Powell’s Books and oh man, what a bookstore. Daniel went in before I did and would not let me browse around the store for fear of me being there all day. I could have stayed a week. It’s a must in Portland.
After talking to some locals in a community garden and hanging out in a park near Hawthorne, Daniel and I decided to get a burrito a Cha Cha Cha. We were enjoying our burrito, and I am not lying, none other than Dave Chappell walks by us on the sidewalk. Daniel and I both did doubletakes and looked at each other with the expression, “Was that who I think it was?” Sure enough, Dave was with his wife and had a entourage of fans following him down the street. He looked really healthy and muscular, which was amazing to see after his tough times following his TV show.
A quiet night of Indian food, meeting the Annand’s grandparents, aiding in Emma’s anticipation of seeing the new Harry Potter movie at midnight (!), and sharing stories with David and Lisa ended a great time with a wonderful family. I feel blessed to have gotten to learn, share and spend time with them. I hope I can adopt some of their family practices if I am blessed with a family of my own one day. Daniel and I both agreed that staying with a family was a rejuvenating and got us ready for the next leg of the journey.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Comfort of Strangers
After buying a harmonium at the Ali Akbar Khan School of Music, seeing some old friends from the Smithsonian, camping at Yosemite and coming back to Alameda for the evening, Daniel and I are back on the road, heading north. Our destination- the Redwood Forests of Northern California. While as of this writing, we do not have a place to sleep for the evening, we have faith that we will find a comfortable place either inside or outside to rest our heads. While this mindset of “going with the flow” and “being in the moment” is a little unnerving, it has led to exhibitions of generosity, hospitality and kindness by strangers, offered (and accepted!!) to Daniel and I. I wanted to dedicate this blog to those on the road who have offered us a meal, a place to sleep, or the combination of them both, and share a story of one instance of particular generosity.
Erin in Santa Barbara –
Leaving southern Los Angeles, we encountered the worst bout of traffic I’ve experienced in my life. What seemed like an eternity was, in actuality, 2 and a half hours in traffic, going a maximum of 15 mph the whole time up the 405. While this may be commonplace for Los Angelinos, it threw our “schedule” of making it halfway to San Francisco completely out of whack.
After finally getting through the traffic and filling up with gas, which took another 30 minutes, we were back on the road. But seeing as we had just lost 3 hours on our journey, the reality set in that we were not going to make it halfway to San Francisco that evening.
Upon pondering alternatives, we agreed to stop in Santa Barbara for the night and see what would happen. We set the GPS to head toward downtown Santa Barbara and threw our fate to the wind with the kind of anticipation only matched by a betting on your best hand in a game of poker. Upon arriving in downtown, Daniel and I began to argue a about what we would do in Santa Barbara. Daniel was tired of driving and just wanted to go have some fun, while I was concerned with finding someplace to lay our heads. After some bickering about “letting” things happen and “making” things happen, we split up to investigate Santa Barbara in our own ways. Off Daniel went on his skateboard and with the help of my iPod (thanks Janet!) and the free internet I stole from an apartment complex, I started to look for places to stay. The local hostel was booked and because it was the July 4th weekend, all the hotels were extremely overpriced, making that option an impossibility.
Scratching my head for an alternative, I went to investigate some local parks to see where we might find a spot to camp in the city for the evening. This gave me a chance to see Santa Barbara, and man, it was a beautiful city. The architecture reminded me of something in my past (past-life?) and I felt an immediate connection with my surroundings as the slight panic of not having a place to sleep left me.
Upon leaving one of the parks, I saw a girl walking her dog in an unfamiliar fashion. The dog was completely free, walking with the girl without a leash, only guided by her commands and his choice to obey them. Intrigued, I asked the girl about the dog and commented that she must have trained him well! She relayed that yes, she was very close with her dog and they walked together everyday, sometimes three times a day! I was introduced to her (Erin) and her dog (Oliver), as we continued our conversation about Santa Barbara, our travels, her travels, her home in Vermont, going to Bonnaroo, and the difference between the east and west coast in the US. The conversation led to her front porch where we continued the talk and played with Oliver.
I told her about our situation not having a place to stay in Santa Barbara and she sympathized, but said that out of courtesy to her roommate, she couldn’t give us a place to stay. I understood and we continued our talk. Upon getting a call from Daniel to meet up, I bid adieu to Erin and her faithful Oliver and thanked her for the talk.
Walking back to meet Daniel, the panic of not having a place to sleep set back in. It looked like it was going to be a night in the car or on the beach, avoiding the sight of the police. But, a thought hit me on the walk; if we can’t sleep at Erin’s house, could we set up our tent outside in her yard? Upon meeting Daniel we headed back to Erin’s to pop the question. Taking into consideration that I had just met this girl 20 minutes ago, that she had never met Daniel and that 2 guys were asking 1 girl if we could stay with her, I was a bit nervous about our proposal.
We arrived at Erin’s and knocked on the door. A part of me hoped she had already gone to bed and would not answer the door, but as she appeared on the other side of the door, I introduced her to Daniel and popped the question, most likely in a fashion akin to asking a girl out for a first date.
From her face, I think Erin was a little shocked and surprised that we even asked, but upon surveying our situation, not only offered us the yard, but also said she would give us her couch to sleep on!! We gladly accepted and came inside to get know her better and for some added playtime with Oliver.
Erin shared her kitchen with us, stories of growing up in Vermont, encounters with the police in Oklahoma (which were hilarious) and other stories of the road that we could identify with. I suppose it was these travels and the closeness of the road to her heart that compelled her to take in two smelly strangers like Daniel and I.
In a matter of minutes, we had gone from no place to stay and not knowing a soul in Santa Barbara, to having a place to rest for the evening and making friends with bartender, traveler, and this all around cool girl, Erin. Displays of compassion and hospitality like Erin showed to us, even in my most cynical states, will remind me of the good each inhabitant of this world possesses.
There have been countless cases of folks showing us hospitality on this trip, from Terry in Oakland, to Ashley in Durango, to dinner with Tye in Denver and to Adele in Albuquerque. We will keep their kindness in mind as we meet other travelers to whom we might be able to pay it forward. Maybe you can find someone in need today to pass this compassion onto. It comes full circle!
Looking out my window at the vineyards as we head to Northern California . . .
Erin in Santa Barbara –
Leaving southern Los Angeles, we encountered the worst bout of traffic I’ve experienced in my life. What seemed like an eternity was, in actuality, 2 and a half hours in traffic, going a maximum of 15 mph the whole time up the 405. While this may be commonplace for Los Angelinos, it threw our “schedule” of making it halfway to San Francisco completely out of whack.
After finally getting through the traffic and filling up with gas, which took another 30 minutes, we were back on the road. But seeing as we had just lost 3 hours on our journey, the reality set in that we were not going to make it halfway to San Francisco that evening.
Upon pondering alternatives, we agreed to stop in Santa Barbara for the night and see what would happen. We set the GPS to head toward downtown Santa Barbara and threw our fate to the wind with the kind of anticipation only matched by a betting on your best hand in a game of poker. Upon arriving in downtown, Daniel and I began to argue a about what we would do in Santa Barbara. Daniel was tired of driving and just wanted to go have some fun, while I was concerned with finding someplace to lay our heads. After some bickering about “letting” things happen and “making” things happen, we split up to investigate Santa Barbara in our own ways. Off Daniel went on his skateboard and with the help of my iPod (thanks Janet!) and the free internet I stole from an apartment complex, I started to look for places to stay. The local hostel was booked and because it was the July 4th weekend, all the hotels were extremely overpriced, making that option an impossibility.
Scratching my head for an alternative, I went to investigate some local parks to see where we might find a spot to camp in the city for the evening. This gave me a chance to see Santa Barbara, and man, it was a beautiful city. The architecture reminded me of something in my past (past-life?) and I felt an immediate connection with my surroundings as the slight panic of not having a place to sleep left me.
Upon leaving one of the parks, I saw a girl walking her dog in an unfamiliar fashion. The dog was completely free, walking with the girl without a leash, only guided by her commands and his choice to obey them. Intrigued, I asked the girl about the dog and commented that she must have trained him well! She relayed that yes, she was very close with her dog and they walked together everyday, sometimes three times a day! I was introduced to her (Erin) and her dog (Oliver), as we continued our conversation about Santa Barbara, our travels, her travels, her home in Vermont, going to Bonnaroo, and the difference between the east and west coast in the US. The conversation led to her front porch where we continued the talk and played with Oliver.
I told her about our situation not having a place to stay in Santa Barbara and she sympathized, but said that out of courtesy to her roommate, she couldn’t give us a place to stay. I understood and we continued our talk. Upon getting a call from Daniel to meet up, I bid adieu to Erin and her faithful Oliver and thanked her for the talk.
Walking back to meet Daniel, the panic of not having a place to sleep set back in. It looked like it was going to be a night in the car or on the beach, avoiding the sight of the police. But, a thought hit me on the walk; if we can’t sleep at Erin’s house, could we set up our tent outside in her yard? Upon meeting Daniel we headed back to Erin’s to pop the question. Taking into consideration that I had just met this girl 20 minutes ago, that she had never met Daniel and that 2 guys were asking 1 girl if we could stay with her, I was a bit nervous about our proposal.
We arrived at Erin’s and knocked on the door. A part of me hoped she had already gone to bed and would not answer the door, but as she appeared on the other side of the door, I introduced her to Daniel and popped the question, most likely in a fashion akin to asking a girl out for a first date.
From her face, I think Erin was a little shocked and surprised that we even asked, but upon surveying our situation, not only offered us the yard, but also said she would give us her couch to sleep on!! We gladly accepted and came inside to get know her better and for some added playtime with Oliver.
Erin shared her kitchen with us, stories of growing up in Vermont, encounters with the police in Oklahoma (which were hilarious) and other stories of the road that we could identify with. I suppose it was these travels and the closeness of the road to her heart that compelled her to take in two smelly strangers like Daniel and I.
In a matter of minutes, we had gone from no place to stay and not knowing a soul in Santa Barbara, to having a place to rest for the evening and making friends with bartender, traveler, and this all around cool girl, Erin. Displays of compassion and hospitality like Erin showed to us, even in my most cynical states, will remind me of the good each inhabitant of this world possesses.
There have been countless cases of folks showing us hospitality on this trip, from Terry in Oakland, to Ashley in Durango, to dinner with Tye in Denver and to Adele in Albuquerque. We will keep their kindness in mind as we meet other travelers to whom we might be able to pay it forward. Maybe you can find someone in need today to pass this compassion onto. It comes full circle!
Looking out my window at the vineyards as we head to Northern California . . .
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Day 27 – San Francisco
Happy 4th of July!!
It seems that Daniel and I could not get out (or find time to blog) in LA, but we did find time to record some music in the studio, spend a few days at the beach, see some cool music, go to Yogananda’s Self Realization Fellowship, make some new friends, see some old ones, and have some great food along the way (did I mention Santa Barbara??). But, it’s time to move forward to today.
Day 27 – San Francisco
One of the observations that Daniel and I have had about California was the lack of edge we felt while being here. Everything has been so relaxed and even LA there was not the energy that you feel in many parts of the East Coast. San Francisco had this edge, but in a good way! Maybe it’s the people, the crowded streets, or the hills we walked up . . . but it had something we’d been missing.
After staying the night with our Mom’s childhood friend Terry, we headed into the city a little before noon. Being that it was the 4th, the public parking garages had raised all of the day-long rates, making it $25 for us to park the car for the day. Ouch. But, once the car was in place, we were off.
We started the day with some cappuccinos in Little Italy, which were nice. I was wish there was more when I get to the bottom of the cup . . . ce la vie. The feel of Little Italy was nice and I wish we’d had the budget to have a nice meal in that part of town. Next was Chinatown. Wow, what a happening place. From the old guys playing cards in the park, to the dried fish being sold, to wondering “am I still in the United States?” Chinatown was a welcomed culture shock. The streets were filled with people and the smells of food I’ve never seen before were intense as we walked through the streets. I’ve learned the Chinese character for “tea” so it was cool seeing that in some of the stores.
After getting lost, we ended up in Japantown and the Fillmore area. It just so happened that there was a Jazz Festival happening on Fillmore St. and we partook of the Festivities. There were folks all over the place and the music was rocking! We saw a group called the Jazzonauts (with an incredible piano player who couldn’t have been more than 19), who were quite good at contemporary jazz and really young (scary). The seemed like Berklee machines (musicians – you know what I’m talking about). Walking through all the vendors made me hate myself a little for choosing to be a vegetarian, but I think seeing all the meat in the windows in Chinatown earlier in the day made me think I was making a smart choice for the betterment of my body.
It was then off to the Haight. Legendary in music history for being the center of the counter culture movement led by groups like the Grateful Dead, Haight-Ashbury still has the air that I would imagine it had in 1969. Tie-dye shirts, dirty white folks with dogs, lots of smoke shops, and an anarchist bookstore (who knew??!) were some of the sights we saw coming into this part of the city. By this time Daniel and I had not eaten anything all and decided to stop at the People’s Café for a late lunch/early dinner. It was Mmmmm good. Their veggie lasagna had cinnamon in it!!
After finishing the food and finding a cool blue blazer (yes!!), I ran into the famed record store, Amoeba Records. Working in the music industry, it has pained me to see the demise of the record store. I spent so much time there growing up, working, buying and learning about music, that it made me sad to see that the new trend toward digital music was robbing people of this experience. Amoeba renewed that feeling of excitement about visiting a record store, and man, what a selection!!! They had tons of Folkways stuff, lots of World music, a ton of jazz records, and they even had the majority of Rahim AlHaj’s catalog! Their record buyer knows what’s going on. I got outta there and spend $50 (could have been a lotttt more) on the new Wilco album, Jorge Drexler’s 12 Segundos de Oscuridad, a Ruben Blades record I love but never had physically, and a record highly recommended by Pat Metheny called We Three by Phineas Newborn, Roy Haynes and Paul Chambers. Soooo looking forward to checking these out. Amoeba – you rock.
After a quick visit to Golden Gate Park, it was off to see the fireworks for the 4th! SF did a great job with these and Daniel and I found a great spot to see the activities. They even had fireworks that exploded in the shape of a planet with a ring around it (aka Saturn). A nice way to end the day.
Tomorrow we will investigate Berkeley, have some famous Berkeley burritos and maybe meet up with a friend of Daniel’s. Ahh, maybe we will get to the Tea Garden at Golden Gate park too! Suggestions for Northern California are welcomed. . . .
It seems that Daniel and I could not get out (or find time to blog) in LA, but we did find time to record some music in the studio, spend a few days at the beach, see some cool music, go to Yogananda’s Self Realization Fellowship, make some new friends, see some old ones, and have some great food along the way (did I mention Santa Barbara??). But, it’s time to move forward to today.
Day 27 – San Francisco
One of the observations that Daniel and I have had about California was the lack of edge we felt while being here. Everything has been so relaxed and even LA there was not the energy that you feel in many parts of the East Coast. San Francisco had this edge, but in a good way! Maybe it’s the people, the crowded streets, or the hills we walked up . . . but it had something we’d been missing.
After staying the night with our Mom’s childhood friend Terry, we headed into the city a little before noon. Being that it was the 4th, the public parking garages had raised all of the day-long rates, making it $25 for us to park the car for the day. Ouch. But, once the car was in place, we were off.
We started the day with some cappuccinos in Little Italy, which were nice. I was wish there was more when I get to the bottom of the cup . . . ce la vie. The feel of Little Italy was nice and I wish we’d had the budget to have a nice meal in that part of town. Next was Chinatown. Wow, what a happening place. From the old guys playing cards in the park, to the dried fish being sold, to wondering “am I still in the United States?” Chinatown was a welcomed culture shock. The streets were filled with people and the smells of food I’ve never seen before were intense as we walked through the streets. I’ve learned the Chinese character for “tea” so it was cool seeing that in some of the stores.
After getting lost, we ended up in Japantown and the Fillmore area. It just so happened that there was a Jazz Festival happening on Fillmore St. and we partook of the Festivities. There were folks all over the place and the music was rocking! We saw a group called the Jazzonauts (with an incredible piano player who couldn’t have been more than 19), who were quite good at contemporary jazz and really young (scary). The seemed like Berklee machines (musicians – you know what I’m talking about). Walking through all the vendors made me hate myself a little for choosing to be a vegetarian, but I think seeing all the meat in the windows in Chinatown earlier in the day made me think I was making a smart choice for the betterment of my body.
It was then off to the Haight. Legendary in music history for being the center of the counter culture movement led by groups like the Grateful Dead, Haight-Ashbury still has the air that I would imagine it had in 1969. Tie-dye shirts, dirty white folks with dogs, lots of smoke shops, and an anarchist bookstore (who knew??!) were some of the sights we saw coming into this part of the city. By this time Daniel and I had not eaten anything all and decided to stop at the People’s Café for a late lunch/early dinner. It was Mmmmm good. Their veggie lasagna had cinnamon in it!!
After finishing the food and finding a cool blue blazer (yes!!), I ran into the famed record store, Amoeba Records. Working in the music industry, it has pained me to see the demise of the record store. I spent so much time there growing up, working, buying and learning about music, that it made me sad to see that the new trend toward digital music was robbing people of this experience. Amoeba renewed that feeling of excitement about visiting a record store, and man, what a selection!!! They had tons of Folkways stuff, lots of World music, a ton of jazz records, and they even had the majority of Rahim AlHaj’s catalog! Their record buyer knows what’s going on. I got outta there and spend $50 (could have been a lotttt more) on the new Wilco album, Jorge Drexler’s 12 Segundos de Oscuridad, a Ruben Blades record I love but never had physically, and a record highly recommended by Pat Metheny called We Three by Phineas Newborn, Roy Haynes and Paul Chambers. Soooo looking forward to checking these out. Amoeba – you rock.
After a quick visit to Golden Gate Park, it was off to see the fireworks for the 4th! SF did a great job with these and Daniel and I found a great spot to see the activities. They even had fireworks that exploded in the shape of a planet with a ring around it (aka Saturn). A nice way to end the day.
Tomorrow we will investigate Berkeley, have some famous Berkeley burritos and maybe meet up with a friend of Daniel’s. Ahh, maybe we will get to the Tea Garden at Golden Gate park too! Suggestions for Northern California are welcomed. . . .
Day 19 and 20 - San Diego, CA
Sometimes you wonder what you did right to be in the place you are in. Well, now is one of those moments. As I write this blog, I am sitting about 30 feet from the Pacific Ocean in San Clemente, California, listening to the waves and looking at the moon. Combine that with a Sierra Nevada and some music from Daniel and in this moment, life is truly good. Having moments like this just makes me remember how lucky I am to be here and to have the opportunity to put these experiences into prose. So here we go . . . .
Day 19 and 20 – San Diego, California
Ahh, California. You always see the movies and hear the songs that talk about the “California Soul” but to be here and experience it (especially during the summer) is a completely different thing. That feeling that all those singers and actors try to get across is here and I’m in the thick of it. It’s hard to describe. From an East Coast perspective it’s a “let-your-hair-down” and grab a beer attitude all day everyday. Everyone loves to have a good time, all the women are beautiful, the Mexican food is authentic and delicious, pot is pretty much legal, and the beach is always close by. What’s not to love?? This mindset slapped us in the face the minute we got into San Diego.
From the first looks of things, I did not see a difference between San Diego and say, Myrtle Beach. Both are beach based economies, a little dirty and all the shops sell oversized beach towels. Boy, was I wrong. After getting some tasty Mexican food at a local taco shop, Daniel and I met up with Scott Woodruff (aka Stick Figure), who I used to live with in Argentina. Scott and I recorded some music while we were living in Mendoza, and it had been 2 years since I’d seen him! Since he has become a pretty famous Reggae artist and is now working on his third album. He moved to San Diego just a few months ago and Daniel and I met up with him and his friends while they were hanging on the beach. We caught up about all the people we hung out with in Mendoza and played with his dog Ollie (who he brought back with him from Mendoza, no less). It was wonderful to catch up and to think back to all the good times had in that town. Sign number one I need to get back there.
After meeting Scott, Daniel and I hung out on Garnet St. in Mission Beach. It was a cool area with lots cool shops and bookstores. We then went to meet with Brandon, the guy we were couch surfing with for the evening. As soon as we walked into the apartment, Brandon hit us with his in-your-face personality. Within 5 minutes of being there, he was telling us about his lost love in Philadelphia and about how he would be moving to Buenos Aires in September to teach English. Sign number two I need to get back down there. We talked for a long time about the basics of traveling to Argentina, my experiences there, and things to look out for while there.
We hung out for a while at Brandon’s, talked with his roommates, and even listened to some live Kenny Garrett (did not see that one coming from these California surfers!!). Not too shabby.
After that, we headed down to Henry’s food market on Garnet to get some dinner, of a muffin, some granola and a half-pound of vinegary veggie salad. Sounds scrumptious hun? The California attitude was everywhere in this place. From the copius local vegetables to the laid back cashiers, Henry’s had the vibe.
Daniel and I found Scott’s apartment and kicked it with him and his friends for a while before heading back to sleep for the next day.
After a nice sleep at Brandon’s (who we never saw after our first meeting . . .), we started to plan our day. It happened around Mexican food.
Being from the South you always hear about “real” Mexican food. I always felt a little cheated inside knowing that everything I ate on the East Coast not authentic Mexican, but nonetheless I always enjoyed it. On talking to folks about the trip before-hand, everyone said, “Be sure to have the Mexican food in California.” So, having this larger-than-life idea of what “true” Mexican food is, and being 15 minutes from the Mexican border in San Diego, I thought we should venture out to find the real stuff. So I Googled (creatively) “best Mexican+San Diego” and after reading some reviews, I found the spot. Las Cuatro Milapas was going to be the holy grail of Mexican food. The restaurant was located in a part of San Diego called Barrio Logan, so we showered and headed that way.
One of my loves is Latino culture. The music, the language, the importance of family, and the light approach to life all ring within me and upon arriving in Barrio Logan, we found that the neighborhood was important in the local Latino culture. It is the home of Chicano Park, a piece of land under the freeways taken over by Mexican students and protestors from the city of San Diego in 1970, and a cultural center for those still wanting to connect with their mostly Aztlan roots. We met some Aztlan ladies there who showed us traditional dances and rhythms that they congregate to practice together. The dances were beautiful and there were 3 generations of Aztlans doing this was inspiring to see. Witnessing the practices after lunch made the Ethnomusicologist within me elated and I could have watched them dance and drum all day.
After the lesson and talk with the women, it was off to Las Cuatro Milpas. Oh my god. Eating their beans, rice, and tortillas was unbelievable. It was once of those meals where there is just nothing to say afterwards and you sit in awe of what you just consumed. With a smile on my face, I knew how real Mexican is supposed to taste.
We then headed down to Ocean Beach to see Scott and his band play at a street Festival, which was nice. They had just started playing together and sounded tight. Good to see Scott was now playing his music with a group.
After the Festival, it was off to LA. . . .
Day 19 and 20 – San Diego, California
Ahh, California. You always see the movies and hear the songs that talk about the “California Soul” but to be here and experience it (especially during the summer) is a completely different thing. That feeling that all those singers and actors try to get across is here and I’m in the thick of it. It’s hard to describe. From an East Coast perspective it’s a “let-your-hair-down” and grab a beer attitude all day everyday. Everyone loves to have a good time, all the women are beautiful, the Mexican food is authentic and delicious, pot is pretty much legal, and the beach is always close by. What’s not to love?? This mindset slapped us in the face the minute we got into San Diego.
From the first looks of things, I did not see a difference between San Diego and say, Myrtle Beach. Both are beach based economies, a little dirty and all the shops sell oversized beach towels. Boy, was I wrong. After getting some tasty Mexican food at a local taco shop, Daniel and I met up with Scott Woodruff (aka Stick Figure), who I used to live with in Argentina. Scott and I recorded some music while we were living in Mendoza, and it had been 2 years since I’d seen him! Since he has become a pretty famous Reggae artist and is now working on his third album. He moved to San Diego just a few months ago and Daniel and I met up with him and his friends while they were hanging on the beach. We caught up about all the people we hung out with in Mendoza and played with his dog Ollie (who he brought back with him from Mendoza, no less). It was wonderful to catch up and to think back to all the good times had in that town. Sign number one I need to get back there.
After meeting Scott, Daniel and I hung out on Garnet St. in Mission Beach. It was a cool area with lots cool shops and bookstores. We then went to meet with Brandon, the guy we were couch surfing with for the evening. As soon as we walked into the apartment, Brandon hit us with his in-your-face personality. Within 5 minutes of being there, he was telling us about his lost love in Philadelphia and about how he would be moving to Buenos Aires in September to teach English. Sign number two I need to get back down there. We talked for a long time about the basics of traveling to Argentina, my experiences there, and things to look out for while there.
We hung out for a while at Brandon’s, talked with his roommates, and even listened to some live Kenny Garrett (did not see that one coming from these California surfers!!). Not too shabby.
After that, we headed down to Henry’s food market on Garnet to get some dinner, of a muffin, some granola and a half-pound of vinegary veggie salad. Sounds scrumptious hun? The California attitude was everywhere in this place. From the copius local vegetables to the laid back cashiers, Henry’s had the vibe.
Daniel and I found Scott’s apartment and kicked it with him and his friends for a while before heading back to sleep for the next day.
After a nice sleep at Brandon’s (who we never saw after our first meeting . . .), we started to plan our day. It happened around Mexican food.
Being from the South you always hear about “real” Mexican food. I always felt a little cheated inside knowing that everything I ate on the East Coast not authentic Mexican, but nonetheless I always enjoyed it. On talking to folks about the trip before-hand, everyone said, “Be sure to have the Mexican food in California.” So, having this larger-than-life idea of what “true” Mexican food is, and being 15 minutes from the Mexican border in San Diego, I thought we should venture out to find the real stuff. So I Googled (creatively) “best Mexican+San Diego” and after reading some reviews, I found the spot. Las Cuatro Milapas was going to be the holy grail of Mexican food. The restaurant was located in a part of San Diego called Barrio Logan, so we showered and headed that way.
One of my loves is Latino culture. The music, the language, the importance of family, and the light approach to life all ring within me and upon arriving in Barrio Logan, we found that the neighborhood was important in the local Latino culture. It is the home of Chicano Park, a piece of land under the freeways taken over by Mexican students and protestors from the city of San Diego in 1970, and a cultural center for those still wanting to connect with their mostly Aztlan roots. We met some Aztlan ladies there who showed us traditional dances and rhythms that they congregate to practice together. The dances were beautiful and there were 3 generations of Aztlans doing this was inspiring to see. Witnessing the practices after lunch made the Ethnomusicologist within me elated and I could have watched them dance and drum all day.
After the lesson and talk with the women, it was off to Las Cuatro Milpas. Oh my god. Eating their beans, rice, and tortillas was unbelievable. It was once of those meals where there is just nothing to say afterwards and you sit in awe of what you just consumed. With a smile on my face, I knew how real Mexican is supposed to taste.
We then headed down to Ocean Beach to see Scott and his band play at a street Festival, which was nice. They had just started playing together and sounded tight. Good to see Scott was now playing his music with a group.
After the Festival, it was off to LA. . . .
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Day 13 and 14 - Durango and Mesa Verde, CO and Grand Canyon
Hi there.
Sorry it has been a little while since the last blog, but we've had some crazy times in the past few days, starting with Denver.
If I learned from my Mom long ago, it’s that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all, but, there are a few things I have to say about Denver. Overall, it was a let down. We were staying with a friend of Daniel's at a place called Rhinoceropolis. The place functions as a DIY (Do It Yourself) venue for bands coming through the Denver area, and also a living space for 5 or 6 (I couldn't tell who lived there and who was just there all the time) in a big warehouse in a sketchy area of Denver. After coming from the Ashram, the dirtiness of the place (the entire thing was like a dive bar) was shocking. Daniel and I did the best we could with the situation, but after a few days it became too much.
On top of the messy living situation, I got an $80 ticket while driving in downtown Denver. Grrrr. Also, I went to see a friend on night in Breckenridge, Colorado and after waking up in the morning and having a cup of coffee, I did what most people do after finishing their coffee. Well, it just so happened that my visit to the restroom stopped up my friend's roommate's toilet. So here I am with my shit all over the place (literally), plunging the toilet, trying desperately to not have the worst nightmare of every house guest come true. Well, it did, and I had to pay a plumber $70 to fix the toilet. . . Bummer. The ticket and the bill from the plumber are in the photos.
So, when all of these things happen at once, I take it as a sign that you need to make a move, which Daniel and I did, and leads me to the new blog. . .
Day 13 and 14 - Durango and Mesa Verde, CO and Grand Canyon
After leaving Denver, we headed to Durango, CO in the southern part of the state. Durango rocks!!!! It totally renewed our positive feeling about Colorado and it felt like we were back on the right path when we arrived. Durango is the home of Fort Lewis College and had a great, laid-back college town feel. Main St. has some really cool shops and we saw a great street performance by Alexa Woodward and a member of her band. Their bus broke down and we had the pleasure of seeing them perform for free in the street! We also saw a beautiful rainbow (2 of them actually) after a short rainstorm put smiles on both of our faces.
In Durango, we couch surfed with a girl named Ashley, the girlfriend of the guy's house where we stayed. She cooked us a delicious dinner which Daniel and I devoured. We were hungrier than we thought. After dinner we hung out at the house and I watched AmoresPerros, a movie suggested to me by all my Colombian friends. It was a Mexican film and I had such a hard time understanding it that it took some of the enjoyment away. . . ce la vie.
It’s been funny how many things have been happening that remind me of my Colombian friends back in DC. The night before watching this movie, we met a guy named Bryce at Rhinoceropolis who sent last Christmas traveling through Colombia. He’d traveled to all the places my friends go on vacation, Tyrona, Santa Marta, Cartagena, etc. and it made me want to experience that place sooo badly. We had a party that night and I sent myself a drunk text message saying, “Stop fucking around. Go to Colombia.” Maybe that’s where my next journey will take me.
Speaking of traveling, I also found this awesome travel book called Vagabonding by Rolf Potts. It speaks to the misconception that many people have that they will never have enough money to travel, and gives tips for preparing for travel and strategies to get creative and save money while traveling. It’s been a nice companion on our down time. It is chock full of great traveling quotes as well. Here’s one I especially enjoy:
If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him.
Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Ok, back to Durango. After the movie, we hit the sack, preparing for the next day. We woke, meditated for a little while, and had a nice breakfast prepared again by Ashley.
We then headed down to the Summer Solstice Festival that was happening in downtown Durango. The Festival was set up as a celebration (Daniel calls it a cornucopia) of art and alternative living workshops, as well as music and food vendors. It was a step-up from a hippie festival in terms of planning, but had the same kind of vibe. We started off the morning with a group yoga session that we caught the tail end of, and I went to a workshop on Tai Chai which was interesting. Something I’ve wanted to try for a while. But, the real fun of the day started when I went to a workshop on kettle bells. This stuff rocks!!! Kettle bells are weights that look (you guessed it) like kettles and have different weights and sizes. You use the bells as resistance while you are performing specific movements and it was a great workout. I’ve always wanted a little more resistance when doing yoga and the kettle bells seems like its an answer to that need. Will definitely be looking this up when I get off the road.
Daniel and I attended a workshop on Acupuncture, and then headed down to get some free food courtesy of Food Not Bombs. These guys rock. They offer a free meal to whoever wants to come, for no charge. Just walk up, grab a plate, and enjoy. Its genius.
At the lunch we had a nice talk with my kettle bell instructor, Sage, who was an amazing guy. We didn’t get a long time to talk, but he left us with the feeling we were headed in the right direction.
From Durango, we headed to Mesa Verde State Park. This is home to Native American cave dwellings that are thought to have been constructed around 1200. This makes them some of the oldest buildings in the (now) United States and it was a little crazy for me to come to that realization. In my mind, I would expect to ancient buildings in New York, or DC, etc. but to find these structures in the middle of nowhere Colorado shook things up a little for me. I feel that my sensitivity towards Native Americans, their way of life, and their struggle has been raised by this trip. I want to know more.
The cave dwellings were amazingly constructed and had special rooms called kivas that were of a genius design. They were circular covered rooms that stayed 15 degrees warmer in the winter and 10 degrees cooler in the summer, that helped Native Americans function through the seasons. They were also constructed to utilize air circulation, that kept fires going in the kivas, despite the harsh conditions. The pictures might do a better job of giving you an idea about these structures.
After seeing the cave dwellings, Daniel and I found a outlook due west and saw the sunset over the mountains. It was an amazing way to end the day and I hope the photos capture a little bit of the beauty we witnessed.
The next day we awoke to a meal of all you-can-eat pancakes for $5.95, courtesy of the Knife Edge Café (sounds brutal!) at Mesa Verde. It was nice to get our bellies full and then we headed off to the Grand Canyon National Park. The drive was amazing and there were a few times we pulled off just to take photos. A geologists’ dream.
After about 6 hours in the car, we pulled up to the Grand Canyon National Park. Not knowing we had to pay $25 just to get inside (Grrr), we entered the Park and found the first lookout we could find. The photos do not do justice to the beauty and vastness of the Grand Canyon. I mean, its like Texas, its just big!!!! The literature said the rocks at the bottom of the Canyon (Vishnu Basement rocks) were between 1,840 and 1,680 million years old and from the lookouts you could see for miles. Heck, just to the bottom of the Canyon, it was a mile down!! After a short hike and a nice meditation on the rocks, Daniel and I went to set up our tent. We had a nice dinner of vegetable soup (Amy’s!!! Yeah!!!) and bread given to us at Food Not Bombs.
After talking about some expenses of the trip, Daniel and I agreed we should try to make a little money out of the journey. So, we picked up the guitars and started writing some songs about the people we’d met on the journey, in hopes of putting a little repertoire together to perform. After a little jamming, we turned up some nice melodies and a few songs. The one about Denver I particularly like. It’s great to be able to share music in that way and its funny how the personality differences between Daniel and I come out in the music. Maybe we can perform them for you the next time we see each other.
After seeing the sunset at the Grand Canyon, and finding a place to stay in Sedona, we packed into our yellow tent, to rest for the next day.
On another note, my thoughts and prayers go out to the families to the people injured and killed in the Metrorail crash in DC yesterday. I took the Metro everyday while living in DC and its surreal, not to mention sad, to see the photos and think about that accident.
Off to Sedona!!!
Sorry it has been a little while since the last blog, but we've had some crazy times in the past few days, starting with Denver.
If I learned from my Mom long ago, it’s that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all, but, there are a few things I have to say about Denver. Overall, it was a let down. We were staying with a friend of Daniel's at a place called Rhinoceropolis. The place functions as a DIY (Do It Yourself) venue for bands coming through the Denver area, and also a living space for 5 or 6 (I couldn't tell who lived there and who was just there all the time) in a big warehouse in a sketchy area of Denver. After coming from the Ashram, the dirtiness of the place (the entire thing was like a dive bar) was shocking. Daniel and I did the best we could with the situation, but after a few days it became too much.
On top of the messy living situation, I got an $80 ticket while driving in downtown Denver. Grrrr. Also, I went to see a friend on night in Breckenridge, Colorado and after waking up in the morning and having a cup of coffee, I did what most people do after finishing their coffee. Well, it just so happened that my visit to the restroom stopped up my friend's roommate's toilet. So here I am with my shit all over the place (literally), plunging the toilet, trying desperately to not have the worst nightmare of every house guest come true. Well, it did, and I had to pay a plumber $70 to fix the toilet. . . Bummer. The ticket and the bill from the plumber are in the photos.
So, when all of these things happen at once, I take it as a sign that you need to make a move, which Daniel and I did, and leads me to the new blog. . .
Day 13 and 14 - Durango and Mesa Verde, CO and Grand Canyon
After leaving Denver, we headed to Durango, CO in the southern part of the state. Durango rocks!!!! It totally renewed our positive feeling about Colorado and it felt like we were back on the right path when we arrived. Durango is the home of Fort Lewis College and had a great, laid-back college town feel. Main St. has some really cool shops and we saw a great street performance by Alexa Woodward and a member of her band. Their bus broke down and we had the pleasure of seeing them perform for free in the street! We also saw a beautiful rainbow (2 of them actually) after a short rainstorm put smiles on both of our faces.
In Durango, we couch surfed with a girl named Ashley, the girlfriend of the guy's house where we stayed. She cooked us a delicious dinner which Daniel and I devoured. We were hungrier than we thought. After dinner we hung out at the house and I watched AmoresPerros, a movie suggested to me by all my Colombian friends. It was a Mexican film and I had such a hard time understanding it that it took some of the enjoyment away. . . ce la vie.
It’s been funny how many things have been happening that remind me of my Colombian friends back in DC. The night before watching this movie, we met a guy named Bryce at Rhinoceropolis who sent last Christmas traveling through Colombia. He’d traveled to all the places my friends go on vacation, Tyrona, Santa Marta, Cartagena, etc. and it made me want to experience that place sooo badly. We had a party that night and I sent myself a drunk text message saying, “Stop fucking around. Go to Colombia.” Maybe that’s where my next journey will take me.
Speaking of traveling, I also found this awesome travel book called Vagabonding by Rolf Potts. It speaks to the misconception that many people have that they will never have enough money to travel, and gives tips for preparing for travel and strategies to get creative and save money while traveling. It’s been a nice companion on our down time. It is chock full of great traveling quotes as well. Here’s one I especially enjoy:
If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him.
Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Ok, back to Durango. After the movie, we hit the sack, preparing for the next day. We woke, meditated for a little while, and had a nice breakfast prepared again by Ashley.
We then headed down to the Summer Solstice Festival that was happening in downtown Durango. The Festival was set up as a celebration (Daniel calls it a cornucopia) of art and alternative living workshops, as well as music and food vendors. It was a step-up from a hippie festival in terms of planning, but had the same kind of vibe. We started off the morning with a group yoga session that we caught the tail end of, and I went to a workshop on Tai Chai which was interesting. Something I’ve wanted to try for a while. But, the real fun of the day started when I went to a workshop on kettle bells. This stuff rocks!!! Kettle bells are weights that look (you guessed it) like kettles and have different weights and sizes. You use the bells as resistance while you are performing specific movements and it was a great workout. I’ve always wanted a little more resistance when doing yoga and the kettle bells seems like its an answer to that need. Will definitely be looking this up when I get off the road.
Daniel and I attended a workshop on Acupuncture, and then headed down to get some free food courtesy of Food Not Bombs. These guys rock. They offer a free meal to whoever wants to come, for no charge. Just walk up, grab a plate, and enjoy. Its genius.
At the lunch we had a nice talk with my kettle bell instructor, Sage, who was an amazing guy. We didn’t get a long time to talk, but he left us with the feeling we were headed in the right direction.
From Durango, we headed to Mesa Verde State Park. This is home to Native American cave dwellings that are thought to have been constructed around 1200. This makes them some of the oldest buildings in the (now) United States and it was a little crazy for me to come to that realization. In my mind, I would expect to ancient buildings in New York, or DC, etc. but to find these structures in the middle of nowhere Colorado shook things up a little for me. I feel that my sensitivity towards Native Americans, their way of life, and their struggle has been raised by this trip. I want to know more.
The cave dwellings were amazingly constructed and had special rooms called kivas that were of a genius design. They were circular covered rooms that stayed 15 degrees warmer in the winter and 10 degrees cooler in the summer, that helped Native Americans function through the seasons. They were also constructed to utilize air circulation, that kept fires going in the kivas, despite the harsh conditions. The pictures might do a better job of giving you an idea about these structures.
After seeing the cave dwellings, Daniel and I found a outlook due west and saw the sunset over the mountains. It was an amazing way to end the day and I hope the photos capture a little bit of the beauty we witnessed.
The next day we awoke to a meal of all you-can-eat pancakes for $5.95, courtesy of the Knife Edge Café (sounds brutal!) at Mesa Verde. It was nice to get our bellies full and then we headed off to the Grand Canyon National Park. The drive was amazing and there were a few times we pulled off just to take photos. A geologists’ dream.
After about 6 hours in the car, we pulled up to the Grand Canyon National Park. Not knowing we had to pay $25 just to get inside (Grrr), we entered the Park and found the first lookout we could find. The photos do not do justice to the beauty and vastness of the Grand Canyon. I mean, its like Texas, its just big!!!! The literature said the rocks at the bottom of the Canyon (Vishnu Basement rocks) were between 1,840 and 1,680 million years old and from the lookouts you could see for miles. Heck, just to the bottom of the Canyon, it was a mile down!! After a short hike and a nice meditation on the rocks, Daniel and I went to set up our tent. We had a nice dinner of vegetable soup (Amy’s!!! Yeah!!!) and bread given to us at Food Not Bombs.
After talking about some expenses of the trip, Daniel and I agreed we should try to make a little money out of the journey. So, we picked up the guitars and started writing some songs about the people we’d met on the journey, in hopes of putting a little repertoire together to perform. After a little jamming, we turned up some nice melodies and a few songs. The one about Denver I particularly like. It’s great to be able to share music in that way and its funny how the personality differences between Daniel and I come out in the music. Maybe we can perform them for you the next time we see each other.
After seeing the sunset at the Grand Canyon, and finding a place to stay in Sedona, we packed into our yellow tent, to rest for the next day.
On another note, my thoughts and prayers go out to the families to the people injured and killed in the Metrorail crash in DC yesterday. I took the Metro everyday while living in DC and its surreal, not to mention sad, to see the photos and think about that accident.
Off to Sedona!!!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Day 8 and 9 – Neem Karoli Baba Ashram, Taos, NM
Sitting in a gelato shop in Denver, Colorado stealing the free internet after paying $6 for some ice cream and a coffee. Its going to be a late night.
Daniel and I are staying at this warehouse in Denver called Rhinoceropolis, that functions as a living space and a concert venue. There is a show there tonight and I know I will need the caffeine. We will see how long this lasts. But, the last few days were amazing. Here’s the update.
Day 8 and 9 – Neem Karoli Baba Ashram, Taos, NM
Upon the recommendation of my meditation teacher in DC, Jonathan Foust, Daniel and I spent two nights at the Neem Karoli Baba Ashram tucked away in beautiful Taos, New Mexico. The city added to my completely surprised impression of New Mexico. Taos is a spiritual mecca and you can feel it as soon as you come into the city. There is an immediate connection to the land and the spirit of the Native Americans is what many people come to Taos to re-connect with.
As we arrived at the Ashram, Daniel and I had no idea what to do. We called ahead of time 2 or 3 times to make sure we would have a place to camp, made sure the folks knew when we would be there, and were nervous about not knowing if we needed to know something before we got there!! All of the worry was for nothing. The folks at the Ashram did not seem to care (not in a bad way) that we were there, and they kindly showed us a place to set up our tent. I was expecting to be told what to do, where not to go, what time dinner would be, you know, all the things you would expect to be shown when you go to a place to stay. None of that was necessary.
So here Daniel and I are, at this beautiful building dedicated to Neem Karoli Baba (a Hindu spiritual leader) surrounded by beautiful flowers, a gorgeous temple, individual meditation rooms, roaming peacocks (no joke), gardens, all the chai we could ever want in our lives, and we have no idea what to do. Seems weird right??
Because we were never told what to do, it was incapacitating. It was like having all the options in the world, but because you have so many of them, nothing ever happens. There was also a fear to adapt to the social norms of this place, without being told what they were (which we came to know as stupid later on).
After overcoming our fears, Daniel and I spent some time meditating and getting to know the area around the Ashram. After dinner we made friends with an employee and a woman named Marilyn from Denver who had been staying at the Ashram for a few weeks. We talked about the Ashram and the surrounding area while mopping the Ashram and washing dishes. Then, one of the most amazing moments of our time there happened.
Marilyn, Kimi, Daniel and I entered into the temple to perform a “Kirtan,” a spiritual singing in praise of the Baba. All of the songs are in Hindi, so Daniel and I naturally had a problem participating in the Kirtan, but there was one song we performed called “Devakindan Gopala” that had the most beautiful melody that Daniel and I immediately learned and sang with the others. It was one of those simple, melodic, magical melodies that people spend lifetimes trying to write. Kimi played the harmonium while singing the song, and the combination of meditating, singing and being in that space, made for a moment too beautiful to describe with the words on this blog.
After putting on lots of layers, we hit the sack for our first night at the Ashram.
After being awakened by the calls of the peacocks (the sound they make sounds like the combination of a small girl screaming and a rooster), Daniel and I prepared to head to southern Colorado. After showering we went into the kitchen where we found our friend Ram Rani, struggling over a cookbook trying to decide what to fix for dinner. After speaking with her (and me spilling the beans that Daniel used to be a professional cook), we found ourselves preparing dinner for a group of 40-50 people. The rest of the day consisted of washing vegetables, making lasagna (Daniel kicked ass on this!), rolling prahantas (sp??), washing dishes and meeting all the interesting folks moving in and out of the kitchen.
The Ashram functions as a “community center” where people from God knows where come in to grab some food, work or chill and then leave. At first, I was amazed that anything got done, but after some time, it was equally as amazing to see how many people wanted to help and wanted to serve. Selfless service was rampant in the Ashram and it was a lesson to me that if you give people a cause, they will WANT to work and contribute. Really amazing lesson.
So, after initially thinking we would leave on Tuesday, Daniel and I spent the whole day in the kitchen, and what a feast it was!!! It felt really great for the whole thing to come together and I know that everyone (especially Ram Rani) appreciated our contribution.
After dinner, we went to the Gorge in Taos, which was beautiful and scary (check the pics!). There is a huge bridge that stretches over the Gorge, but as cars roll by, you can feel the bridge shaking . . . its frightening. There would be no more blog and no more Doug if I had fallen off of that thing.
We returned to the Ashram for some ice cream and a talk with our friend Pilar (born in Bogota!!) and some information about Kirtan music from Marilyn. Then off to sleep.
There were many more amazing folks, and some not so amazing, we met at the Ashram and I will keep them in my thoughts and prayers as we continue on the trip. They made this time extremely spiritual and special for Daniel and I.
Anyone know where I can buy a harmonium?????
Daniel and I are staying at this warehouse in Denver called Rhinoceropolis, that functions as a living space and a concert venue. There is a show there tonight and I know I will need the caffeine. We will see how long this lasts. But, the last few days were amazing. Here’s the update.
Day 8 and 9 – Neem Karoli Baba Ashram, Taos, NM
Upon the recommendation of my meditation teacher in DC, Jonathan Foust, Daniel and I spent two nights at the Neem Karoli Baba Ashram tucked away in beautiful Taos, New Mexico. The city added to my completely surprised impression of New Mexico. Taos is a spiritual mecca and you can feel it as soon as you come into the city. There is an immediate connection to the land and the spirit of the Native Americans is what many people come to Taos to re-connect with.
As we arrived at the Ashram, Daniel and I had no idea what to do. We called ahead of time 2 or 3 times to make sure we would have a place to camp, made sure the folks knew when we would be there, and were nervous about not knowing if we needed to know something before we got there!! All of the worry was for nothing. The folks at the Ashram did not seem to care (not in a bad way) that we were there, and they kindly showed us a place to set up our tent. I was expecting to be told what to do, where not to go, what time dinner would be, you know, all the things you would expect to be shown when you go to a place to stay. None of that was necessary.
So here Daniel and I are, at this beautiful building dedicated to Neem Karoli Baba (a Hindu spiritual leader) surrounded by beautiful flowers, a gorgeous temple, individual meditation rooms, roaming peacocks (no joke), gardens, all the chai we could ever want in our lives, and we have no idea what to do. Seems weird right??
Because we were never told what to do, it was incapacitating. It was like having all the options in the world, but because you have so many of them, nothing ever happens. There was also a fear to adapt to the social norms of this place, without being told what they were (which we came to know as stupid later on).
After overcoming our fears, Daniel and I spent some time meditating and getting to know the area around the Ashram. After dinner we made friends with an employee and a woman named Marilyn from Denver who had been staying at the Ashram for a few weeks. We talked about the Ashram and the surrounding area while mopping the Ashram and washing dishes. Then, one of the most amazing moments of our time there happened.
Marilyn, Kimi, Daniel and I entered into the temple to perform a “Kirtan,” a spiritual singing in praise of the Baba. All of the songs are in Hindi, so Daniel and I naturally had a problem participating in the Kirtan, but there was one song we performed called “Devakindan Gopala” that had the most beautiful melody that Daniel and I immediately learned and sang with the others. It was one of those simple, melodic, magical melodies that people spend lifetimes trying to write. Kimi played the harmonium while singing the song, and the combination of meditating, singing and being in that space, made for a moment too beautiful to describe with the words on this blog.
After putting on lots of layers, we hit the sack for our first night at the Ashram.
After being awakened by the calls of the peacocks (the sound they make sounds like the combination of a small girl screaming and a rooster), Daniel and I prepared to head to southern Colorado. After showering we went into the kitchen where we found our friend Ram Rani, struggling over a cookbook trying to decide what to fix for dinner. After speaking with her (and me spilling the beans that Daniel used to be a professional cook), we found ourselves preparing dinner for a group of 40-50 people. The rest of the day consisted of washing vegetables, making lasagna (Daniel kicked ass on this!), rolling prahantas (sp??), washing dishes and meeting all the interesting folks moving in and out of the kitchen.
The Ashram functions as a “community center” where people from God knows where come in to grab some food, work or chill and then leave. At first, I was amazed that anything got done, but after some time, it was equally as amazing to see how many people wanted to help and wanted to serve. Selfless service was rampant in the Ashram and it was a lesson to me that if you give people a cause, they will WANT to work and contribute. Really amazing lesson.
So, after initially thinking we would leave on Tuesday, Daniel and I spent the whole day in the kitchen, and what a feast it was!!! It felt really great for the whole thing to come together and I know that everyone (especially Ram Rani) appreciated our contribution.
After dinner, we went to the Gorge in Taos, which was beautiful and scary (check the pics!). There is a huge bridge that stretches over the Gorge, but as cars roll by, you can feel the bridge shaking . . . its frightening. There would be no more blog and no more Doug if I had fallen off of that thing.
We returned to the Ashram for some ice cream and a talk with our friend Pilar (born in Bogota!!) and some information about Kirtan music from Marilyn. Then off to sleep.
There were many more amazing folks, and some not so amazing, we met at the Ashram and I will keep them in my thoughts and prayers as we continue on the trip. They made this time extremely spiritual and special for Daniel and I.
Anyone know where I can buy a harmonium?????
Monday, June 15, 2009
Day Seven – Roswell and Albuquerque, New Mexico
So, I thought that I would go back and fill in the details of each day of our journey, but seeing as one of the goals of the journey is to stay in the moment, it looks like that is not going to happen. So, I’ll just reflect on today (we can call it the “relative” now, right?)
Day Seven – Roswell and Albuquerque, New Mexico
Ah, New Mexico. The skies in New Mexico are like none other I’ve seen. Vast, colorful, vibrant, lush, dark, spacious . . . . I understand why there are so many artists living in New Mexico. You just have to look outside your window for inspiration. And the change of terrain from the South (where we started in Roswell) to the central part of the state (Albuquerque) is distinct.
We started off the day at our new couch surfing friend Jeff Neria’s home. After a night’s sleep trying not to listen to barking dogs and sirens (was like NY in NM!!) we woke up and were not sure where we would head. We had tried to contact a bunch of folks in Albuquerque with no luck in finding a place to stay. We had arranged to have lunch with Rahim AlHaj in Albuquerque, so we knew we had to stop by, but the rest of the day was up in the air. After some researching we decided on going to Taos, New Mexico in hopes of staying with a friend of a friend. We left Jeff (who was the man!!) after a nice cup of New Mexican coffee and hit the road.
Before I left DC, I had gotten obsessed with learning about this guy named Tim Ferriss. Tim is a jack of many, many trades and among other things, is an author, a speaker of 6 (I think) languages, an international Tango dancing champion, a kickboxing champion, a lecturer at Princeton, and runs his own Angel investing group. He’s also an Argentina (especially Buenos Aires) advocate, which is close to my heart. All of this and he is only 30. I started his book, “The 4 Hour Work Week” right before I started the trip, trying to figure out how he accomplished so much and why I was so fascinated with his lifestyle. Upon the drive to Albuquerque, I stuck my head back into the book and almost felt guilty for reading it. Although Tim has accomplished quite a lot, you can from his writing and suggested techniques (such as “outsourcing life”) that the guy must think he is the most important thing since sliced bread and holds himself and his time above anything standing in his way. The whole idea of the book goes against the basic tenets of our trip, and I almost feel like I am plugging back into the world I was trying to get away from reading the book. Hearing about “outsourcing life” when you are trying to actually “engage in life” creates an interesting contradiction. (I know Tim would say that you outsource the parts of life that you don’t want to do, but this is just an example)
Anyways, enough about that!
So, we are driving to Albuquerque and we get a call from an Ashram in Taos, NM letting us know we can stay for the night. Perfect! Plans are in place.
We stroll into Albuquerque and give Rahim a call to grab some lunch. First off, Rahim. Rahim AlHaj is an internationally known Oud musician from Iraq, who I met through my former boss at Smithsonian Folkways. Rahim is a Folkways artist and his album on Folkways won a Grammy for Best Traditional World Music Album. I was so excited he agreed to meet with us! Second of all, our first impressions of Albuquerque were awesome! The area around the University of New Mexico was filled with dirty college students, cool hangouts, internationals (likely students), homeless folks, and an arty vibe. Kinda like a desert Asheville.
We met Rahim and went to an amazing Aruyvedic restaurant where they functioned as a restaurant and cooking school. This was a revelation for Daniel as he has gotten heavily into Vedic Astrology and it was so cool to see him freak out about the place. It made me really happy. Not to mention the food and chai was killer.
We had an interesting talk with Rahim over lunch about love, music, his upcoming projects, and Folkways. After we said goodbye, we received a call from a woman named Adele, a friend of Rahim’s, who offered Daniel and I a place to sleep for the evening. After seeing how cool Albuquerque was and knowing that we had a place to stay, we decided to push back the Ashram for the day and stay another night. After investigating Albuquerque for a while, and having a strange experience at a New Age bookstore, we headed to Adele’s home.
We pulled up and from the start, I knew Adele would be awesome. She is a 65-year old woman who has an ageless spirit and is as excited as a 7-year old at what beautiful things life has to offer. She is a paper artist and her zest for life showed me that it is still possible (and probably essential) to stay creative and to keep challenging yourself in all stages of life. She is truly an amazing woman.
After saying hi and getting a tour of her home, we ran out to get a pizza for dinner. We sat on her porch, watching the New Mexico sky, eating pizza, drinking wine and talking about life. I really loved watching Daniel and Adele interact.
After a nice talk, Adele arranged a trip to Rahim’s house to have tea with Nada (Rahim’s wife). We drove over, and got to hang out with Rahim and Neda!!! Sooo cool!!! We sat in their backyard drinking tea and talking, learning about Neda’s work in the backyard and seeing Rahim’s assortment of pigeons. We shared some yummy cookies of Neda’s (made from Cream of Wheat no less!) and laughed and laughed. It was amazing because the age difference felt like it was nothing hanging out with these folks. I would have never thought in a million years I would be in Rahim AlHaj’s kitchen watching my brother and Rahim make fun of each other. An amazing day.
Daniel and Adele are sharing some astrological knowledge and I am smiling, thinking back on how things just fall into place.
Tomorrow, we have a quick visit planned to Santa Fe, NM in the morning, and then off to Taos, NM tomorrow afternoon. It keeps getting better and better.
Day Seven – Roswell and Albuquerque, New Mexico
Ah, New Mexico. The skies in New Mexico are like none other I’ve seen. Vast, colorful, vibrant, lush, dark, spacious . . . . I understand why there are so many artists living in New Mexico. You just have to look outside your window for inspiration. And the change of terrain from the South (where we started in Roswell) to the central part of the state (Albuquerque) is distinct.
We started off the day at our new couch surfing friend Jeff Neria’s home. After a night’s sleep trying not to listen to barking dogs and sirens (was like NY in NM!!) we woke up and were not sure where we would head. We had tried to contact a bunch of folks in Albuquerque with no luck in finding a place to stay. We had arranged to have lunch with Rahim AlHaj in Albuquerque, so we knew we had to stop by, but the rest of the day was up in the air. After some researching we decided on going to Taos, New Mexico in hopes of staying with a friend of a friend. We left Jeff (who was the man!!) after a nice cup of New Mexican coffee and hit the road.
Before I left DC, I had gotten obsessed with learning about this guy named Tim Ferriss. Tim is a jack of many, many trades and among other things, is an author, a speaker of 6 (I think) languages, an international Tango dancing champion, a kickboxing champion, a lecturer at Princeton, and runs his own Angel investing group. He’s also an Argentina (especially Buenos Aires) advocate, which is close to my heart. All of this and he is only 30. I started his book, “The 4 Hour Work Week” right before I started the trip, trying to figure out how he accomplished so much and why I was so fascinated with his lifestyle. Upon the drive to Albuquerque, I stuck my head back into the book and almost felt guilty for reading it. Although Tim has accomplished quite a lot, you can from his writing and suggested techniques (such as “outsourcing life”) that the guy must think he is the most important thing since sliced bread and holds himself and his time above anything standing in his way. The whole idea of the book goes against the basic tenets of our trip, and I almost feel like I am plugging back into the world I was trying to get away from reading the book. Hearing about “outsourcing life” when you are trying to actually “engage in life” creates an interesting contradiction. (I know Tim would say that you outsource the parts of life that you don’t want to do, but this is just an example)
Anyways, enough about that!
So, we are driving to Albuquerque and we get a call from an Ashram in Taos, NM letting us know we can stay for the night. Perfect! Plans are in place.
We stroll into Albuquerque and give Rahim a call to grab some lunch. First off, Rahim. Rahim AlHaj is an internationally known Oud musician from Iraq, who I met through my former boss at Smithsonian Folkways. Rahim is a Folkways artist and his album on Folkways won a Grammy for Best Traditional World Music Album. I was so excited he agreed to meet with us! Second of all, our first impressions of Albuquerque were awesome! The area around the University of New Mexico was filled with dirty college students, cool hangouts, internationals (likely students), homeless folks, and an arty vibe. Kinda like a desert Asheville.
We met Rahim and went to an amazing Aruyvedic restaurant where they functioned as a restaurant and cooking school. This was a revelation for Daniel as he has gotten heavily into Vedic Astrology and it was so cool to see him freak out about the place. It made me really happy. Not to mention the food and chai was killer.
We had an interesting talk with Rahim over lunch about love, music, his upcoming projects, and Folkways. After we said goodbye, we received a call from a woman named Adele, a friend of Rahim’s, who offered Daniel and I a place to sleep for the evening. After seeing how cool Albuquerque was and knowing that we had a place to stay, we decided to push back the Ashram for the day and stay another night. After investigating Albuquerque for a while, and having a strange experience at a New Age bookstore, we headed to Adele’s home.
We pulled up and from the start, I knew Adele would be awesome. She is a 65-year old woman who has an ageless spirit and is as excited as a 7-year old at what beautiful things life has to offer. She is a paper artist and her zest for life showed me that it is still possible (and probably essential) to stay creative and to keep challenging yourself in all stages of life. She is truly an amazing woman.
After saying hi and getting a tour of her home, we ran out to get a pizza for dinner. We sat on her porch, watching the New Mexico sky, eating pizza, drinking wine and talking about life. I really loved watching Daniel and Adele interact.
After a nice talk, Adele arranged a trip to Rahim’s house to have tea with Nada (Rahim’s wife). We drove over, and got to hang out with Rahim and Neda!!! Sooo cool!!! We sat in their backyard drinking tea and talking, learning about Neda’s work in the backyard and seeing Rahim’s assortment of pigeons. We shared some yummy cookies of Neda’s (made from Cream of Wheat no less!) and laughed and laughed. It was amazing because the age difference felt like it was nothing hanging out with these folks. I would have never thought in a million years I would be in Rahim AlHaj’s kitchen watching my brother and Rahim make fun of each other. An amazing day.
Daniel and Adele are sharing some astrological knowledge and I am smiling, thinking back on how things just fall into place.
Tomorrow, we have a quick visit planned to Santa Fe, NM in the morning, and then off to Taos, NM tomorrow afternoon. It keeps getting better and better.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Day one - Horse Pens 40
As I write this first blog entry, I am sitting in my car in Colorado City, Texas looking at the stars as gnats try and distract me from getting my thoughts into written form. We are only 5 days into the trip and have already been through South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and are just about out of the Lone Star State. So far we’ve made new friends, reconnected with old friends, seen near parts of the country, heard some unbelievable music, had some frustrating moments and have more mosquito bites than the number of people living in Caldwell, Texas.
Day One-
We got off to an early start from South Carolina, making a stop in Atlanta, GA to take advantage of a Whole Foods. For $106 we got soup, nuts, bread, avocados, hummus, granola, peanut butter, and we even splurged on a little peanut snack and some mate. Mmmm. We had a wonderful Ethiopian woman checking us out named Almaz, who knew all the best Ethiopian places in DC (DUKEM!!!) and who was so happy we knew how to say “Thank you” in Amharic. We made it to our first destination around 3:30 Central time to Horse Pens 40 Campgrounds outside of Ashville, Alabama. Horse Pens 40 has a long (they say 12,000 years, but that’s a little hard to believe) history as a Native American ritual, meeting and peace signing location. It was located at the former division of Cherokee and Creek Indian land, and had been used to trap horses. The pictures cannot tell the whole story, but these rock formations were just unusual. They were massive, in a relatively unrocky area, and some of the natural curvatures in the rock could not have been more accurate if they were done by hand. The whole site had an eerie feeling to it. Daniel and I agreed that the site felt as if it had a big secret it was hiding from everyone. Check out the photos of the rocks and you can see human skulls in the formations. Creepy.
We found a beautiful outlook at the end of some hiking trails were we hung out and marveled in the greenness of what we were seeing. Beautiful.
Back at the camp we met some of the folks who ran the place and it seemed as if they were in on the secret as well. I went into the main house to ask for a can opener and maybe due to my new serial killer haircut, when I asked one of the kids what her name was, she put her hands in her lap and stared into her pasta, not once looking up or responding. I quickly opened my can and left the house, not sure if I had asked "The Question That Shall Not Be Asked" (kinda like Voldemort, ya know?).
After some Southwest Vegetable soup, courtesy of Amy’s, we headed to sleep in our new home, a two person yellow tent. Its nice and cozy.
More to come later about the following days, I'm watching a lightning storm over Lake Colorado City and then off to bed.
Day One-
We got off to an early start from South Carolina, making a stop in Atlanta, GA to take advantage of a Whole Foods. For $106 we got soup, nuts, bread, avocados, hummus, granola, peanut butter, and we even splurged on a little peanut snack and some mate. Mmmm. We had a wonderful Ethiopian woman checking us out named Almaz, who knew all the best Ethiopian places in DC (DUKEM!!!) and who was so happy we knew how to say “Thank you” in Amharic. We made it to our first destination around 3:30 Central time to Horse Pens 40 Campgrounds outside of Ashville, Alabama. Horse Pens 40 has a long (they say 12,000 years, but that’s a little hard to believe) history as a Native American ritual, meeting and peace signing location. It was located at the former division of Cherokee and Creek Indian land, and had been used to trap horses. The pictures cannot tell the whole story, but these rock formations were just unusual. They were massive, in a relatively unrocky area, and some of the natural curvatures in the rock could not have been more accurate if they were done by hand. The whole site had an eerie feeling to it. Daniel and I agreed that the site felt as if it had a big secret it was hiding from everyone. Check out the photos of the rocks and you can see human skulls in the formations. Creepy.
We found a beautiful outlook at the end of some hiking trails were we hung out and marveled in the greenness of what we were seeing. Beautiful.
Back at the camp we met some of the folks who ran the place and it seemed as if they were in on the secret as well. I went into the main house to ask for a can opener and maybe due to my new serial killer haircut, when I asked one of the kids what her name was, she put her hands in her lap and stared into her pasta, not once looking up or responding. I quickly opened my can and left the house, not sure if I had asked "The Question That Shall Not Be Asked" (kinda like Voldemort, ya know?).
After some Southwest Vegetable soup, courtesy of Amy’s, we headed to sleep in our new home, a two person yellow tent. Its nice and cozy.
More to come later about the following days, I'm watching a lightning storm over Lake Colorado City and then off to bed.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
The Experiment in Openness
Hi to the .00000047 percent of the world who are reading this.
First, this scares me to death.
The Scorpio in me is shitting his pants.
Having my whole life on a website for the world to see, to judge, to stalk, to envy, to make fun of, to know where I am and what I'm doing. As you can tell, openness is not my best trait.
But, in the little I know about the world, I know that openness and honesty can bring truth into your life. True friends, true relationships, true passion and maybe even true love.
In the effort to have more truth in my life, I am going to be open. With you.
Whether you a friend, co-worker, someone from the past who found my blog, family member, an ex-girlfriend, a fellow musician, or the parents of one of my guitar students, I, albeit uncomfortably, welcome you with openness. I hope you (maybe uncomfortably as well) would do the same.
I do not expect that this will lead me to being able to spill my inner most dreams and fears with the woman working at the diner, but I believe that anything you practice, you should get better at. Hence, this is the experiment.
I'm embarking on a road trip and am inviting you to come along. I'll be as open as possible about where we are, what we see, the folks we meet, the low times we have, and the high times we will look back to when we are back home. Care to join me?
First, this scares me to death.
The Scorpio in me is shitting his pants.
Having my whole life on a website for the world to see, to judge, to stalk, to envy, to make fun of, to know where I am and what I'm doing. As you can tell, openness is not my best trait.
But, in the little I know about the world, I know that openness and honesty can bring truth into your life. True friends, true relationships, true passion and maybe even true love.
In the effort to have more truth in my life, I am going to be open. With you.
Whether you a friend, co-worker, someone from the past who found my blog, family member, an ex-girlfriend, a fellow musician, or the parents of one of my guitar students, I, albeit uncomfortably, welcome you with openness. I hope you (maybe uncomfortably as well) would do the same.
I do not expect that this will lead me to being able to spill my inner most dreams and fears with the woman working at the diner, but I believe that anything you practice, you should get better at. Hence, this is the experiment.
I'm embarking on a road trip and am inviting you to come along. I'll be as open as possible about where we are, what we see, the folks we meet, the low times we have, and the high times we will look back to when we are back home. Care to join me?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
