Thursday, July 19, 2007

Ooh Child

I guess I just can't stand standing beside on-ramps anymore because I walked away from the latest one after about half an hour. It began when I was distracted by a freakin' huge sand dune towering above the other side of the elevated highway. When I went to check it out, I noticed a bike path, so I said 'fuck it' and started walking along the bike path. A road sign said it's 38 miles to Santa Cruz, so I decided I'll walk there. Four miles later I was in the town of Marina. As I entered Marina, I saw a KFC and immediately knew I would hit them up for some food. I walked in and spoke to a manager. I asked her if they had anything they needed to throw out that they could instead give to a hungry traveler. She ended up giving me a big bowl of mashed potatoes, with some gravy and two biscuits. Just as I sat down, the song 'Ooh Child' began playing on the stereo. 'Ooh, child, things are gonna
get easier. Ooh, child, things'll be brighter...' Have I ever told you how much I love that song?

New territory

Well, I bought two tapes for a ridiculous price ($14.00), so now I'm not in dire straits in that department. Additionally, my phone is 75% charged. The problem is: I also bought a couple donuts and a pack of smokes, so now I only have $3. Until I acquire some more money, the camcorder only comes out if I see something extra special happening. Right now I'm in Sand City trying to get a ride beside the on-ramp to Route 1. I don't even know where I'm trying to go right now; either Santa Cruz or Castro Valley, I guess.

Jackie

Jackie is an interesting person; beautiful with a free spirit. A resident of Topanga Canyon in LA, she is out on her own adventure right now, trying to sort out some things in her head, I think mostly pertaining to whether or not she wants a particular person to remain a big part of her life. She is after some major alone time right now, and I think she plans to spend time in San Francisco and Oregon before going back to LA. She expressed some disappointment about not being able to camp out in the middle of nowhere like I often do. It's not that she can't do it; it's that she always has to worry about being able to park her car legally. She doesn't really like going to campgrounds, but she knows she has somewhere to park if she's at a campground. I told her she should do what I'm doing, but she said she wouldn't feel very safe doing it alone, being a woman and all. So Jackie, if you
ever want to hit the road like I'm doing it, you're always welcome to join me. I enjoyed your company.

Monterey

I walked up a big hill yesterday from the bay to the highway. Arriving at the on-ramp at 4:00, I immediately tried to get a ride north. After 50 minutes, though, I said to myself, "Screw it. I'm gonna take a nap and camp out here tonight." I intended to wake up really early and try to get a ride, but my body decided it was time for a thorough night's sleep. Once I got up and at it, I decided to help clean up my world a little, so I started picking up trash and putting it all in a single pile. One of the pieces of trash I found was an unused trash bag. Super! I ended up placing all the trash in the trash bag, tying it up, and writing: 7/19/07; Pay it forward; www.aimlessmovie.com (as shown in the picture). I think I picked up trash for about an hour, then I waited around for maybe an hour and a half before choosing to walk north. Right now I need electricity, tapes, food, and money more
than I need a ride. I meant to say more about Jackie here, but I'm almost out of space. Coming soon.