Date: Wednesday, May 17, 2000, 8:50 p.m.Mile 4295, McMinnville, OR
Brian: San Fransisco! Land of the free, home of the Dead! The Greatful Dead! We also stopped by Washington Square and City Lights Bookstore, popular hangouts for Kerouac and Co. I gotta say this has been the highlight of the trip, at least for me. It's really the part I've been looking forward to the entire time. There is no real sense of The Dead in the Haight/ Ashbury District, but knowing where we stood was enough. Since then, we've seen some big trees (Redwoods, that is), a lot of water (the Pacific, to be exact), skipped some stones, eaten some chowder, cured some cancers, and argued over the rapping skills of Jay Z and Dr. Dre. Hard to believe the trip is over the hill. Tomorrow will be Seattle, and then, finally, we shall give Horatio Algor the finger and "Go east, young man!" I'm laughin' at life and feelin' groovy...
Ryan can't write because he is engrossed in the high drama that is Dawson's Creek. News flash: Dawson does have a date to the prom!
Tim: Of all the places we've been, San Francisco is the best. The first few hours in the bay area we spent whipping around the curves of Golden Gate Park. The water crashing against moss covered rocks in the bay and in the Pacific forced me to pull my head out of my book. After days of flat land and unimpressive cities (crap towns if you ask me ... kind of like Baltimore), I finally had reason to divert my attention to road. The city is beautiful and filled with interesting places like Haight-Ashbury, its waterfront and small shops and bookstores. At City Lights Bookstore I picked up a copy of "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac. During the trip, I have polished off about five books. Now, I'm about 100 pages into On The Road. (Sal is on his way to San Francisco, so we are a little ahead of him.)
Yesterday we left San Francisco (you won't get a Tony Bennett pun from me - maybe Daryl) and plunged deep into the Redwood forests of Northern California. It was alright, the others seemed to be very impressed, but they are just big trees - all they have to do is sit there and live. Today we're hanging with Ryan's friends in Oregon. Their apartment has no dirt in contrast to our campsites. I am happy.
Daryl: Tonight, we rescued some of our earlier messages that never made it to the web site... So now we're caught up. I think we'll be able to update from Seattle, but web access looks sketchy beyond there. I've also updated our itinerary to reflect our new plans.
Northern California is a great place. Seeing San Francisco and the redwoods makes up for missing Yosemite. Oregon seems to be a nice place, and it's been nice meeting Ryan's friends.
Answers to frequently asked questions: (1) We aren't sick of each other at all; we're all getting along fine. Except in the ultimate frisbee tournament, where the score is tied, competition is brutal and the decisions whether or not to play at all are even more fierce. (2) We're spending a lot more money than we'd planned. Donations can be mailed to 532 W. College Ave, State College, PA 16801. (3) We've had no serious trouble with the car or camping equipment. (4) No, we're not really planning to see the movie "Road Trip." Ithica to Austin? Gimme a break!
We're taking Ryan to see his family tomorrow, then spending three nights with them before we leave Ryan and head back to Pennsylvania. I'm having a great time, and looking forward to seeing the apparently excellent city of Seattle, and then the drive through the upper midwest. Until next time.