I'll write about a few days at a time.

June 3:
Left Orange County. I was so happy to be on the road! Stopped in Santa Barbara to stretch my legs and write a poem. Stayed the first night at the AYH Hostel in San Luis Obispo and wrote some more.

I love hostels not only because they're inexpensive, but because you get to meet people from all around the world. It's much more personable than staying in a chain motel, and I feel safer. The SLO hostel has a free cook-it-yourself pancake breakfast. All hostels have cooking facilities, which is more economical and less caloric than eating out on the road. And did I mention you meet a lot of neat people?

June 4:
Took the wrong highway out of SLO and landed up on 101 inland route instead of 1 coastal. Wrote a poem about it Driving through San Jose, rush hour traffic was so bad that I wrote a poem about being stuck in traffic, while I was stuck in traffic. Whenever we "sped" up to 10mph, I put the pen down.

Stayed overnight (and 2 additional nights) in the Yountville Veterans' Visitors Hotel, just north of Napa (famous for wineries.)

June 5:
Berkeley Poetry Festival!! ~11am-4pm in a small city park. Continuous readings on stage, including an open reading (anyone may sign up;) a Lifetime Achievement Award for Julia Vinograd; a slam contest (poets perform and are judged numerically. Winners go to the next round etc.); and a reading from students in a high school poetry workshop. Some of the kids were pretty good!

Unfortunately I signed up for the open reading too late to get on, because I was busy setting up my jewelry booth. But I was pretty close to the stage and got to hear everyone read!

The festival organizers thought attendance was a little low (only ~100 people) because everyone was at the San Francisco peace rally. My sales were OK considering the turnout. I sold my most expensive piece of jewelry and 8 poetry books, plus a few books in trade. Everyone I met was super nice and I had a real fun time! My goal had been to make enough money to pay for gasoline (500 miles each way, plus a lot of side trips. Gas prices ranged from $2.35 to $2.50 .) I made enough to pay for all my gas and lodging.

I hope no one's been holding their breath waiting for the next installment...

June 6:
Spent the day with another Poet Laureate whom I knew online but had not met previously. Talked LOTS of poetry, and he gave me the driving tour and some of the history of Napa and environs.

June 7:
Early in the day, I walked around and bought the Audre Lorde book "The Cancer Journals" at a used book annex of the San Francisco Library. I had read an excerpt years ago but did not want to buy the book until I finished mine so I wouldn't be influenced by it. Of all the cancer books I'm aware of, hers seemed like the closest to what I'm doing, especially in attitude. That evening, my poetry feature in Berkeley went really well. My theme (and I usually don't theme) was "All Road Trips, All The Time." I included both past writing and some of the new pieces that I had just written on the trip.

June 8:
Woke up with the chills and 30 minutes later started barfing. Throwing up and shaking for the next several hours. It was all I could do to get out of bed and make two phone calls around 2pm: one to Kate to tell her our meeting was postponed; and one to my girlfriend Kimberly, with whom I was supposed to stay that night. Since I didn't have a fever, the best guess was food poisoning. I felt fine the next day.

June 9:
Saw Kate in Modesto. She took an extended lunch hour to meet me We could've used a few more hours but she had to work and I had to drive. My friend Kimberly who can have her space cadet moments, sent me step-by-step directions to her place ("after you see the three blue mailboxes, you pass a fenced field with buffalo...") She lives at the end of a long dirt road up in the mountains near Yosemite in a town with no name. Her directions were perfect and I arrived 6ish with no problems whatsoever. I was able to follow the 2-page printout of directions by moving a binder clip down the page as I progressed.

I've written enough today. More later; start cookin' yer popcorn.

I got my popcorn popped, so carry on. I'm enjoying these...there just aren't enough of um...

Are you homesteading these stories? what?

JJ

I'm not sure what you mean by "homesteading." I just write these as I go but I haven't had that much time to compose and post. Each one maybe takes 1/2 hour? which I don't always have.

BTW, REAL butter on that popcorn not that chemically adulterated stuff.

Oh Ms M...I know it's hard to believe, but I was be silly...uh huh...forgive.

JJ

Meredith, I'm enjoying your trip. Sounds like you're as free as a bird. I rarely travel alone these days so getting up and doing what YOU feel like doing sounds so appealing. When do you go to Arizona?

Jawjaw, I wasn't dissing your sense of humor. I have no idea what "homesteading" means, in this context or in any other.

Dotsie: Labor Day Weekend

Well now Ms M, homesteading means "sitting on it" well, at least in this instance...

I agree with Dotsie. Your stories sound like you are as free as a bird. I guess that is one of the main things I have enjoyed about being single this past 12+ years is the freedom attached to it. Freedom to go whenever, whereever, etc...
Now girls, I'm not knocking the married life, k? I'm just saying THAT FOR ME, I like the freedom I enjoy, day to day. Like Oreo's for supper, no prob...OR traveling, like the Divine Ms M...

I thoroughly agree. We can't wait for joy to fall from the sky and hit us on the head. We have to actively seek it.

And with this, I bring you the next installment.

6pm June 8 - 3pm June 12
KIMBERLY'S HOUSE:
Actually it's not her house per se; it's her boyfriend's. And since their relationship has certain problems, she's not sure how long she'll stay, but for now she's there.

Michael (BF) bought this property 10 years ago, and bought the adjacent property maybe 5 years later when it became available, so he would have the right-of-way to all the roads leading in. It's 5 miles past a one-stop sign town called Railroad Flats, at the end of a long dirt road in the mountains. It's about a bazillion acres and borders on U.S. Forestry Land on three sides. The Forestry land is protected so he'll never have any neighbors. There's the upper house, where they both live; the lower house (the second property) which they're renovating; and a small garden. The rest is wild. Kimberly originally lived in the lower house as a renter. When it's renovated, they (assuming Kimberly is still there) will move into the lower house and rent out the upper. He's a contractor and electrician, and Kimberly is an apprentice electrician. They're doing the work themselves. It's Michael's dream.

At night we'd go out on the porch and turn out the lights. There are no other lights for at least a mile, over the hill and not even visible from their house. The night sky was choked with stars against the blackness. I've never seen so many stars, and it was humbling. After my eyes adjusted to the dark I'd see deer and racoons.

I thought, "This is how it was before the land was settled."