051107

                                                                                  Cottage Grove, OR to Yreka, CA

Friday May 11, 2007

     7:19am  I woke up around, I don't know, seven. I've had a great morning so far. I slept in a comfortable bed in this room downstairs. This house is beautiful. It's on beautiful property. It was awesome how I ended up in Cottage Grove. I'm having so much fun.

     8:03am  Be sure to download The Walmart Effect, by Charles Fishman.

     8:11am  I'm talking to Toby and loading up and getting ready to go. He told me to look up, Toby: "COSM, Chapel of the Sacred Mirrors. Alex Grey in New York City. Definitely go by there." Thanks for the destination.

[7:40pm It's Saturday 7-14 right now and my tape recorder broke a couple hours ago. It just stopped working. I caught the bus to the Walmart to buy new batteries. I was convinced that was the problem, because the whole time that particular cassette was dragging and giving my recorder problems. I thought the batteries got drained for sure. I caught the bus at 7:09pm. I was aiming for the Walmart. Well, not that far from home I saw the Walgreens on Tezel/Mainland. The nice driver let me get off at the red light and I went in and bought some batteries. I bought two two-packs of AAs for ninety nine cents each. I was real hungry, so I walked to the Church's chicken by the Citgo. Surprisingly, they had chicken sandwiches for ninety nine cents! I bought three. I ate two and a half and took the rest with me. Oh yeah, when I was sitting there I heard somebody yell ANTONIO! I looked and saw someone waving to me from a car. I couldn't really make it out. I assumed it was Vance. I walked home and had to hunt the cordless phone down. I called Vance and it  was him at the Church's. I'm going to catch the bus at 8:09 to the Walmart and buy a new tape recorder. Luckily, my sister had given me my "allowance" early so I have the money to buy another one. Man, it sucks my recorder died. I'm almost caught up. I had already typed up the last tape I recorded on. I am so proud of myself. I'm going to have the entire month of May documented. All thirty one days. What a roller coaster it was. I am so psyched after getting that memory-refresh. I can feel it.]

[Ok, it's two days later and I got my new tape recorder. My friend Heather hooked me up in the photo department at Walmart. I was short two bucks. Thanks, Heather. ::muah::]

    9:24am  Man, I love the transit-rush when you're riding. We're driving on I5. Toby smoked us out at the house. I don't know, I just wanted to make some random entry. Because I'm all high, hehe.

    9:58am  Aaron and I just got dropped off at this rest area not that far. Blue Star Memorail Highway, I think is the name of this rest area. Aaron just realized he left his Mac laptop at Star's! He is all pissed off right now. He's really stressing about it. I was sitting there thinking, hmm. We didn't have any contact information like a phone number. I cracked a plan real quick and went up to Aaron and told him, "Don't worry about it. All we have to do is hitchhike back to Cottage Grove and go to that bar that we went to, The Axe and the Hammer, err, Fiddle and contact Star and Toby through there." He's all worried over on the other side of this park with Hank. I figure I could leave them here and hitchhike by myself. The chances would be better for just one person. I'll tell him, "Listen Aaron. You can stay here with Hank and I can hitchhike back to Cottage Grove and go to The Axe and the Fiddle and get a hold of Katie and Toby. Then they'll probably give me a ride back to the rest area and I can meet you here with your laptop." Umm, I'm going to go tell him this idea I got.

     10:02am  I went over and told Aaron about my idea. Beaming, he told me, "Okay, okay!" So I'm going to go do that. Before I leave we're going to eat breakfast and smoke a bowl. I'm going to leave my pack here, of course. I can't be weighed down on this sub-mission.

     10:30am  I finished breakfast and I'm taking off to hitchhike back to Cottage Grove and get Aaron's laptop. At first I thought he had just left his MP3 player, because he called it an Ipod. I guess he meant his Gbook. I told Aaron, "I'll be back soon."

                     Thirty one miles away from Cottage Grove.

     10:44am  I'm thumbing it on the highway close to the rest area. I hopped on the other side of the highway to go back to Cottage Grove. The next town is Drain, fifteen miles away. Oh hey, there's a cop. I'm going to go ask him for a courtesy ride, hehe.

     11:01am  I talked to that cop and he wouldn't give me a ride.

     11:24am  I gave up sticking my thumb out. See, right when I came out of the rest area I saw a cop pulling someone over. I walked up to him and told him, "I just have a question for you." He told me to wait behind a bit. When he was done I told him, "Hey, I'm a long-distance walker/journalist from San Antonio, TX. I left my laptop at my friends house. I need a ride to Cottage Grove. I don't suppose I could get a courtesy ride?" He told me, "Oh no, we don't run a taxi service." I told him, okay, it doesn't hurt to ask. He told me, "If you're going to walk be sure to walk on the opposite side of the road, not with your back to traffic." Ha, yeah right.  I won't get a ride like that.

     11:28am  Fuck the system. I'm walking with my back to traffic, nya, nya. Mile Marker 144.

     11:42am  Mile Marker 145. Whoa, that was a quick mile. Let me count that up.

                     Fourteen minutes. I cut a couple minutes off my time, hell yeah. Well, I'm not wearing a pack after all. I am going to sit down here, layer down and stick my thumb out for a little bit.

     11:47am  That cop told me earlier that if I was going to walk that I had to be on the side facing traffic. I said screw that. I won't get a ride like that. I walked up to the next mile marker, mere fourteen minutes and Lindsey was generous enough to pull over for me. I appreciate it, Lindsey. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

     12:11pm  Holy shit, guess just what happened right now. Lindsey had told me that she couldn't take me that far, so I told her, "Wherever you want to drop me off will work for me. If you don't plan things you don't get let down. Just wherever, drop me off and I'll walk it." Guess where she dropped me off. On Kenady Lane, exactly where I needed to go! We crashed at the house at the end of the street! Hell yeah! I totally manifested this shit. When we were driving through here yesterday I actually wondered what it would be like to walk it. I mentioned something to Aaron. Well, lo and behold, I get to walk it today. I wonder how far it is to the end of the road. Isn't it awesome how I was delivered exactly where I needed to go to get the laptop? Hell yeah, I'm really getting it. It's all happening so quick. I couldn't tell Lindsey my whole story because Kenady wasn't that far. We didn't even know to stop here. I had forgotten the name of the street. Remember, I was aiming for The Axe and the Fiddle, to ask around where this house was. What a magical occurrence. Thank you so much, LOVE. Whoa, there's a big aura around the sun right now. It's beautiful. I am having so much fun today. I guess I can see it as I got rewarded for that quick mile I walked. Now I'm going to go hike and get the laptop. I'm all stoned. Last night Toby hooked me up with a little chunk of hash. I smoked it with Lindsey. I am really loving this day. I am loving Oregon. I was already over here by noon, hell yeah.

     12:31pm  I walked for like maybe five or ten minutes and all of a sudden I see Toby pull up! He gave me a ride back to the house and I got the laptop! Look how quick I'm doing this shit. Everything is falling into place. Aaron is going to be so happy. He was all bummed out. He got pissed off. I just told him I'd go get it. Put myself on a mission.

                     Wow, that was so awesome. Look what happened to me. That was tight! I wonder what's going to happen now. Toby was nice enough to give me a ride back to I5 North. I'm going to try to get back to the rest area and give Aaron his baby back.

     12:55pm  I ended up being at the wrong place to stand to hitchhike back to the rest area. I'm delivering a laptop back to a friend. He left it at a house in Cottage Grove. Doug was nice enough to pull over for me. He said I couldn't get a ride to I5 from where I was, but he took me to an onramp. I appreciate it, brother. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

     1:02pm  Here I am at the I5 onramp.

                     Please Love[singing song]. Send me an angel, ooh ooh ooh ooh. Send me an angel, ooh woo ooh woo, right now, right now.

     1:11pm  Gay, how old are you by the way? Just curious. Eighty six years old, he pulled over for me. I appreciate it, umm, father. Everybody gets credit. He's taking me to the rest area so I can go surprise my friend with his laptop.

     1:26pm  Argh, I'm at the wrong rest area. That guy Gay, he was eighty six years old and he pulled over for me! He brought me to this rest area, but I don't recognize it at all. It's the wrong rest area. I couldn't wait to see the look on Aaron's face, but it's the wrong rest area. I think I need to go to Oakland, I think that's what he said the name of the one he's at is. I don't know. I guess I'll ask for rides here.

     1:42pm  I hopped across the highway to the rest area on the other side. I walked by these dudes in a van and they gave me the marijuana signals. I asked them, "Do you guys wanna smoke?" They said sure. Then I asked them if they would give me a ride to the rest area that's thirty one miles away from Cottage Grove. They let me in their van real quick. We're smoking a hash-topped bowl. I just got hooked up with a hamburger! Awesome, man. Everybody gets credit. Thanks for feeding the peace machine.

                     Do you see how quick I did all that? I was only gone for like three hours. I think I left around ten thirty. Doesn't everybody see yet? Everything happens for a reason. This is proof-positive.

                     I had told Aaron when I left, "I'll be back soon." I sure as hell was. Presto-manifesto.

     4:19pm  I accidentally left my recorder recording, so I had to research it to see where I left off. Check this out. Aaron and I were aiming for O'Brien to try and see Fawn Journeyhawk. Well, the guys who gave me a ride from the rest area and gave me a hamburger, they told me they were going to California. Well, I had promised Aaron I was going to show him Black Bear Ranch, the hippie commune in Siskiyou County, where I was at before with Carol. Well, Aaron asked me if I minded showing him that before meeting Fawn Journeyhawk. I said sure, it's not that far from O'Brien. Well, I ask the guy driving the van we're in where in California he was going. Lo and behold, he says Yreka. Do you guys remember how close Yreka is to Black Bear? Hell yeah. So, that's where we're going first. Awesome, awesome, awesome. I wonder if Carol is still there. We'll find out.

                     Umm, what were the directions again? Old man: "It's easy. It's probably like fifty miles. Go up to Etna. You gotta take a left to go through the town. Go to Main Street and go out over the Etna Mountains and down to the other side you break into the Salmon River. Then you go down to Cecilville. The ridge there goes up and it's called Eddy's Gulch. You have to go up Eddy's Gulch to Blue Mountain Lookout then you go on around and up there at that level where the road is at you'll find Black Bear." Where's the beer tree? "The beer tree? I don't know. Never heard of that."

     5:03pm  Did I tell you that Aaron and I decided we're going to go to the hippie commune first? We're in Yreka right now. It sucks I didn't get the dudes in the van name's. We have to go to Etna. That's our next stop.

     6:04pm  Aaron went into the Rite Aid to buy a new marker. I am standing here with my thumb out. We had gone the wrong way. We started going North, but we need to be going South on Main Street.

                     Please Love, mobilize us. Please, once again. What a great time I am having.

     6:59pm  We came to the Valero gas station and I just asked the Middle Eastern guy inside permission to ask for rides. He actually said okay. He said, "No problem. No problem at all." Awesome.

     7:28pm  This guy told me I should go over by the Walmart, a couple miles down. Aaron wrote up a sign that says BLACK BEAR RANCH

     8:37pm  We walked over to the Carl's Jr.

     8:56pm  Aaron and I walked to the Walmart. I decided to go to the gas station. Aaron has his sign so we're going to tag-team asking for rides. I told him, "If you get a ride, I'll be at the gas station and if I get a ride I'll come to the Walmart. I am leaving my pack with him.

     9:12pm  I came to the Shell station. They told me no, that I couldn't ask for rides. I'm not going to leave though. I'll just hit people up for my story. If they come give me shit I will tell them, "I'm not asking for money and I'm asking people if they are willing to listen. Since when does it hurt to ask? I'm just telling my story. Do you want to hear it?"

                    Cool, I found me a stick of gum on the ground. Still in the wrapper. Perfect. I always get treats like that. Thank you, Love.

     9:22pm  Hehe, the cashier came out and told me I couldn't be standing outside.

     9:55pm  Haha, the cop showed up. It's showtime. He came up to me and told me he had complaints from the employees on me. I told him, "I'm not doing anything wrong, just telling a story. I'm not asking for money. It's a free story. It's my constitutional right. I thought it was your job to protect my freedoms." He told me, "You're not listening, you're not listening." He said, "The employees here ask that you move along...or else you're going to cause a big mess for yourself." I told him I didn't have nothing to hide. I'll just go to the McDonald's and tell my story there. Suckers. I don't know what's going to happen. Maybe I'll tell the staff my story.

                    Oh yeah, when I was telling the cop my mission objectives, when I mentioned marijuana he said, "What? Marijuana legalized? You lost me right there," and he walked off. He gave me my ID back and said, "Get out of here."

     10:03pm  This nice Asian guy gave me a cigarette at the McDonald's. I appreciate it, brother. Everybody gets credit.

     10:21pm  The cop showed up at the Shell station and it was showtime. I was telling him about my freedom of speech and The Constitution. He wanted to know about my story and as soon as I said marijuana he shut his ears off. That's where I lost him. I thanked him for proving me right. Oh yeah, Michael is going to hook me up with food at the McDonald's.

     10:27pm  I came to McDonald's. I heard these kids talking in their car. I walked passed them and I guess that was their cue to leave.

                     I walked back to the two people remaining. This old guy Maxwell and these kids who work here. The old guy ended up being this guy Maxwell who knew me from Ventura, from the pier and shit. Right in the middle of my story he was all, "Antonio from San Antonio, right? Man, you've already told me your story." Anyway, he's going to show me a campsite nearby. Then Michael hooked us up with some hamburgers. This night is going great.

Next day..