chiang mai

there were violent protests going on in the streets of bangkok, when we arrived. undoubtedly, we both would have been brutally trampled under the feet of the ten thousand-plus-person throng, if it weren't for the casual, smiling guidance of a few interested locals, who pointed us in the right direction. we ended up meeting jack, a thai government employee who grew up in texas, loves americans, and apparently speaks six different languages, all of which kept trying to sneak into his conversation with us. he helped us come up with a reasonable itinerary for our first week in thailand. "first thing: get out of bangkok." his service was free, because he works for the national tourism authority. we figured, since he was an authority on tourism, we should probably take his advice. we ended up chattering our way up to chiang mai on a hissing, jarring relic of railroad history, where we could see the tracks racing by through the hole in the bottom of the toilet (not many people walk along the tracks, we figured), and where the roomy baggage compartment, surprisingly, turned out to be my bedroom for the night. we are now bunking in a cozy, if warm, bedroom in the heart (perhaps the throat) of the old city of chiang mai. our days consist of walking, turning down tuk-tuk drivers, memorizing as many small thai phrases as we can, resisting high-pressure textile salesmen from kashmir (they're very lovable), slurping down local cuisinary mysteries, and trying to hear the voice of God in this place. it is a beginning. we are definitely foreigners.

seattle

the great people in the great city of seattle...
steve: the perfect kind of uncle to have: laid back, interesting and interested, laughs a lot, plush guest room, takes off of work for you in a snap, knows the best hikes to do in the fog or not, enjoys good beer, and beautifully a gratton -- one of my own. thanks steve for the great times and amazing flexiblity with putting up with 2 stinky fareweather family members.

tia and tim: my longest time still oober-close friend and kindered spirit and her well suited kind, generous, up-for-anything beau. we lindy hopped even though we didn't know how, folk-festivaled it up with sensory overload, barbequed creatively, hiked in the gorgeous cascades, and deeply enjoyed our time with them. we are thinking about proposing switching the state of washington with the state of maryland. we have loved tia and now love tim as well -- and to top it all off, they are both seasoned travellers who have both spent time in thailand. how is that for a send off?

gorge. us.

sometimes, in the wilderness, i'll turn over a rock and discover a whole family of unusual creatures dwelling peacefully together, contributing in some unexpected but vital way to the overall harmony and health of their local environment. in the urban wilderness of portland, we discovered the rodgers. ricky, anna, and their kids selah, moriah, havilah, graylan, and gideon are an unusual species of family. they are sinking roots down into the soil of southeast portland, and already producing fruits of charity and kindness for the refreshment of those within reach of their tree (and the great, asymmetric house being built upon it).
although they'd only known us for about thirty minutes, ricky and anna gladly offered us their love, inviting us to abide at their delightful abode, and to share in the joyful noise of their large family.
we drove with ricky, the kids, and neighbor jake in the vintage chevy greenbriar to elowah falls, where they all helped us set up camp for the night. the falls are in the columbia river gorge (the name europeans, we discovered, prefer over 'canyon'). the gorge is an enchanted place, full of wonder and the possibility of magic.
after elowah, we hitched to hood river, stayed there for two days, catching our breath and remembering what we're doing, and then went back into the wilderness of the gorge. at ricky's suggestion, we hiked seven miles up eagle creek, where everything is soft, green and pulsing with life, and where water falls thrash and explode on and on along the trail. it was one of our best hikes yet.
we hitched back to p-land, spent the evening with ricky, anna and the kids, and are now off to seattle.
some families are not unexceptional. the rodgers, mmm, are one of those families.

sold!

i am proud to offically announce being truly homeless. although we have been living that way for the past 5 weeks, we have had a delightful condo laying in wait in VA Beach. today she closed; we traded her in for a briefcase of cash.

SO, now we sleep in the sand on a shady bank in the middle of the hood river. bags stashed in a nearby bushy tree during daylight - the general area is where we refer to for now as "home."

or when we get romantic and quote the movie "the notebook" we just refer to "eachother" as our home (and if this is the case, our home needs a GOOD cleaning up).

We thank the Good Lord for allowing this sale to happen and launching us forward into the next thing -- whatever it may be. the fact that the offer came in the DAY we left just blew our minds. We were so blessed to have had such a great place for the past 4 years, and blessed today for profiting from having invested there. we thank His saint, kris weaver, as well. a real estate agent that goes beyond the call of duty, who worked everything out so smoothly and did all the footwork (and gobs of paper-signing)along with his team as we've been galavanting around the west. Thank you kris!
www.krisweaver.com

p-land

portland is a city that values artistic expression. it is a fun city to look at, and to experience with the other four senses as well. image is esteemed highly here, and appearance. things seem to be evaluated quickly here in terms of their immediate surface characteristics. i wonder what the image of God might look like here. we visited imago dei, a christian community in the hawthorne district, and the physical image of that community looked similar to the local environment. the spirit of jesus was strong there, however, and the character and nature of God was far more striking than any physical attributes of the church. they seem to know how to use the medium of this place to convey the truth without allowing the medium itself to be the end. art is a means to the end of highlighting the great beauty of our creator, whose beauty, while manifest physically, is far deeper and more enduring.

homeless

homeless in lincoln city, OR.

lost coast

san francisco

jamie and the lost coast

we eased our way up the coast to the green hills of humboldt county, where we enjoyed some fine living on the sachs family farm, with jamie. he abides in rustic serenity up there with his peaceful dog, shasta, growing various fruits, veggies, herbs, and spices, and living as close as possible to nature without having to give up the satisfying accoutrements of modern life: internet access and netflix.
between the two nights we stayed at jamie's cabin, the three of us and shasta headed out to the lost coast for a three day wilderness excursion. the trek was 25 miles and change along the coast, and consisted of transitions between every type of terrain - soft, black sand, fist-sized stones, hard, breakwater sand, head-sized rocks, boulders, piles of driftwood, grass, stream bed, and every possible combination of these elements.
it is land owned and managed, though loosely, by the bureau of land management, and except for a few priveleged structures, undoubtedly the envy of most through hikers, it is a land entirely free from human development.
with some sections impassable at high tide, and with the whole coast subject to the often unpleasant, sometimes violent elements of the mountainous coastline, the lost coast is one of the ruggedest areas we've ever hiked. we found shelter patches both nights to avoid the potentially raucous winds, and made raging driftwood fires (rip-roarin', seth and pa) to dry our gear (tracy had a bit of a sock casualty).
the coast was wild and totally untamed. wildflowers burst in meadows and waves smashed against huge jutting boulders. sea lions barked and sunned on large rock outcroppings, and grey whales (or were they blue?) arched their slick backs out of the water just over 100 yards out from the shore, emptying their blowholes into mist. wind was strong, skies were blue, and fresh water streams were, well, really fresh.
we found the lost coast. then we left it there. it was too big to bring along with us.

good people

adam and I were privileged to spend 5 days at the 'mystic mountain resort' (also known as 'aunt laurie and joe's') in sonoma county. laurie lavished us with bunches of stellar (and vegan!) fare and we had time to take in the area -- including canoing with joe on the russian river and a visit to the beach. we also joined laurie for a sing-along where she proceeded to rock the piano for some local oldsters. we soon realized we needed to get out of there before we got too used to all the good treatment -- it was time to start the next chapter of our journey up the coast... officially AFOOT.

Our first ride could not have been more ideal. we were quickly friends with dave, a red-faced, easy-laughing retired wanderer living out of a utility van equipped for long term traveling: bed, curtains, porta potty, stocked coolers, and an open spirit to folks afoot. we rode along the windy ocean-view highway and laughed and shared stories. this ride and two days with dave is enough material for a short story. but, for the sake of time, all i'll say is that we showed up unannounced to his "ex-nephew's" place, pitched our tent in the back yard, and joined the locals.

A few other hitching highlights so far have been some white-knuckle rides in beds of screeching-tire pick-up trucks shared with large but friendly dogs. Another was just yesterday with folks we met at cape lookout -- cheryl, martin, jesse, and eli. they were on a trip moving to washington, we chatted and clicked but went on our way... the next day they were driving out of town and saw our thumbs so lifted us to tillamook where we explored the cheese factory together. we enjoyed the inquisitive youths peering through the factory glass, the parents' explanation to our impressed observation of the boys was "no TV."

SO many characters, so many interactions that leave me smiling. I think having on a bandanna and backpack brings us into brotherhood with a different crowd. even thought we don't have to be homeless, don't have to be eating everything out of tin cups, we choose to -- and it allows us the privilege of connecting with an array of good people.

green tortoise

the green tortoise is a well-connected roadhouse for travellers international and national alike. it is a noisy, jostling hive of people on the move, tucked securely - or so it promises - in the pulsing heart of san francisco's red light district. amidst the red, seductive neon of broadway is the green glow of the friendly tortoise hostel, an urban oasis. we stayed there for an entirely too brief three nights, sharing our suspiciously odorous double bunk-bed dorm room with a different variation of folks each night. the tortoise is well-woven into the fabric of the city. it seems to know where every different thread leads, as well as which particular threads to follow to indulge any given whim or fancy. our whims and fancies led us to an assortment of piers, parks, enterprising holes in walls, reefer smokers and sellers, gardens, bridges, and homeless havens. we ate monster burritos in record time, jammed hard to classic 80's music with bright-faced strangers, and wandered far and wide, on foot, throughout the city. we shared laughs, meals, and stories with people from ireland, england, albania, norway, finland, puerto rico, and even alabama. that's right, alabama. it was a delightful junction of worlds.

so much

just a quick blurb to say we are well - we now find ourselves in yahats, oregan staying in an apartment above the yahats river house restaurant with the owners, who we got a ride with from california. life is good!