Lobsters and Lessons

We headed out from a wonderful month in Palm Springs on Sunday after spending a couple nights with our good friends Larry, Helene, Brett and Mary (and Kelli and Makayla of course). Such a good time. Lobster cookouts (Thanks Craig. Had to teach these West Coasters how to eat one... can you imagine?), pool time, motor home repair projects, haircuts, leg and hand massages by Connie... (look out, Lee Higgins!). We sat beside the pool on Viminal Way and ate the best biscuits and gravy on the planet on Saturday (Mary, you're the bomb...) and struck out for the coast on Sunday morning. All good things must come to an end and our time together was special. Thanks ever so much friends.

The windmill farms in the Cochella Valley are quite a spectacle. They sprout up like dandelions and span 20 miles through the desert. Clean energy. There is hope.

The drive through LA was a hair raising experience even on a Sunday. The sports cars doing slalom runs through 6 lanes of traffic gave me cramps in my hands from gripping the wheel and a sore throat from screaming at them. And we thought Boston traffic was bad... Doesn't even come close. Connie decided to stop looking into the cars next to us filled with Hispanic young men wearing gang rags and covered with tattoos. A lesson in diversity and discretion.

Up the Venture Highway and on to Santa Barbara where the mountains were still smoldering and gray from the recent fires. Signs along the roadside said "Thank you Fire Fighters. You Rock!". We detoured off the 101 onto 154 and climbed up into the wine country. Great road and we smiled to remember our trip there with Katie and Ryan in January of 2006. "Smell this!"

We picked up The PCH, Pacific Coast Highway in San Luis Obispo and into Morro Bay where we checked in the Morro Bay State Park for a night of camping on the ocean. I was committed to make this camping thing an enjoyable experience for Connie as we hope to camp in the National Parks over the next month. We had picked up some fresh fish from a roadside stand and also some tomatoes, avocados (9 for a dollar Lynne!), some fresh cherries, garlic, lemon and strawberries. I worked furiously to get the campsite set up because Connie was hungry and when she is hungry, it becomes the top priority. Strike One.

Connie mentioned that there seemed to be a lot of bird droppings at our spot under the massive Eucalyptus trees, but I didn't pay any attention. Too busy being super camperboy. The temperature was 50 degrees and foggy. We had just left 108 degrees in Palm Springs. Connie does NOT like the cold. Strike two.

Dinner was good. Home made guacamole topping on garlic crusted grilled tuna, tomato soup and hot tea with honey. Dish duty, set up bedding, a walk on the cold coast and a glass (bottle?) of wine around a campfire... the mood was like the weather. Chilly and foggy. Connie slept in the van. I took the dogs and slept on the air mattress in the tent. Foul tip... staying alive, staying alive.

I awoke at 6:00AM to a gray and chilly dawn and the sound of birds calling. How pleasant I thought. I opened my eyes and stared through the nylon tent at the towering trees. What were those dark stains all over the tent? I quickly dressed and and stepped outside into the misty morn. The tent and the van were entirely covered with thick brown bird poop, so thick that I couldn't see through the windshield. The Tule was dripping. The tent was a toxic waste site. Above us was a roost of 8 or 10 Turkey Vultures. If I had my gun there would be fewer. We had been shit at and hit. Strike Three!

I opened the hatch and Connie said, "Who paint balled us!" We started to laugh through clenched teeth. "Pack the van. we're out of here." she announced. I threw away the old tent (Sorry John... collateral damage. At this point, it was all about survival.). Even before we got our morning coffee, we drove directly to a self service car wash before the poop ate the paint off the van (Brett, the polish job saved me buddy!). Considering what Turkey Vultures eat, it was perhaps the dirtiest job of my life and that is saying alot considering my sewerage treatment and diaper changing background. Game over.

Later that day. after passing on a tour of the Hearst Castle (poor rich people... so much stuff), after talking Connie out of buying a bus ticket back to Palm Springs, and after a fine breakfast in San Simeon, preparing for a drive through Big Sur, Connie smiled and said, "So, what have we learned here today?" We laughed all the way up the PCH.