Ohio

Been thinking about you, that's all.

Hitchin and job huntin

Last week Ryan and I hitched a ride down to the Oregon Badlands, where we hiked in a few miles, set up camp, and spent the rest of the day climbing at Flatiron Rock. Beautiful country. Really something entirely new to me.

Interviewed at Whole Foods yesterday. Went well. And tomorrow I'm catchin an early bus up to Prineville to apply for a wildland firefighting gig.

Oh yeah, so I wore my Snowville "Grass Grazed Revolution" t-shirt to the coffeehouse this morning, and a guy commented on it. Struck up a conversation about raw milk and he said he's part of a locavore coop type place getting off the ground. Could be fun!

coffeecoffeecoffee

Making the rounds of coffee shops in town.

Backporch Coffee Roaster is just two blocks away, and plays excellent music. Fleet Foxes' self titled played through a couple of days ago, Andrew Bird's latest, and today, a few minutes of experimental feedback.
While I sat enjoying a cup, a barrista walked over and asked if I would like the leftovers of a pour over he was just about to make. Uh yea, OK.

Simply Organic is, I've heard, the oldest and most established roaster in the area. Good Joe, quick internet, nice picture windows looking out onto a main street in town (guy on a Segway). The cashier is new to town from California and comped my cup after I told her it was my first time.

The Looney Bean has a great, parklike backyard, which butts up to the Deschuttes. Best place to kick back for a sip-and-read that I've found yet.

And now, I'm sitting at Lone Pine Coffee Roasters. It's been recommended to me by people all over town, but I had one heck of a time finding the damned place in a hidden alleyway and nondescript "COFFEE" sign. Poetry, praising the "perfumes of Araby" is painted on the wall behind the counter. They specialize in lighter roasts, up to a city-plus. Made me a pour over with their "Tin Pan Alley" roast. MMMMMmmmmm. Earthy notes at the finish. My favorite.

A few more to go, but no more today. No mas. Too much.
Come for a visit and I'll take you on a caffeine crawl.

~~~~~~~~~~hands are shaking~~~~~~~~~~~

Quickie Update

Let's see... We got an apartment, bicycles, found good (read: strong and freshly roasted) coffee nearby, library card. I went for a nice ride around town, maybe a bit shy of ten miles. Walked to the top of Pilot Butte -- where I'll surely bring my camera in the near future, if not today.

Still impressed by how friendly everyone is in this town. I half expected that, with such a large population growth over the last decade, some people might be weary of newcomers. But questions for directions, bars, and food are all met with enthusiasm over their great town.

Interested to see if there's much change in the town's personality once the summer tourism rush starts.

Progress

Well, we made it to town yesterday evening. My seat partner on the bus was on her way to Bend to visit her brother, and we wound up splitting a cab to the restaurant he works at. Had some delicious local beer, a pretty solid black bean burger, and good times.

Then our couchsurfing host came by to pick us up, brought us to her pad where we dropped our stuff. We went out to 10 Barrels Brewing Co. (one down, eight to go), sat on a patio with a big fire pit, enjoyed a couple libations and talked mainly about travel. Our host is way cool, so energetic and outgoing.

Then today Ryan and I went out to look at apartments. The first one was really nice but not ready for another month, so the property manager directed us across town to another place. Wow. The neighborhood is great. The apartment is surrounded by two local grocers, a coffee house and roaster, a Mediterranean restaurant... and it's a 5 minute walk from downtown. Keep your fingers crossed that we get it!

Oh, also grabbed a pint at the Deschutes Brewery (!!!!) for lunch. Seven more to go...

The Dream of the Nineties is Alive in Portland

Whew! We arrived in Portland. That was one long train ride. Left late Friday night, arrived at 10:00 Monday morning. As long as it took, it was a much better experience than flying. We had leg room, we could walk to "The Dome" car, where the windows curved up into the ceiling for expansive views. We slowly chugged through the rockies. And we met a whole bunch of interesting folks. (Two of them took too long at a stop and got left behind! One guy paid $150 for a ride to the next station, and got a speeding ticket on the way.)

Listening to Helplessness Blues while rolling through the Cascade Mountains nearly brought this nature lover to tears. Really feels like we're in the promised land. I still have trouble wrapping my head around the one-way ticket idea. And being from the Pacific Northwest, I've longed to get back for such a long time--to the point of idealizing the region, maybe setting myself up for disappointment (though I doubt that).

Mt. Hood

We were going to go straight to Bend, but decided last minute to hang out in the Rose City for the day. Walked over to a Whole Foods for lunch with our new friend Jackson (he was on layover en route to a ski trip). He had his skate board so we walked across town to the Burnside Skate Park.

Jackson at Burnside Skatepark

Now we're back at Union Station waiting on Donnie, a helicopter mechanic we met on the train, to pick us up with his rental car and drive over to a hostel on Hawthorne.

So far so good!

En route!

Ryan at Union Station, with the Cincinnati skyline behind

Ryan and I embarked last night! Finding wifi has been a little, eh, 20th century. But we're in Chicago right now, waiting to board the Empire Builder.

Sitting in a cafe, sending out last minute couchsurfing requests. (fingers crossed, ya'll). If all else fails, we might be able to lock up some things at Whole Foods (Ryan transfered stores) and camp for a couple days. Apparently the whole city is surrounded by camp-worthy areas.

Just saw Grace

Made a quick trip up to Columbus to see Grace. She's getting a ton of attention from nurses and a lot of therapy, so she's pretty worn out. She stood up with some help and a little pain. Right before I got there she ate the first food she's had all week!

When I left she was just about to get an MRI. Depending on what that shows, she'll probably get to move to a rehab facility in Cleveland--maybe as close as 10 minutes from her home in Chardon, which will be really nice for her family.

Her sister is keeping an online journal called CaringBridge, which I've been checking almost nonstop. It's so nice to have a so many updates throughout the day.

"I'm surrounded by people people that love me," she said.

Grace

Beautiful time on the road; frightening ending.

I am just about to finish up my midwest / east coast tour. I made it all around Ohio, to Pittsburgh, took a greyhound to New York City, where I spent a beautiful weekend with friends. I've spent the past 5 days hanging out in Athens, and am leaving today.

But my mind is on Grace. My buddy, who was kind enough to put me up this week, was in a bicycle accident last night. She hit her head pretty hard and was life flighted to Grant Medical Center in Columbus.

She was in a coma for hours, suffered bleeding inside her head. But no neck or back injuries, and she's able to open her eyes and wiggle her toes at this point. Grant is one of the best hospitals in Ohio. She's got a long battle ahead of her, but Grace is one strong woman who can take anything that lies in her path.

I'll write more about travels later, when I can think about them. For now, I'm headed to Columbus to see my friend.

Mindy says take a hike

I like to ask about wanderlust. It's a nice conversation to have with those who have spent time on the road, or even with those who never get the urge to pack a bag and go.

This time last year I met a traveling poet, who'd just performed a bit of spoken word at the bar across the street. And who better to ask about wanderlust than a traveling poet?

I tracked her down on Facebook and sent her a good, old fashioned, fan note, and this was her response:

Arthur! I think the wanderlust is just the human in you wanting to go out in to the world and play. Why wouldn't you want to go out and play? If it doesn't get satisfied from time to time, you might start doing things like redecorating your house again or sinking into a television set or getting cranky with waitresses and your mother.

Life on the road is anti-glamorous. You spend a lot of time being half awake and kind of dirty, and wondering if the feeling you feel is hunger or thirst or exhaustion. But it's a guaranteed psychological stretching of the legs. New perspective shopping. Eye opening.

Being a touring poet is, of course, an extra special way to explore the world. It's more gear-intense then being a wanderlusting hobo and less gear-intense than being a musician. I get to meet really interesting people everywhere I go, awe at new landscapes, think brand new thoughts, and eventually miss my couch and my stove. 

Dissatisfaction is just an urge to grow. There's so many ways to un-rut. The opposite of depression is inspiration. If your inspired to wander, do it, even if its just a little. I can't tell you whether you should pack up your stuff and really get gone for awhile. But no one's going to hand you the life you really want to live, you know? You have to take it.

talk to you soon,
m

Mindy Nettifee, by the way. Check her work out some time. She is incredible. So I'm finally ready to go. Well, almost. I've still got more packing and purging to do. I'll spend most of March on the road in Ohio, stopping in to greet old friends one last time. Taking a bus to New York City for a weekend of gallery hopping. Holing up in Athens for a week with a bunch of cheap wine.


Then I board a train bound for that beer drinking, nature lover's paradise known as Oregon.
Sleep on the beach.
Buy another motorcycle.
Meet up with fellow traveler, Ryan.
Couch surf until we find an apartment and work.


Here's where I'll document these travels as well as future adventures.


Cheers, friends.