Introductions

So, I just finished seminar week at Arcosanti. It was pretty intense. A lot of early mornings an some very late nights. I spent time trekking through the grasslands, learning about the flora and the land's rich history. I learned about the history of Paolo Soleri and the beginnings of Arcosanti. I learned how to make silt casts and how the famous Cosanti bells are made. It's been pretty eventful.

Tomorrow I start my workstudy, which means I get my training in the cafe at 5:45 am tomorrow morning. It's a bit earlier than I'm used to, but I think I can handle it. I'm sort of excited to find out what I'll be doing. I felt pretty silly not having an answer when someone would ask what I'd be doing at Arcosanti.

Arcosanti

Well, I spent a bit more time in Venice than I had intended. Quite alright though, Marc had been working everyday that I had been there until this past week, so it was good to see him when he wasn't rushing off to, or just getting home from work.

Because Marc was working most of the time, I spent a lot of time with Chad just hanging out on the beach, P90Xing, longboarding the boardwalk, or meditating as my gaze drifted off over the ever distant horizon.

From Venice, I caught a red-eye Greyhound at two in the morning. Now, I'm in the high desert with a bunch of hippies. It's basically all I could ever ask for. I look forward to starting the workshop.

Derelict

As much as I didn't want to be in Buellton anymore, I did have fun. I got a fantastic tour of the Figueroa Mountain Brewery,  a righteous place with great beer. So righteous that the owner of the brewery had one of the assistant brewers give me a personal tour of their facility.

I didn't spend all my time stranded in Buellton though. Just a few miles out there is a small Danish tourist trap called Solvang. Ugh... I'm not a big fan of cliche tourists, so the place was about to be a bust until I stumbled upon this lovely antique shop with a bar. I saddled up and ordered a Fig Mountain Pilsner, and chatted with the locals. I met this great woman who handled publicity to bring in tourism as well as numerous other profit making ventures for the town. Long story short, she picked up my tab and told me if I ever wanted to come back she'd help me find a job and lodging.

Well, I had just about as much of the RV park as I could take, so I was determined to leave on Tuesday. It wasn't until afternoon that the parts for the truck came in, and they certainly weren't enough to fix the transmission, but for $225, I wasn't going to argue. Hell, fourth gear is enough to get me where I'm going.

I left around six to avoid any traffic. There wouldn't be much worse than stop and go traffic with only fourth gear. Eventually it happened though, once when I stopped for gas, and again when I finally made it to Venice. By the time I found a parking spot near my buddy's place, the cab was filled with the fumes of burning clutch, and I'm sure I was poisoning myself, but I made it. I was greeted by Marc with a welcoming hug, and he helped me unload the truck into his car, then his house.

Now I'm stuck again, I am unwilling to risk driving 500 miles to Arcosanti with only fourth gear, and to be honest, there isn't a lot of pressure to leave this paradise. The sun is shining, I'm wearing shorts, longboarding and biking the boardwalk, and the company of good friends. I've only been here for a short while, but the adventure has been wild. Most of it isn't something that I want to publicly announce, but I'll share with you this; I got a tattoo in the first 24 hours here.

Transmission

As hard as it was to leave Berkeley/Oakland, it had to be done. Cameron and I went out for a fair-well coffee, and I hit the road. The drive was pleasant, the sun was shining, and nothing but blue skies were ahead of me. I made it to the small town of Santa Ynez where I got directions into the forest, "Turn right on Mt Figueroa." Ha! That was honestly it. The road took me deep into the forest, up past the ranger station, past campsites, a school, and Neverland Ranch. The campsite I chose was at the very end of the road, and a half mile out something happened. All of the sudden, the wheels locked up and I came to a screeching halt. I knew what it was, but what the hell. I forced the truck the rest of the way to the campsite and coasted into a parking spot. 

Well, it's going to take a lot more than rain to stop this parade. I figured I made it to the campsite, I might as well do a little camping. I got a fire going, cooked myself some eggs, while I divided up my rations. I had plenty to last a few days. 

The nights were cold in the valley, but I managed. It made the hot meals all the more rewarding. After two nights in the forest, I new I should take care of the truck. Rain was coming and I didn't want to be stranded for a few days with out being able to cook food. Thankfully I found help from a couple of rangers. They took me to where I could make a call, even found me a number for a nearby tow service. Frazier's. Best tow I've had yet.

Terry towed me out no problem. He shared knowledge and stories on our journey back to civilization. When I mentioned I was looking to spend as little as possible on lodging, he mentioned the RV park, and Jensen's autoservice. He'd forgo the business of replacing my transmission so that I would have the convenience of staying across the street from where my truck could get fixed. Not a bad deal, if I used yelp, Frazier's would get an outstanding review. Well, he dropped me off at Jensen's, pointed out the RV park (right across the street), and even pointed out some good places to get grub. Thanks, Terry.

Now, I reside in paradise.

Restless

If anyone was wondering what I'm doing in Berkeley, The Crucible is where a lot of my time has gone, or will be going depending on when you're reading this.


You can check them out at thecrucible.org


Or at least you should be able to. I've been having trouble today.


Anyway, I've just been helping out with set production. Other than that I've been keeping things pretty tame.

The last leg?

OK, so where did I leave off? Ah, yes. Tahoe. Tahoe was incredible. We set out knowing little of what we were in for, only that we were meeting up with Patrick's good friend from Peace Corps Cameron, and some of his friends. I can't believe the amazing time I had. The entire group was just full of good natured people. We had a ball. There was dancing and games and just a warm loving atmosphere. I truly had an amazing time. Also, I got to see Patrick dancing in his onesie. Priceless. Well that's all you get of new year, the rest is basically saturated with intoxication, but I'm sure you get the gist. I guess I could mention doing sun salutations in the fresh mountain air, but who wants to hear about that.

Now I find myself in Berkeley. Pat has flown back to Brooklyn and left me to finish the journey as I started, which would be great, but I think I'm done. I like it here, and I think I'll stay. Cameron has introduced me to some great people and I'm just at the edge of my seat to start something here. Though, I guess I'm not quite ready to settle down. After all, Arcosanti has granted me a scholarship, so it looks like I've got ten weeks in the high desert starting February 5th. There'll be a blog for that. Not that my readers (Mom) would be terribly interested in it, but what the hell.

Minute After Minute

Happy New Year!

Well, I've made it across the country in just a couple weeks.

In Venice I got to see my buddy Marc, Pat swam in the ocean, and I longboarded about the coast.

Marc and I went to school at MIAD some time ago and had become close friends, but after life pulled him from that school we saw each other less and less. When the stars aligned just right Marc sent me a message via the Facebook. Short story shorter, I asked if I could swing by. It was pretty amazing seeing him again. Hadn't changed a bit. I wish I could have stayed longer and shared a few PBRs, but the road was calling and Pat and I had a cousin to visit.

HollywooD!

Hollywood was a quick stop at a burger joint. I'm pretty sure the best burger joint I've ever been to, and even though just thinking of the burger I had makes me salivate, the food wasn't the highlight. It was seeing my cousin Robby. I hadn't seen him in about a decade, and when I first saw him, I didn't even recognize him. It was great catching up on where life had taken us, filling in the blanks you get when it's just family members sharing what they know. After stories were shared and bellies filled, Pat and I continued on our journey.

The next stop was a cozy ranch in the town of Pixley, California. A friend of Pat's, Misael, whom I had just met not long ago in Brooklyn, was spending time there with his family. We were greeted with open arms, an abundance of food, and plenty of beer. Needless to say, I wasn't in a hurry to leave. While we were in Pixley, Misael and his brother in law took us into the tangerine fields where Cutie's were being picked. I don't really know how to capture what it was like to see the massive fields that stretched on for ever just so the rest of the United States can get there tangerine fix. It was pretty spectacular, and tasty. We stayed for two nights, and in that time we got to spend time getting to know Misael's family, feed the animals on the ranch, play poker, and pick fruit. 

Hospitality and generosity are the two words that come to mind. I couldn't believe how kind the family was. They not only took us in and fed us amazingly well, but they also sent us off with fresh cowboy boots and fresh kiwi, tangerines, and pecans from the area farms.

Back on the road it was a short drive to Lake Tahoe. It was basically another amazing set of days, but I'm too tired to continue on this post. I'll save that for the next one.