Ahhhhh...Morro Bay

Okay, I can't believe I used to live here. Morro Bay is awesome...why did I ever leave? Oh yeah, seven years of drought and no work...thats the way it was in 1991.
So, we heads on down from Santa Cruz to Morro Bay. Before we leave we stops off and get some goddies for Van (the Man)...(our bus) at a great VW shop in Santa Cruz. Now Van is 17 years old and we felt as if he might be needing a little support you know...so we gets him a...well it is a Manzere...you know a Bro...well okay its called a bra. Something to keep him snug and firm...and keep the rocks and bugs out of his teeth.
So any way, we have a great trip to Morro Bay...down the Salinas Valley and up and over the hills through Paso Robles...and down into God's greatest air conditioner...the Central Coast. So when it is eight hundred degrees in the valley, that heat draws moisture from the Pacific Ocean and cools off the coast. Now if your here looking to add to your skin cancer...forget it...it's cold and foggy...most of the summer. Come back on Thanksgiving day...it will be sunny.
But it is so refreshing to me...so...well its so cool. I mean cool not cool.
So of course we have no reservations any where...we're really gamblers at heart. But in the summer time the beaches are filled with the direct descendants of dust bowl farmers who all landed in Bakersfield, or Fresno, or Selma, or Ripon...you would swear the dust bowl had hit again. They come to the coast with trailors piled high with tentage and 14 bicycles per truck.
So the likelyhood of getting some place was slim. We checked two or three places and they had nothing. But then we called a place that was right on the beach, right next to The Rock (this and the PGE stacks are the landmarks for MB) and lo and behold...they had a spot for us. We snagged it pronto and came and set ourselves up for two nights of MB, Los Osos, and San Luis Obispo fun times.
We went to Los Osos and found all the places we lived when we lived here. We went to SLO and saw all the places we lived when we lived there. We also went to the courthouse cause Mimi needed to get a copy of our marriage license so she can actually become a real Wertz (another long story). It was hilarious...it listed my occupation as Gas Station Attendant...I can't believe I didn't say I was Oil Technition or something. I now know why Mimi's mom and dad were so against us getting married.
It is strange to come back and see things so different, and yet so many exactly the same.This place has exploded with new stores and shopping centers. We went to the world famous farmers market in downtown SLO. They close of about eight blocks of the main downtown street for tons of farmers, vendors, and food places. There were literally thousands of people walking up and down the streets...it was like a street fair. We bought some food and went over to the creek and sat on a bench and watched the water trickle down towards the ocean. It was so quiet and peaceful...while only a half a block away...it was a madhouse.
This was the creek my kids used to come and play in during the summer. Mimi and her frienf Helyn would bring the kids to the Mission and let the kids play in the creek while they connected about their lives. The kids would play and fight...you know just be kids.
As we sat on that bench and ate our food, we reminisced about our lives when we were much younger. We reflected upon the fact that the more things change...like SLO had...the more it stays the same. People making memories, building stories, processing and growing, and changing. And yet for one moment in time...we were so there again. I could even smell the gas and oil stained work clothes of a kid who had just met the girl of his dreams...oh my...the places you will go.

Off On Another Adventure

Well we are off again. I mean gone...not like the normal off we are. Now we are in Van the Man (our VW Bus) and headed south...to Cali (that is fornia for the unfamiliar). We pack up Van on Sunday night, get up early Monday morn and head south. Van running clean and smooth. But if you know Oregon, any car can run clean and smooth for the first 2 hours heading south...then you hit the mountains. But Van did an awesome job getting us over all the Oregon passes and we made it to Cali in great time.
But NorCali has it's own challenges...like it's own mountains, dried up lakes (like Shasta), and of course the nearest to ell as I ever want to get...Redding...I hate that place. Like Elaine on Seinfeld says about Hell; "it's the heat, my God the heat. And the ragged clothing...bleeeeahhhh!!!!" That's Redding. The one redeeming fact about Redding...that's right...it's the closest In-N-Out Burger to Oregon...oh yeah...Double Double with cheese baybe!!!
So after Redding it is flat...but hot. Mimi takes a turn guiding Van down the road...Pa takes a little nap. Fortunately for us, we got the AC fixed in Van before we left.
Now most uninformed people would think...well duh...of course you have to have AC . But AC and VW Busses is a bit of a stretch...not only is it Yuppie Bourgeoisie to have it in a bus, but it cuts your power in half. It is a big sacrifice to use it and have it in a bus...only for the perfect conditions...like the Cali Central Valley...flat and hot. Perfect AC time...and it was awesome.
Our first stop in Cali...Napa Valley.
Now even though I grew up about an hour or so from Napa, I never really spent much time there as a young person. In my early days of young adulthood I was never really interested in Napa because it was a scene I wanted nothing to do with. So to be where Mimi and I are now, with wine tasting as a high on the list hobbie...we were wonderfully surprised at just how cool it is in Napa Valley. We found a great campspot, cooked some great grub, and drifted off to sleep in Van the Man...what a joy.
Day two of the Cali Adventure has us stopping and sampling some of the fine products produced in the region...very responsibly I might add...but then we headed south again. We were Santa Cruz bound. But on the way...we made a little detour...through my hometown of Concord.
Now Concord is another hot and dry town...but it is where I grew up. We saw the train tracks I used to walk on to see how far I could balance on the track. It is now a part of BART tracks...not sure I would get too close. Then we found my old house where I grew up. It looked pretty much the same. After shooting 5 or 8 pictures though I realized I was standing in front of the wrong house. But it was good to see it and know it was a really important part of my life.
Going home is really important to the soul I believe. It helps us to remember from where we have come and to see that we may not be perfect, but hey at least we're not still the same. And it's good to know that despite the changes we may go through, some things remain the same.
So then we headed for Santa Cruz...of course there is no where for a hundred miles to camp...and we were lucky to find a reasonable hotel at 11 PM. But we did, and had a good sleep.
The next morning, we got to go to the famous Cowells Beach...it's the place I learned to surf. I remember that day so well...1971...no wetsuit...cut-off levi's...sweatshirt...March in NorCali ocean...cold...and colder. But brother did I surf...I caught wave after wave...I was hooked. It was awesome to be there on such a beautiful day with Mimi...but we needed to head south and so we were off again...this time we were bound for SLOtown...more about that tomorrow.
Goodnight.

The Bug In

You know something...some people do things on Sundays that don't involve church...I was not aware of that. Last Sunday, Mimi and I had the chance to run with that crowd who do other things on a Sunday. We packed it up early and headed to Portland in the bug...that's right...the 57. We drove all the way to Portland International Raceway for the annual Rose City Bug In. It is all VW all the time. Swapmeet, carshow, drag-racing, networking...all the fun stuff...it sounded really cool.
Now driving the bug on a normal trip is just a blast...but driving the bug to Portland on the freeway makes Mimi just a little nervous. Not having seatbelts or a gas gauge is scarey enough, but the bridges in Portland almost did her in. But we made it...safe and sound.
The hilarious part was when we arrived they asked us if we were showing the bug. "Uhhhhhh...wellll....we weren't planning on it" I said.
"But you should...you could win prizes" the guy said.
"Sign me up" I says...and off we go to the car show.
As I'm driving in I see cars that I have seen in the VW magazines...realizing I have no chance of winning, I still pull up and park the bug next to some hard core racer type cars. It is like apples next to oranges...you know there fruit, but their completely different. My bug is almost completely stock...and it is really nice.
























As soon as we parked the car, we get out and people start taking pictures of it....some people thought it was so cool...just like I do. It is a weird feeling to think that others see what you have and wish they could have it. So many people were so happy checking out all the cool things about the car...didn't they see the little flaws? Don't they see the things yet to be done? Why did they see the good that I had lost sight of? As I was over Jonesing over the bugs that were flawless...some were trying to imagine owning a bug as nice as mine.
Why do we do that? Why do we forget how great our things, our lives, our situations really are. I hear people say all the time, "if I could only be...only live...only have...my life would be so wonderful." What's wrong with just being content with what we have?
Well Mimi and I had a wonderful day...as I walked through all those beautiful cars...I realized again just how beautiful she is...how much I love to hang out with her...how thankful that she indulges all of my little hobbies...how she makes them hers as well...she is my wife...but she's my best friend too. Pa is very happy...Mimi is really a classic.