1. 7/7 - I-5 somewhere in Southern Oregon. This was taken on the way from Seattle to Oakland. This is probably hour 7 of 17 for that day. What a lovely picture from the road…now allow me to jump up on my soapbox. I’ve never had bad luck with Craigslist Rideshare. I have to explain to people all of the time that the world isn’t the really the scary place that shitty local news tells you it is. (Seriously, stop watching that crap.) Partially as a byproduct of the legalization of abortion in 1973, crime rates have gone down (among other factors). Less unwanted humans means less violent, bitter psychopaths out in the world. Imagine that. It’s actually safer now than it was 20 years ago. And with gas prices pointlessly going nuts (I’m just gonna blame Bush no matter what) it doesn’t make sense for me to drive Elizabeth Taylor around the country and NOT have passengers ride with me to chip in. And have I ever been afraid of any of them? Fuck no. So along my Journey I always put up a Rideshare ad a couple days before I take off to the next place. And it’s not as if I don’t vet them to decide if they can come with. In my ads I tell them to send me a pic and/or their facebook. I can usually divine out of that whether they seem cool or not. Also I put in the ad “No Stinkers!” (It only takes one to remember to include this on your ad.) On this day I got 4 hours of sleep in the van in my spot next to Green Lake and met up with Craigslist Rideshare 1 of 3. A self-proclaimed “gentle soul” named Lightbear was dropped off at the van and we went to Capitol Hill to pick up a hip, single mom, Bree; blue hair, covered in colorful tattoos who was heading to Eugene, OR to get a cat skull tattoo’ed on her hand by an artist with a year long wait list. I myself was heading back to LA to play some shows with my UK band, KAV. On the way South we picked up the last passenger, June, who was heading to the Oakland area not far from where Lightbear was going to stay. Lightbear was going to check out a college professor/philosopher/guru/collective in the East Bay and June was staying with some family in the suburbs before heading down to Mexico to write a book on Female Sustainable Builders. Noble pursuits all around. Lightbear had just attended the Rainbow Gathering and was the one who turned me on to the phrase “Drainbows”. At a stop in the middle of Oregon I dug out my acoustic guitar from the back and L.B. played us a few songs. We dropped off Bree in Eugene and I thought of visiting the collective where my first travel companion Ryan was staying, but I knew we had to get a move on to make Oakland. The GPS was already saying we’d be lucky to arrive around 2:30 am. June, L.B. and I swapped stories about meditation, where we came from, authorities abusing their power and pushing around hippies in Medford, OR and future plans. Somewhere around Shasta National Forrest we stopped at a Rest Area and found some abandoned Coors Light just hanging out on the way to the on-ramp. I think the universe put them there for us because they were still cold. We got in to the outskirts of Oakland around 3 am. I dropped of L.B. and then June and parked in a rich neighborhood under a big tree in front of a McMansion being renovated and up for sale in the $300k’s. What a steal! When I woke up the next morning to head down to LA I realized coincidentally that I’d stayed in the same suburb sometime last year with my friend Liz. Best group rideshare yet.

    7/7 - I-5 somewhere in Southern Oregon. This was taken on the way from Seattle to Oakland. This is probably hour 7 of 17 for that day. What a lovely picture from the road…now allow me to jump up on my soapbox.

    I’ve never had bad luck with Craigslist Rideshare. I have to explain to people all of the time that the world isn’t the really the scary place that shitty local news tells you it is. (Seriously, stop watching that crap.) Partially as a byproduct of the legalization of abortion in 1973, crime rates have gone down (among other factors). Less unwanted humans means less violent, bitter psychopaths out in the world. Imagine that. It’s actually safer now than it was 20 years ago. And with gas prices pointlessly going nuts (I’m just gonna blame Bush no matter what) it doesn’t make sense for me to drive Elizabeth Taylor around the country and NOT have passengers ride with me to chip in. And have I ever been afraid of any of them? Fuck no.

    So along my Journey I always put up a Rideshare ad a couple days before I take off to the next place. And it’s not as if I don’t vet them to decide if they can come with. In my ads I tell them to send me a pic and/or their facebook. I can usually divine out of that whether they seem cool or not. Also I put in the ad “No Stinkers!” (It only takes one to remember to include this on your ad.)

    On this day I got 4 hours of sleep in the van in my spot next to Green Lake and met up with Craigslist Rideshare 1 of 3. A self-proclaimed “gentle soul” named Lightbear was dropped off at the van and we went to Capitol Hill to pick up a hip, single mom, Bree; blue hair, covered in colorful tattoos who was heading to Eugene, OR to get a cat skull tattoo’ed on her hand by an artist with a year long wait list. I myself was heading back to LA to play some shows with my UK band, KAV.

    On the way South we picked up the last passenger, June, who was heading to the Oakland area not far from where Lightbear was going to stay. Lightbear was going to check out a college professor/philosopher/guru/collective in the East Bay and June was staying with some family in the suburbs before heading down to Mexico to write a book on Female Sustainable Builders. Noble pursuits all around.

    Lightbear had just attended the Rainbow Gathering and was the one who turned me on to the phrase “Drainbows”. At a stop in the middle of Oregon I dug out my acoustic guitar from the back and L.B. played us a few songs.

    We dropped off Bree in Eugene and I thought of visiting the collective where my first travel companion Ryan was staying, but I knew we had to get a move on to make Oakland. The GPS was already saying we’d be lucky to arrive around 2:30 am.

    June, L.B. and I swapped stories about meditation, where we came from, authorities abusing their power and pushing around hippies in Medford, OR and future plans. Somewhere around Shasta National Forrest we stopped at a Rest Area and found some abandoned Coors Light just hanging out on the way to the on-ramp. I think the universe put them there for us because they were still cold.

    We got in to the outskirts of Oakland around 3 am. I dropped of L.B. and then June and parked in a rich neighborhood under a big tree in front of a McMansion being renovated and up for sale in the $300k’s. What a steal!

    When I woke up the next morning to head down to LA I realized coincidentally that I’d stayed in the same suburb sometime last year with my friend Liz.

    Best group rideshare yet.

  2. 6/7 - Voodoo Donut - Eugene, OR The Vegan Cocoa Puff Donut

    6/7 - Voodoo Donut - Eugene, OR

    The Vegan Cocoa Puff Donut

  3. 6/7 - Voodoo Donut - Eugene, OR Behold: the bacon and maple. Your head a splode.

    6/7 - Voodoo Donut - Eugene, OR

    Behold: the bacon and maple. Your head a splode.

  4. 6/7 - Near the University of Oregon at Eugene No Skateboarding or Dogs? What about one of those bulldogs that dress like Californians and ride skateboards? I think the combination of factors should make those dogs exempt. Maybe they’ll eat the ducks.

    6/7 - Near the University of Oregon at Eugene

    No Skateboarding or Dogs? What about one of those bulldogs that dress like Californians and ride skateboards? I think the combination of factors should make those dogs exempt. Maybe they’ll eat the ducks.

  5. 6/7 - As seen in front of Starbucks near the University of Oregon: RESTRICTED AREA CURB TOSIDEWALKUNLAWFULTO REMAIN  4.807 E.C.  What the goddamned fuck is that supposed to mean? I get that it’s some sort of a sign to keep the “Ave Rats” (see slippies) from feeding off of the good nature and deep pockets of the students of the University of Oregon but seriously who said, “Yeah that sounds great!” when they were deciding what to put on this sign?

    6/7 - As seen in front of Starbucks near the University of Oregon:

    RESTRICTED AREA

    CURB TO
    SIDEWALK
    UNLAWFUL
    TO REMAIN 

    4.807 E.C. 

    What the goddamned fuck is that supposed to mean? I get that it’s some sort of a sign to keep the “Ave Rats” (see slippies) from feeding off of the good nature and deep pockets of the students of the University of Oregon but seriously who said, “Yeah that sounds great!” when they were deciding what to put on this sign?

  6. 6/7 - Om Nom Nom! I’m in ur Univeriteez of Oregon eatin ur giant cookiez!

    6/7 - Om Nom Nom!

    I’m in ur Univeriteez of Oregon eatin ur giant cookiez!

  7. 6/7 - A big cookie and nobody to guard it, huh?

    6/7 - A big cookie and nobody to guard it, huh?

  8. 6/7 - University of Oregon This part of the U of O campus totally reminds me of this part of the University of Nebraska over by the English building south of campus rec. Strange how walking around other people’s campuses reminds you of specific buildings and locations of your own. I totally thought this dude was some crazy Samoan with Crystal Gayle hair. It was just a long doo rag. Disappointment and relief.

    6/7 - University of Oregon

    This part of the U of O campus totally reminds me of this part of the University of Nebraska over by the English building south of campus rec. Strange how walking around other people’s campuses reminds you of specific buildings and locations of your own.

    I totally thought this dude was some crazy Samoan with Crystal Gayle hair. It was just a long doo rag. Disappointment and relief.

  9. Walked around the University of Oregon campus for a full half hour before I saw any ducks! I was starting to claim false advertising until I saw these guys! Aaaaaaw Quackers! aafsijasfjajfdsfjs[j!

  10. 6/6 - Bingo @ Sam Bond’s Garage - Eugene, OR

    6/6 - Bingo @ Sam Bond’s Garage - Eugene, OR

  11. 6/6 - Eugene, Oregon - Sam Bond’s Garage The reason for stopping in Eugene (besides my own curiosity) was meeting up with my not-so-long and very not-lost travel compatriot Ryan D. with whom I started the Journey/Escape in our hometown of Grand Island, NE exactly 30 days before I rolled into Eugene. We took 4 days to get from NE to Los Angeles and after a brief stay in the City of Angels Ryan took a train up the coast to join a suburban subsistence farming project and dharma day camp. In the 3 days I spent in Eugene I met the amazing group of young people he’d been living and working with. Some of them had Sanskrit names as part of their Dharma training so it was a little harder to memorize names like Shakti and Udaman but I still made an effort. I stayed in the van the 3 nights I stayed there but used their “gray water” shower system and, uh, compost toilet as well as partaking in a couple of their community meals. Much of the food was donated by local grocers, provided by food stamps and contributed from the 12 individuals in the program. I donated a decent amount of groceries to the group so aside from the effort of making the meals I think I left more than I took. When it was time to leave I was still asked for a monetary donation to the cause. Tightly budgeted as I am on this journey while having to drop more than $100 each time I fill the van and as of this writing am SEVERELY low on funds due to an employer’s debt to me remaining unpaid; I still donated the $10 cash I had on me to that I was going to use for food; If I could have donated more to “the cause” I would have. Overall it’s a good model, dietarily goes a bit far (lots of lentils, no mushrooms, no garlic? as if!) but for sure has parts that if implemented into the day-to-day life of regular folks could make a real difference in the environment. Idealism: how did I keep that after living 3 years in LA? While staying with them I was invited to join them in their well built and very peaceful straw-bale-construction temple for Asnas Yoga. I’d never done yoga before and it kinda changed my life. I swore to keep going with it whenever I get to wherever I’m going. After 3 days when it felt I was testing the limit of their peaceful vegetarian patience and the amount of actual shit to do in Eugene and I took off to Portland. One of the 2 cities I could feel pulling me North.

    6/6 - Eugene, Oregon - Sam Bond’s Garage

    The reason for stopping in Eugene (besides my own curiosity) was meeting up with my not-so-long and very not-lost travel compatriot Ryan D. with whom I started the Journey/Escape in our hometown of Grand Island, NE exactly 30 days before I rolled into Eugene.

    We took 4 days to get from NE to Los Angeles and after a brief stay in the City of Angels Ryan took a train up the coast to join a suburban subsistence farming project and dharma day camp. In the 3 days I spent in Eugene I met the amazing group of young people he’d been living and working with. Some of them had Sanskrit names as part of their Dharma training so it was a little harder to memorize names like Shakti and Udaman but I still made an effort. I stayed in the van the 3 nights I stayed there but used their “gray water” shower system and, uh, compost toilet as well as partaking in a couple of their community meals.

    Much of the food was donated by local grocers, provided by food stamps and contributed from the 12 individuals in the program. I donated a decent amount of groceries to the group so aside from the effort of making the meals I think I left more than I took. When it was time to leave I was still asked for a monetary donation to the cause. Tightly budgeted as I am on this journey while having to drop more than $100 each time I fill the van and as of this writing am SEVERELY low on funds due to an employer’s debt to me remaining unpaid; I still donated the $10 cash I had on me to that I was going to use for food; If I could have donated more to “the cause” I would have. Overall it’s a good model, dietarily goes a bit far (lots of lentils, no mushrooms, no garlic? as if!) but for sure has parts that if implemented into the day-to-day life of regular folks could make a real difference in the environment. Idealism: how did I keep that after living 3 years in LA?

    While staying with them I was invited to join them in their well built and very peaceful straw-bale-construction temple for Asnas Yoga. I’d never done yoga before and it kinda changed my life. I swore to keep going with it whenever I get to wherever I’m going.

    After 3 days when it felt I was testing the limit of their peaceful vegetarian patience and the amount of actual shit to do in Eugene and I took off to Portland.

    One of the 2 cities I could feel pulling me North.

  12. 6/6 - Sam Bond’s Garage - Eugene, OR Monday is BINGO NIGHT at Sam Bond’s in the Whitaker neighborhood. Prizes this evening included some amazing thrift store finds including a framed picture of white Jesus; an epic painting of a redwood forest floor whose ownership came down to an intense game of Rock, Paper, Scissors and a putt return machine. Only $3 for a Mason jar of locally brewed (as in across the street) Ninkasi Total Domination IPA. A bold claim I’m inclined to agree with. Eugene has no shortage of hot hipsterettes.

    6/6 - Sam Bond’s Garage - Eugene, OR

    Monday is BINGO NIGHT at Sam Bond’s in the Whitaker neighborhood. Prizes this evening included some amazing thrift store finds including a framed picture of white Jesus; an epic painting of a redwood forest floor whose ownership came down to an intense game of Rock, Paper, Scissors and a putt return machine.

    Only $3 for a Mason jar of locally brewed (as in across the street) Ninkasi Total Domination IPA. A bold claim I’m inclined to agree with.

    Eugene has no shortage of hot hipsterettes.

  13. 6/5 - I-5 still in California Impressed with this guy’s swagger. Should have been paying more attention to the road and almost ran into the guy when the right lane merged into mine. A pop-up VW van and a motorcycle with a sidecar? S W A G G E R

    6/5 - I-5 still in California

    Impressed with this guy’s swagger. Should have been paying more attention to the road and almost ran into the guy when the right lane merged into mine. A pop-up VW van and a motorcycle with a sidecar?

    S W A G G E R

  14. 6/6 - As of today the journey has gone on exactly one month and I still feel the numbness I’ve been trying so hard to shake off. I guess it took years to glaze over, I just hoped it wouldn’t take as long to clear up.

    I gave up meat(mostly) in Feb/Mar to see if cutting out processed foods were poisoning me and physically I don’t feel much better but there is kind of a smug sense of superiority that you get knowing less creatures had to die for you to survive. But eventually I started to get sick and then in Santa Cruz I met a metalhead nutritionist (whos also a veteran) named Travis who suggested taking protein shakes and now I feel much better. If they ever come out with soilent green and it has 58g of protein then I’m totally down. I don’t care what it’s made from.

    I had my first massage/acupuncture after a date just before I left LA and it felt good while it was happening but I didn’t notice a difference in my being/energy overall. I was kinda more into being skewered by ancient Chinese cocktail swords then anything else. I liked it, but was still waiting for an epiphany or a flashback. I’m not sure it’s going to come because I’m looking too hard. It’s making me feel inhuman.

    Today I had my first Yoga session and it seemed genuinely helpful. More then anything else I’ve tried so far (all of the above plus energy healings and some sort of healing machinery array). I’ve tried to meditate a few times but could never quiet myself enough to disconnect but I might try again while I’m in such a serene place (for at least another day).

    Residents here earn sanskrit names after they’ve reached a certain level, like getting a black belt in oneness. Of course everyone is super nice and helpful but it makes me feel selfish(which I am) and also makes me hate everyones white people problems in LA that much more.

    Wish I could wake up with everyone else at 6:45 for the morning Yoga session but unfortunately my sanskrit name would mean “destroys in the moonlight all progress made under the sun”. You can just call me Teej.

    — Dharmalaya Suburban Commune - Eugene, OR

  15. Anonymous asked: Where the hell are you? I thought you headed North but I know Circus Liquor can be found in NoHo.

    I’ve queue’d up as many posts as I can (26 still in the queue) so it hasn’t caught up to the present yet. I’m having it post about 5 a day. I’ve tried to put a date in the description whenever possible.

    And for the record I got to Eugene, Oregon last night.