06.09.06

“Welcome to the Hotel California, such a lovely place, such a lovely face. Plenty of room at the Hotel California, any time of year, you can find it here…” The Eagles

Posted in Uncategorized, life's stories at 2:41 pm by Deb

So here we were on the road again. This time we were in a vehicle and were actually looking for a place to settle down. Our friends wanted to find a house with us somewhere on the northern California coast, but where? We cruised around up and down the coast looking at different communities and ended up in Santa Cruz. This was the place for us. Our friends didn’t want to rush into anything, so we headed out to Big Sur. We camped for a couple of nights but, having been warned by the Rangers about wild boars and being soaked by the rain, decided to move on. We camped another night in the redwoods and were awakened in the middle of the night by grunting and snorting sounds. I was convinced it was the wild boars. I kept trying to get X to go out and see. He wisely refused. I didn’t sleep all night. In the morning, we asked the Park Ranger about it. He laughed and told us that it was probably raccoons. The boars weren’t in that area, but raccoons make horrible and scary sounds when they’re rooting around at night. I felt very foolish, but relieved and even more anxious to be settled. I’d had enough of transience for a while. That day, on the road, our friends’ car broke down. They decided that without a car, they didn’t really want to stay in California after all. Their families sent them airfare, and they took off. We went back to Santa Cruz, which was then the murder capital of the world though we didn’t know that at the time. We did notice that there was an awful lot of missing person posters up all over town. Pretty early on we found out that the nearby mountains had become a stronghold for various cults. Rumors ran rampant about child sacrifices, weird ceremonies involving young women, cannibalism, etc. I decided I just wouldn’t walk around alone at night and probably not go camping in those mountains any time soon. I had to admit, there were some pretty creepy people in town. There were also some of the coolest people I had ever met. Soon after we arrived, I found out that one of my older cousins was living there. I went looking for him, but missed him by a couple of days. Not long after that, X and I were walking in downtown Santa Cruz, which was a pedestrian mall, and heard a very unique raspy voice, then the sound of a harmonica. There was a man we had picked up hitchhiking in the late fall, just before we took off on the road. We had put him up for the night and given him gloves and a hat. He wasn’t really dressed for the weather and hadn’t eaten in a couple of days. It was the least we could do. Suddenly, there he was. He recognized us at once. We jammed on the street a little while, then we moved along. We never saw him again. Another day, I turned a corner, and there was Arlo Guthrie playing on the street. What a wonderful place. I was home.

“Wild thing…you make my heart sing…You make everything groovy. I said, wild thing…” The Troggs

Posted in Uncategorized, life's stories at 2:03 pm by Deb

05.26.06

“I see your silver shining town, but I know I can’t go there –Your streets run deep with poisoned wine, your doorways crawl with fear. So I think I’ll drift for ol’ where it’s at, where the weed grows green and fine and wrap myself around a bush of that bright, whoa, oh Oaxaca vine…” Grateful Dead

Posted in Uncategorized, life's stories at 3:43 pm by Deb

05.20.06

“I see it showin’, Oh, the seed inside you baby. Do you feel it growin’, Are you happy knowin’ that you’re havin’ my baby…” Paul Anka

Posted in Uncategorized, life's stories at 8:02 am by Deb

05.16.06

“If I had ever been here before I would pro’bly know just what to do, hey don’t you? If I had ever been here before on another time around the wheel I would pro’bly know just how to deal with all of you…” David Crosby

Posted in Uncategorized, life's stories at 2:02 pm by Deb

05.12.06

“Oh, but California, California I’m coming home. I’m going to see the folks I dig, I’ll even kiss a Sunset pig. Oh California, I’m coming home…” Joni Mitchell

Posted in Uncategorized, life's stories at 11:43 pm by Deb

“He looked to me to be the eyes of age as he spoke right out. He talked of life; He talked of life…” Jerry Jeff Walker

Posted in Uncategorized, life's stories at 11:40 pm by Deb

05.07.06

“And the Colorado rocky mountain high, I’ve seen it rainin’ fire in the sky. I know he’d be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly, Rocky mountain high…” John Denver

Posted in Uncategorized, life's stories at 9:59 pm by Deb

05.05.06

“Come and lay down by my side till the early morning light. All I’m taking is your time, help me make it through the night…” Kris Kristofferson

Posted in Uncategorized, life's stories at 11:58 pm by Deb

05.02.06

“If the sky above you should turn dark and full of clouds and that old north wind should begin to blow…” James Taylor

Posted in Uncategorized, life's stories at 10:08 pm by Deb

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