Benoit, Bernard and another German and I headed up to wine country for a day which was lovely, despite my lack of alcohol consumption. I guess I am now an official proud designated driver. The highlight of the day was buying a bunch of bread and cheese and nutella for a picnic overlooking a scenic lake (which I actually think was a fake reservoir). I discovered that it is an intense experience purchasing bread and cheese with a French guy - I think French people are born with a special gene for being extremely descriminating when it comes to these items. Note the photo of Benoit smelling the cheese. After our feast we had a delightful nap under the trees. Post-nap, Bernard stripped down to his underpants. It is still unclear as to why, but again, enjoy the photo. Back in San Francisco I hooked up with my buddy Craig from Bates for lunch, and then enjoyed a final good-bye dinner with my foreigner friends. I prepared s'mores for dessert, something they must experience before they return to their native countries. And they were a hit! We subsequently parted ways, and I must say that I miss them a lot. I never imagined that I would meet such enjoyable people on this trip and that we would share so much. I hope I will get to see them again someday.
After leaving San Fran I headed up to the Redwood national forest to spend a night in a little hostel on the beach. The drive through the redwoods is, hands down, the most outstanding drive I have done so far. It is so dramatic, so exciting, as the "highway" twists and winds through the great green giants. I caught a nice shot of the sunset from the hostel overlooking the coast. I found that I have become much more at-ease with meeting people in a hostel since I began my journey, and immediately struck up a conversation with a Dutch guy and some Americans. However, as I was only there for one night, it was not sufficient time to form a strong bond. I am now in Portland, and I love it here! People are so nice! I didn't have enough money to buy a hot chocolate in the coffee shop, so the barista simply lowered the price for me! I was approached on the street by a man who asked me if I'd like to hear a poem, and as he began to recite I began to panic "oh god, now he's going to ask me for money, or start harrassing me, or coming on to me, ahh, how do I get rid of him..." But it turns out all he wanted was to tell me a poem - as he finished he said "good day" and walked away. Whoa. That does not happen in NYC. Spontaneous poetry does not come without a price. It is a very liveable city here, and every person I talk to absolutely loves living here. People are genuinely happy. Even the people sitting next to me in the cafe were just talking about how nice it is living here. Hmmmm.....
Tomorrow I leave for Seattle. I'll hit you up with more when I'm there. Enjoy the pics.
