trip out

Hello–we’re on a road trip.  This trip out to the coast is a big deal.  Emotionally, I’ve been needing it for a long time.  Can I show you a few California pictures?

Here’s Ming with a drug shake in Barstow.  He’s done a great job driving.  No car issues or surprising health issues so far.

This danger staircase of railroad ties was in Tehachapi in an alley.  We took a sweet walk at dusk, while waiting for our food at Steampunk Grill.  I ordered a salad, and it had raw fish on it.  Oops.  Ming had to eat the fish.

Right now we’re in Bakersfield at a cute lil airbnb.  It has a gorgeous patio with a covered part and ivy.  Probably it’s lovely in the summer, to be outside in all that shade.

Here I am on the porch, resting.  Thank you for your strength, legs!

I used to think Bakersfield was a shithole.  How rude of me.  Now I think it’s cool.

three walks

Yesterday was a rest day.  We took three walks.  The first was half an hour at the train station.  What a thrill!  It was foggy and cold outside.  We saw trains, a big globe sculpture, beautiful black acorns, and this library parking lot I have a thing for.  We also saw a Greek Orthodox church with some pretty art.

“The world doesn’t need to be this brutal,” I told Ming, seeing a homeless person near some dumpsters who looked very distressed.  We saw another homeless person who seemed in very bad shape.  Clearly our society gives up on a lot of people.  “We didn’t have to make a culture like this,” I told Ming.  “Working on a better one, but it takes a while.”

Our second walk was just down the street that our airbnb is on.  Ming had a phone call with an old friend.  We saw this Little Free Library that has no door.

It was kids books, and I looked at a few but didn’t take any.  When it rains, I guess the books get all wet.

Then our third walk was at a park, in the late afternoon.  The light was golden.  Kids played as an adult watched–a family ate some food.  Homeless people socialized at the basketball courts.  A lone reader read at a picnic table.  I looked at the graffiti on the picnic tables and noticed trash.

why us

“Why are we in a cush airbnb, while many people are sleeping outside?” I asked Ming.  It can seem dizzying, the disparity.  “I think it’s because we didn’t get drug addicted, we’re kind, and we have pretty hair.”  Somehow we’ve mostly succeeded at staying housed.

Drug addiction is a great destabilizer.  Then some things like being kind can work in our favor.  Having pretty hair is mostly chance, but chance can be part of it too.

conclusion

The trip is going great.  Vacation is a lot of work.  Rest days for taking good care of our bodies are important.  Three walks in one day is a great sign.

I’m working on a letter to a friend who’s in prison, and I’ve fallen behind on my embroidery for the friendship art along.  Here’s my dumpster from a new days ago I am proud of.  Love to your days and needs.