The Road Goes on Forever

May 3, 2011
The Road Goes on Forever
The semester ended with a whimper rather than a bang. I walked away from my last class at 7 PM on Thursday night and got under way in the mothership from downtown San Antonio. The roof was loaded with four surfboards, an ice chest, big Rubbermaid tub, a propane grill, and a gas can. I drove west on Interstate 10 until 11 PM and feel into sleep on the side of the road in a rest area somewhere in west Texas. The next morning we drove across the desert and arrived in Tucson in the evening. Our friend, Jennifer, had homemade margaritas and guacamole waiting. In no time I was feeling happy and unwinding from the road. We talked for hours with her husband, Greg, a neurobiologist specializing in pain, who runs a lab at the university in Tucson researching migraine headaches. He fascinated us with an explanation of his research--although the brain itself can't feel pain, he has found that the receptors in the meninges (the covering of the brain) are sensitive to small changes in ph, and that a shift to acid may be responsible for migraines. We talk about the brain and neurotransmitters and chemistry as the margaritas go down smooth and delicious (and strong) and then run out for chimichangas.

That night we slept in a little guest house with the windows open to the cold desert night. In the morning I woke up at 5 AM to watch the mountains in silhouette and an hour later make fresh coffee and eggs with Jennifer. Bob and I were back on the road by 8 and driving hard. That evening we drove in to Joshua Tree National Park and camped in Hidden Valley campground at one of my old favorite sites. We took a long walk in the desert to a cave I know of with petroglyphs. Bob walked barefoot in the desert. That night we it was cold and beautiful, the stars were bright. I fell asleep before I could even say goodnight. Awake with first light, I stepped into a cold desert morning. The battery was dead. After a jump and a cup of coffee we made the drive to Yucca Valley to replace the battery and then down to the town of Desert Hot Springs to soak in the hot mineral baths in the cool morning, looking up at the 12,000 foot snow covered mountains across the valley.

Back on the road we stopped at the first In N Out Burger we came to and I had a cheeseburger, and a chocolate shake. Bob had 3 cheeseburgers, and we split the fries. We found a hair in the last burger and they gave us back our $13. By Santa Barbara I was really tired. We stopped at a friend's house and dumped the boards and all the rooftop luggage to be more stream-lined and then pushed on to Santa Cruz, driving hard and fast up the coast. We made Santa Cruz at 8:30 PM and stopped at La Cabana taqueria on Mission street for a wet super burrito. It was delicious; I was home. Just a little bit further, up Western Avenue to my friend's house where we crashed on the side of the road, in the mothership, exhausted.

This morning I awoke at 5 AM and stuck my head out of the big sunroof hole in the roof and smelled the deliciously cool, fragrant air of Santa Cruz and I knew I was back home. Peter brought us coffee and homemade popovers for breakfast and then he and Bob drive north up the coast to Ano Nuevo to surf and I drove to Felton to visit with my friend Cedar and pick up a 9'6" single fin Doug Haut board she gave me. I was stoked. Back down in Santa Cruz Bob and I met another friend of mine and got my chef knives sharpened and a crate of fresh strawberries, another super burrito at La Cabana and visited with more of my friends. Finally we got a chocolate eclair from Kelly's French bakery and came back to Peter's. It's been a long day. I am about to crash hard and Bob of course, as ever, is working on the roof of the mothership. Bob is amazing. This morning when we were walking I looked at her and realized how precious and fragile and tender she is. I wanted to just hold her and love her and care for her.

Tomorrow at 5, while she sleeps, I'll drive us down the coast to Big Sur and Esalen, where we'll spend the day, soaking in the tubs, eating, relaxing and rejuvinating.