Goodbye USA

The first leg of my trip is done. North America was an amazing time and I could have spent an entire year just exploring its little nooks and crannies. I cruised across the Great Planes, hiked the tall peaks of Colorado, swam under the Arizona sun and watched the sun set over the Pacific Ocean.

Of all of the things I have done, both admirable and stupid, my greatest and most memorable experiences of this trip has not depended on activities or locations, but the people I have met along the way. I have stayed with multimillionaires, starving artists, family and strangers. I have met train hopping emo kids, a generous foster care family, a motel owner, a young IT professional and military personal of all sorts. My favorite times with these people has been Quietly observing how they do things and living their lives if only for an evening. Fascinating little cultural and lifestyle differences always bubble up.

Its a little frightening to be leaving the furthest edge of home, where everybody speaks my language and I can read street signs. What will be exciting is that once I get to Asia, I will be the furthest from home possible and that any further west I dare to go will be one step closer to my family and friends.

Thank you everybody that has made this trip so enjoyable. Thank you all who have donated, given me a place to stay, called a loose friend to arrange a place to stay and everybody back home that has emailed or called me just to say "Hi."

Asia here I come. Middle east you are on deck.

Layover in Hawaii

After my shameful plane ride I collected my over sized backpack and walked into the moist, tropical air and waited for my friend, Abby, to pick me up. Moments later, she pulled up in her new car with a gigantic smile on her face. I dove in and off we went into the Hawaiian sun, singing along to the 80's music on the radio.

Abby is from my hometown and I have known her since my high school prom. After some time in college she opted for military service in the Navy. She put me up in her roommate's room whom I have still never seen.
Upon my arrival the weather became sub par by Hawaii standards but it was still beautiful to me. The first day we narrowly escaped a car collision while seeing more of the island. The next day we took off for Hunama Bay, a state park famous for great snorkeling. I saw all the fish I had previously only saw on TV. I got especially up close and personal with a curious sea turtle after he sneaked up on me when my back was turned. We topped off the day with lounging on the beach and making fun of ridiculous looking tourists from foreign countries.

In her seven months of being here on Oahu, Abby had never seen the Pearl Harbor Memorial and neither had I, so off we went. We got stuck, motionless, in traffic. That was until a Ford rear-ended us at near 40mph. Abby and I bounced around like pinballs but were ok. I checked the other car and they were ok too. I looked at Abby's new car... not ok. Actually, the car's frame got bend and it was deemed a total loss. Thankfully, it didn't stop us from hitting the beach for more snorkeling and body boarding. Abby did end up with a case of whiplash the next day though, so we spent a short evening at the exotic, Hawaiian military hospital. Abby had it rough the next few days, she was still recovering from surgery and whiplash all while getting the run around from insurance companies and starting her 12 hour night shifts. On the bright side, she got this fantastic loaner from a friend:

The rest of my time in Hawaii was filled with helping Abby move off base and into her new apt. Furnature shopping, cleaning up the place, playing the Wii, hanging out on the beach. Pretty much living life like a local.

I leave on Sunday for Thailand... then this site will get much more interesting.

I'm taking a plane... I'm sorry.

I feel like I have failed one of the goals of this trip. It was so important to me to stay along the ground so that I could really feel the distance and the size of the Earth. Hopefully this will be the only plane I have to take. Maybe the 20 hours on the plane will be enough to make me feel far away. Oh, and skipping over land with a plane would be very bad form, so I guess I have to go to Hawaii. Poor me. My phone will work until the 28th, after that it will be suspended. So if you want to hear my sweet voice one more time, do it before then.

There were three different ways I could have crossed the Pacific without using a plane. I explored each one extensively and annoyed many harbor masters and travel agents in the process.

Sailing. This would have the most idea way to get across. Yacht owners are always looking for people to crew their boat. If you are in the right place at the right time, show that you are seaworthy and have a good attitude you can get on without any experience. Sometimes they ask you to pay for your own provisions and port fees. I was not in the right place at the right time. The trade winds were going in the wrong direction and most of the boats I found were headed to Mexico. If I were here in December, I would have had much better luck. I have actually gotten offers to crew in the past when I was still in school through a website.

Cruise Ships. They wanted me to sign on for six months minimum. No can do.

Cargo Ships. Most cargo ships have passenger cabins. It takes about amonth to to book one because of all of the paper work. They also charge you by the day, about $85-115 per day. I takes 22 days to get from Seatle to China. You can do the math. The biggest problem is a law called the Jones Act that prevents passengers from taking a cargo ship from on US port to another US port.

Dream Ride: Highway 1

Traveling within the Midwest usually feels like waiting, anxious to arrive at your destination so that you can get out of the stuffy, uncomfortable car and away from the monotonous sight of endless fields of corn. The only emotion of fulfillment occurs upon arrival, even though that will be quickly followed by boredom because you're probably still be in the Midwest. I have discovered the absolute cure for trips like that and those that overlook the joy of motion: US Highway 1. Taking this road north shoves you against the Pacific coastline leaving you free to sniff the fresh sea breeze, cruise by pristine beaches drenched in ocean reflected sunlight all while flirting with the edge of the western world. Such instant gratification allows you to answer the age old question "are we there yet?" with an absolute "yes" even though your destination is five hours up the road. I took my sweet time on this road and I'm glad because I had to jump off my bike every ten minutes to take pictures of postcard worthy beaches with perfectly white clouds hovering above.

I spent five days bouncing up the coast on my way to San Francisco from San Diego. The first night I slept in San Clemente (stupid sprinklers) then with the aunt of my old dormitory roommie in Huntington Beach the next night. Night three and four I stayed in San Luis Obispo with students of the local university that I found through www.couchsurfing.com. The students and I (AH! I'm not a student anymore!) cruised the local pubs, street festivals and even attended a wine tasting. They sniffed and swirled their wines like they had done it a million times before. I just did what they did and assumed everybody from the area of the country's finest wines were wine experts. I later found out that they also had no idea what they were doing. I passed up San Francisco to spend the holiday weekend with my cousins in Sacramento. After being on the road for a while a nice, slow weekend of grilling and riding dirt bikes really hit the spot. Next I'm going to migrate back to San Francisco for some exploring.

My Plans....

I'm a bit stuck right now. I still have not found a way to get across the Pacific Ocean. Port security prevents me from getting spontaneous work on ships so the only way I would be able to get onto a cargo ship is if I paid for a passenger cabin. Sailing would be the finest way to get across but it would take about 3 months at sea to get to Asia. The only way I can think of to get across is to try cruise ships. The best thing to do right now is to hang out on the coast and talk to people at marinas, ports and fellow travelers. I'm also trying to sell the bike so that I will be flexible to jump onto a boat if the opportunity occurs. I'll switch to buses and trains after the bike is gone. It will be a sad day to see her ride away with somebody else.