catalina by way of san diego and santa monica. in the reverse order.

it’s the 2nd to last stop.

sort of.

i still don’t have a plane ticket home. and i still don’t care. it seems better that way. and it’s not my problem anyhow.

they could ask me to drive back across the nation.

and i could say yes.

in a week’s time, i’ve devoured vegas, death valley, lone pine (as if there could never be two pines. and definitely not three), lake tahoe, reno, placerville, san francisco, santa cruz, los angeles (and all the bits and pieces that come with that), and san diego – with a pit stop in san clemente for homemade chicken soup and some family. family i haven’t seen in a decade or more, yet it kind of seemed like yesterday. that’s the good kind of family.

the week looked a lot like this:

and i looked a lot like this:

 

[always with a seatbelt on. safety first.]

and my world was summed up by this:

[which, ironically, was found on the inside of an elevator shaft. but true. oh so true]

i hit 2 bars named sierra gold in 2 different cities. both with a closing time of never.

i sat inside a 400 year old general store in the middle of nowhere (also known as one of the greatest small towns this country has ever known. or, perhaps, not known) and wondered to myself not only how did i get here, but why did it take me this long?

i visited the sea lions at pier 39 who have it way better than the rest of us, stacked on top of each other in a lumpy pile, and wondered if they would like it if i pet them or if they would rather dismember my body limb by limb.

i had my life changed in 3 seconds by this:

and had my life changed again only days later by this:

2 words: lamb skewers. it’s like crack on a stick.

that is if i did crack and enjoyed it. then it would probably be something like that.

(hana zen. san francisco. go there, if you know what’s good for you. in fact, do just about anything in san francisco, if you know what’s good for you. and then do it all over again.)

i walked around in the pouring rain. and liked it.

i laughed a lot.

i even cried.

i rolled the windows down and sang my favorite song at the tip top of my lungs and then got pulled over by a cop because said song and said singing turned my rental car into a rocketship. apparently. allegedly.

and then i was told i could expense my speeding tickets to the company.

which.is.just.awesome.

i picked 2 cities i want to move to and mentally made plans to move there as soon as i conclude this adventure.

and i meant it.

or mean it.

i took a bath with a miniature whale.

i drank overpriced vodka and ate overpriced food and had intellectual conversations about the art of filmmaking. with strangers.

i stared at this for a really long time and solved all of my problems. and probably most of yours, too:

i had my heart stolen by wonder.

and restored by newness.

i did a lot of things, saw a lot of things, thought about a lot of things that i will keep only for myself.

because they are better that way.

because they are mine.

and then i looked back through my photos just so that i could know for certain that it was all real.

turn my head.

i’ve made a dead stop in my tracks a few times over the last (i’ve lost count) many many days. which have now become full weeks.

soon to be over a month.

but never have i stopped as many times as i have in the last few days.

maybe it was the pacific air.

and maybe it wasn’t.

as i make my way down the coast of cali this week, i will inch closer and closer to the end of a journey that not only surpassed my expectations, but changed everything. and by everything, i mean a lot. and by a lot, i mean i don’t really know where to begin.

my biggest fear is that i’ll wake up in my own bed and think it was all a dream.

how could i not?

on the drive from san francisco to santa cruz this afternoon, i stopped for this:

something pretty awesome happens when that sphere of fire dives into the ocean.

and something also a little teeny bit sad.

the day ends.

and it might have been your favorite day. (it was.)

and you might not have wanted it to end. (i didn't.)

rest easy, people. there is a high note here:

THE SUN COMES BACK.

truth.