life in the city

Last checked in with you all about the Kayak being stolen, which to me feels like another world. Maybe that is because we have not gotten out of the the coastal zone for a few weeks. Although the sun has been shinning for an unusually hot summer here the cool damp of Arcata seems to hang over the psyche. Life is pleasant enough though in Humboldt County, with lots of summer festivals and fresh local foods. We try to get out and enjoy the vibrant social scene. 2 nights ago we visited Eureka, 10 minutes to the south, for the Chris Berry Trio (CB3) at the Red Fox. It was a really late show but rocked our socks off. The trio was a team of Chris on umbira, with the bassist and drummer from Brazilian Girls creating their dance hall sound. As an add bonus Chris invited to the stage some of his local hommies playing a key board, marimba, conga drum, bass umbira, and gourds, to fill out a jammin’ night of African rhythms fussed into a techno like sound. Chris would vocalize spontaneous melodies about love beauty and the nature of Oneness over the body bumpin’ groove. A fabulous event! Go see it if it comes near you!! In the top 10 of live shows I seen in my life!

Julie got up for work the next day still a little sleepy. She works at Renata,s Crepere as a hostess/barista. This is a 4 day a week job and the super friendly staff and paycheck make the often monotonous hostess duties bearable. The menu consists of crepes and salads. As soon as you walk into Renata’s the sweet smell of syrups mixing with brie and coffee carry you away, helping you land in a Parisian cafe. I have not yet had a crepe there, but they look really good. After Julie gets off work she returns to the cozy comfort of Dolores.

Our evening routine consists of going to the Co-op to buy our dinner, return to cook in Dolores, clean-up and drive to one of our preferred sleeping spots (3-4 quiet flat sites,) and either playing cards, reading books, or watching a movie until bed. (Our movie parlor is the coziest ever. We set up our computer plugged into the van stereo lay back on our bed to be carried away to another world.) Come morning we do the same, brake down the bed room into the daytime van, drive to a different stop in the city, go get our breakfast food at the store, etc. This is our street life. 2 days a week we pose as college student and make use of the pool locker room showers, (or shower at a friends house.) I’m off to cook breakfast now. Check you later! light and love zach

Life on the road has morphed into hanging around on the street passing the time with whatever.  Playing cards, dumpster diving for bike parts etc, wandering from the plaza to our friend’s places, throwing a frisbee on the field or the disk golf course, going for a bike ride, having a beer at happy hour, and other fun types of activities.  Arcata is nice enough city for this but for Julie and I the “whatever” is a tiring process.  Being summertime, the long days give lots of opportunity to be active and pursue the doing of life.  Summertime is also nice for vacationing and camping by the river.  We got to the river last weekend with some friends and genuinely enjoyed 3 nights camped above a deep green river.  A fire every night, swimming and cards all day.  In Willow Creek the heat of the day topped out at 90 F and at night it fell to around 65 F.  The Trinity River was refreshing yet pleasant any time of day.  I found time to get our kayak off the roof of Dolores and do a 15 mile paddle.  It is a fantastic river to float down and the class 2+ flow keeps it exciting.  I did have to stop once along the way to bail out my boat because the huge, old, gortex, spray skirt leaked and often caved in under the weight of the turbulent water coming over the bow.  Besides all the small stuff that needed fixing on the kayak it worked for me and I enjoyed the evening float with all manner of bird life, deer, river otters and gorgeous mountain scenery.  It turned out the evening float was a farewell voyage for the kayak as someone else decided to have it for theirs.  From where we left it on the beach I would not have guessed that the next morning it would disappear so easily but, off it went.  I have tried to refrain from judgement about why or what should have been done to “save” the kayak.  Both Julie and I genuinely feel okay that someone else has it to use.  We had barely been using it so it is easy to see how our vibrations had stopped resonating with this huge piece of equipment.  It might have been nice to sell it but my “make do” attitude had several fix-it projects lined up for it.  I had already started making a trailer for pulling a kayak with a bicycle (now it will be for a surf board.)  So the kayak has gone off and we have let it, for this allows us to feel lighter.  We might hope to recognize those things which weigh us down on our journey and actively transform them into joy.  But grace is a mysterious process and we are just glad to let it unfold and not muddle it up with thoughts like; why didn’t we put the kayak on the van that night, should we file a police report, or those thieving jerks at the Kimtu Swimming Area.  We know all those types of thought are toxic and only bring our vibe down.  It is lunacy to believe that the laws we create in our culture are the best way for this word to order itself.  Plus it feels nice to give things to others and apparently this takes many forms. 

The weekend is hear again and we will enjoy free live music on the plaza here in Arcata.  The parties will be numerous!  Hopefully working will be on the agenda for next week.  Both Julie and I would love more focus in our daily activity and to be compensated for our contribution.  For now we ride the wave as it breaks.  Light and love. Zach

p.s. Here is a pictorial journey of us preparing Vince's Summer Solstice Kimchi!