On the way I had to stop by and ate at http://peasoupandersens.net/ When I was a kid we ate there every time we drove up from San Diego north. So, I did it for the memories, and great memories of this restaurant.
Spent a night sleeping in my van, found out later it was below 0 degrees Celsius, maybe 13 degrees Fahrenheit.–a very cold, cold night. Thanks once again for the sleeping bag, Miguel. And, Aunt Ruth, you gave me that beautiful quilted blanket, helped to keep me warm. I had parked at an entrance for a national park, very nice area. I found out that there were people who lived beyond this gate, as the officer knocked on my window and said I couldn’t sleep there. He took my ID and had me checked out, surprisingly I checked out OK (well, I guess not that surprising.) He lead me to another spot where I could spend the night. Somewhat warm enough, just hard to breath the cold air.
The next day I arrived at the home of my old friend, Barry Friedman. Barry lives with his wife Annie and their son, Zed. As I was getting closer and closer in miles to his home the mountains presented more and more wilderness and trees. Living in a great house in a wonderful location, this family lives in paradise. From anywhere in his house all I could see was trees and the wild, no houses or human building anywhere. If you looked out far you could see the snow capped mountains in the distance. Barry has been so successful in his life, I’m quite impressed. First with his juggling and performing, you can see him here with Dan (Barry is the taller of the two)
And, beyond juggling, Barry has started a new business, take a look: www.getmorecorporategigs.com
Barry is tired of traveling, he should do quite well with this business helping performers. If you are a performer you should seriously think about working with Barry on improving your show and income.
When I was with them it happened that Zed did his first street show. The town was having a Christmas celebration and 3 blocks were stopped from traffic. The show was great, at 10 years old he is excellent on the unicycle. His first couple of shows went entertaining, people enjoyed. Zed was also happy about the money he made. Performing at the same location was Jeff Chroman, aka, Izzi Tooinski, look here: http://www.izzitooinsky.com/. Jeff and I were together in San Diego when he started his performing in the 70’s, he thanked me for helping him get started with his first shows. So good to catch up with him what each of us has been doing.
Being an entrepreneurial family, Barry’s wife Annie recently began this business–
www.grandparentgiftbook.com
Looks like she will do quite well with it, could develop into the parent’s book, the sibling’s book, the friend’s book, the enemies book, and more. How about you, do you have a grandparent who wants a book?
After leaving Barry’s I was off toward the coast, something I should have done earlier in the trip. Reaching 101, it was north I aimed toward the Redwoods National Forest. Some of these are trees live to be 800 to 1200 years old and grow 450 feet tall. I went for a walk on a trail and it was magnificent, signs of definition of the area were scattered along the trail. All around me trees were towering above my head. Ferns and moss were prevalent. I had forgotten that the US has forests and wilderness as nice as anywhere in New Zealand. You must watch this video, you will be blown away (that’s the first time I have ever said that, must be good.)
Drove on one road that had a drop-off to the side of at least 100 feet–with no guard rail–a scary drive, like some I had found in New Zealand. Also, I drove to Klamath River Outlook, but the fog was so heavy I could barely see in front of the car. Yes, I took it easy and slow. More on driving, I drove north along the coast some miles north of San Francisco, saw many memorable gorgeous views of the ocean. I took the time to take it all in, something we all must do more often in life.
Everyone should live their life as if they were writing a blog like this. It makes you want to experience great things, makes you want to “make” things happen to put into the blog. Also, it puts things into memory better. Writing to you like this makes my life better. Although, can’t get much better, having a great time.
Next up on the drive, a visit with my uncle Don and aunt Betty Ann. Have not seen them for many years; hard to figure out when was the last time. Right now they are in the process of moving into a new home. All the kids are out of the house (7 kids, a big family), so they are down-sizing. I saw the house, they are putting in everything new–from paint to floors to appliances–should be very nice when the home is complete. In their 80’a like my mom, retirement time. Uncle Don was so gracious to get me a room for the night at the motel, very nice. After raising her 7 kids Aunt Betty Ann started selling real estate some years ago and has done very well and became the best land seller in the area. My cousins Kyle and Mary Ann stopped by the next day. After so many years I hardly recognized them. Both have families, wish I could have met their families.
Heading up into Portland next. I want to get this off to you now. Of course, there will be more postings soon.