Testing iPad at Mac store in San Fran. Wow. I could totally use this this light and amazing thing to post from the road. This is my first time using it and it’s fantastic.
Oh Mac how we love your products!
So we never made out, I’m not sure if his name is Ben or not, I found him in Orick California– not Alaska, and he’s not even human, but hey at least I got a picture.
Laughing.
I guess you don’t always get what you want, but it sure is fun to have a fantasy!
For my last night in Alaska, I decided I was going to do something I hadn’t done for the two weeks I was there; Buy myself a beer and decent dinner and relax in that zen place of Ahhh…I did it! Well, Alaska had a different idea of what my last night should be and it could not have been more perfect.
I walked into the Fish Pirates Saloon on that rainy and chilly night, fairly late and asked them if they were even open. It was so quiet in the place it looked like they were about to close. They said they were still open, so I went to the bar ordered, and sat happily in my quiet zen place, thinking about the events of my adventurous and goal reaching 2 weeks there. There were a whopping 6 other people there dining who we all wrapping up their meals with a guy playing some tunes on a piano in the background. Piano man finished his songs and came up to the bar to get what seemed to be his after gig final drink. He introduced himself to me.
And then the Salmon Fisherman walked in and all hell broke loose (in a good and fun way.)
Here we go.
In no less that 2 minutes, Troy the piano guy (who had barely introduced himself to me) and the crew of already having too much (well is there ever really too much?)- fun guys were whooping it up and surrounding me. Talk about zero to 60 in 2 minutes. The bartender instinctively mixed up what the crew was about to ask for anyway, and slid me a shot to join in with the whole gang. Who am I to reject a complimentary shot with a bunch of strangers?
2 seconds after the shot, someone screamed “KARAOKE!!!” and piano man Troy refused to go back to play unless the fisherman sang to me while I stood on the piano. (I must insert here, that I am all about a party, am not afraid of dancing on a table, talking to brick walls, or any of the like. Moreover, when someone says anything along the lines of “Get on stage/the table, etc.!” I am usually all about it. This night however, I was stone sober, tired from hiking and chilled from being out in the drizzle all day so I really gave a Girl Scout try of declining the standing on the piano wish. I was no match for a crew of already well-buzzed chanting hilarious fisherman who had just come off the boat after 6 days at sea, so I politely did what was asked.)
Troy made them face and sing to me and the guys took turns rocking it out while I talked to those who weren’t, about fishing:
I found out they often work up to 20 hours a day and 7 days a week. One guy was 22 and just back from college for the summer. He said in 2 month’s he could make $25k working those crazy hours. (I need to become a fisherwoman.) I was told by another one of the guys that they actually caught all the fish, crab, etc. for the Deadliest Catch boat/TV show. I don’t know whether this is true or not, but these were all good guys and seemed like the no bull kind, so I believed them. One of them asked me if I was a reporter. I told him, well- sort of. I had to get a video of one the guys Mike singing. (At one point Troy made me come back up onstage and sit with Mike. When I tried to take a self portrait style head shot of Mike and I, he leaned in and promptly said; “Oh, sorry dude- I totally just farted.” Talk about funny. I almost fell off the piano.)
I participated in beer #2 and cheering as the karaoke and madness continued. I remained sober, but laughed so hard, most of the night I was doubled over and my stomach hurt. I had so much unexpected fun. These guys were just regular hard working fishermen, completely innocent out to have a good time and blow off a bunch of steam. They were weathered and windburned, Carhart wearing gents, just as you’d imagine Alaskan Fishermen to be and looked like they worked harder than most of the people I’ve ever met. It was quite and experience and what a way to spend my final night in my 50th state. Talk about fall asleep laughing and thinking- did that just happen? Now this will make for a good story.
Thanks guys. That was a blast and then some. I’ve done a lot of things before, not sure I have ever stood on a piano during shots and karaoke, and certainly not at a restaurant in Alaska. I’ll cheers to that!
Yep. That’s what I’m doing again tonight.
I didn’t get a chance to post today, or should I say didn’t take time to as got a late start and drove a ways down the 101 on coast. Absolutely gorgeous and been 9 years since I’ve done this. Crossed border of California. This will be the last stop state on the Alaska or bust trip. Will find out if some work is going to pan out in wine country. If not I rob a bank to get the $350 it will take to drive the little Civic that could back east and gulp- go stay with my parents in Vermont for the first time since I was 17. NYC is still on mind and whether I make it there in a few weeks of a few months, I will at some point soon I am sure. So far I have trusted this whole process and things have worked out smashingly.
I will have the as promised crazy fisherman photos and videos up by tomorrow, maybe the video from the splurge at the swanky Motel 6 in Eugene Oregon that reeked of vomit and some of the other 99,000 stories and photos I have from the last almost 8 weeks on road.
I wanted to write and leave a first ever post straight from my front reclined seat and Blackberry before I’m off to sleep at 1am west coast time. Yay for modern technology. See ya again in the morning. G’night!
(That’s thank you in Dutch.)
The endless round of thank you’s to those awesome peeps who help keep me fed, give me a place to sleep and provide good entertainment or new friendships and other good stuff on the road:
*Alex~ You are sweet and generous. I am always humbled by service people and your selflessness. Thank you.
*Judy~ The Love Shack was a great little home and resting spot. Here’s to meeting new friends in my 50th state!
*Katie and Alison~ What can I say? To new fun and sassy gal pals in Portland at such last minute randomness? Love it.
*Greg~ To the different planets we live on, but somehow the same head and heart place and not drowning in whitewater.
I’ve had the good fortune of meeting, spending time with, being fed, housed and supported by countless people on this trip. I’ve even been treated to whitewater rafting. So fun. One of the best things I have been able to do on this trip is tour someone around with me that has barely been out of his own state let alone comfort zone. I’m talking someone who has never eaten gelato or Dairy Queen. The simple things. The sights, sounds and flavors to him are like exposing a kid to a candy store and telling them; Go on in kiddies- it’s allll free! A pretty amazing way for me to be able to pay it forward. The world is perhaps more his oyster now, the way it became mine 16 years ago. Now there’s no going back.
I have officially realized to the nth degree that we live in a country that affords any and all of us the possibility of doing and being whatever we darn well want.
Can you believe it?!
So I’ve decided I’m going to keep on doing just that and I hope you all do too.
Here’s to oysters, candy stores and freedom of choice.
Off for a whitewater rafting treat. I am one lucky gal. If you haven’t been to the Northwest in the summer, run- don’t walk, to your nearest travel agent or calendar to book some time to come out here next summer. What am I saying? What I really mean is if you have never been on a road trip in the United state during summer- you must. There is nothing like it. Nothing.
Another night of car camping last night after walking around a small town Oregon First Fridays Art Walk and talking with locals, waking up at 6am mangled in my front seat, grabbing a coffee and heading out for a gorgeous day outside, I feel like pinching myself once again. I keep thinking- am I really doing all this? I’m smelly, broke, unshowered and uncertain, and I’ve never been happier in my life. I feel like I am LIVING. Like really, really LIVING. This is amazing.
Happy Labor Day Weekend! Hope everyone is getting out in some kind of sunshine.
Touring a friend around the Northwest.
There’s been a battle in my head and heart whether to stay a bit in San Fran or NYC.
After yet another day with the vibe, love, chatter, way of the west, I think this girl might end up schlepping grapes in Napa for harvest this fall. I don’t have any $ to get back to the East Coast anyway. Talk about some stories to come if I busted my ass picking grapes 14 hours a day for a buncha weeks. I’m thinking I’d like it and perhaps that’s what the next phase of BLR is supposed to be.
Stayed tuned.
Now that I’ve made the enormous investment of $25 (hey that’s like 2 weeks food budget for me on the road!) to Flickr for unlimited photo and video storage space, I’m going to use every bit of unlimited I can. get ready for a picture-fest! (If you have the desire to see a slew of my photos, visit here and search Blue Lollipop Road. There’s a bunch!)
Who needs a jacket when you can wear a furry bikini to keep you warm in Alaska? On sale for only $89.95, I’m thinking I might have missed out on a deal. Hotness.
As if throwing the “gy” on dog, it makes for a cuter sign to tell people not to let their dogs crap there. (Ok, so it is kind of funny.)
Ahhh…capturing a moment. Oh the joy.
Oh the good times and hours spent watching teen drama.
And I thought a couple of those guys were hot too. Yikes. Did I just admit that?
I just got my first direct comment from a stranger who watched my 16/16 video at YouTube that read:
“I love this video. Thanks for posting.”
Ok, now I know this might not seem like a big deal as I’ve made connections with lots of new people on the road and have had numerous communications with you all through here, Facebook, Twitter, etc. but this particular comment from just now is huge to me. Kind of like after blood sweat and tears the diner owner gets the doors of his dream shop open, on day 1 sells out of bacon and eggs and he tapes the first dollar bill he earns proudly to the wall near the cash register.
I sat all morning this morning in my regular look at my always scraping bank account and enormous debt. Where do I move/go from here, how can I reach more people with Blue Lollipop Road, how can I extend my hand to others as they have to me and what?! -did that guy at the auto shop told me I need 2 new tires for the back of my car? Then moments of normal frustration come knocking in my head; This is nuts Diane, will you just go get a job and who cares what it is. You just need $. You must be dreaming to think you can somehow afford to continue on this journey, encouraging others to find their “roads” and doing what you believe in.
Then I feel peeved at myself for not doing more, faster, better, smarter- so I go for a run.
(I swear since I really started to run at 17 years old it has totally saved my life.) So out I went to think think think and pound the pavement. Sometimes I think so hard and lose myself so much I fall flat on my face, or knees or shoulder. Literally. I have 2 big ol’ scars from June on my right knee from on of those overly thoughtful runs. The more often that not “What am I doing/What’s the best thing to do?” run ended with me feeling a little less stressed. I open my computer and there’s that one little line, from someone out there who I will probably never meet, appreciating a few minutes of video, I drove thousands of miles to make because my heart and soul believed in what I was doing.
I feel a bit stressed everyday, I always have, I question myself all too much, I have piles of debt I need to pay and I need to find a home. These things and more are what can freeze any of us in fear, frustration and resentment. These things often keep a lot of us in that frozen state forever. They can also overshadow the most important things like the generosity of strangers, thankfulness for health, friends and family and hope for all things possible. Even though I almost want to shake my fist in the air, look ahead as if a person was standing there so I can scream damn you! Just when I start thinking about throwing in my towel and join the rest of the crowd (it seems like it’d be a lot easier sometimes.) you send a little birdie with a message to say keep on truckin’ girl- you’re on the right track. Argh!
Todays appreciation from someone I don’t know helps to solidify all I have worked so hard to do and why I’m doing it. It tells me I have to keep going.
Thanks Monolith. I don’t want to give this all up. I want to continue this path that feels right, screams to me everyday and find out where it’s going. Everything in my body tells me it’s leading to something remarkable. Your one liner just fueled me up for more trucking so up the hills I go!