San Francisco – The 37th and final entry

June 13, 2012
The first full sun rise and set in San Fran. I woke up to the sound of a trolley rolling past Lucy, and I suddenly remembered that we were in the busy residential streets of this urban metropolis. We had breakfast in Lucy and it was delicious as usual, with nature’s hand grenades central to my favorite meal providing such a satisfying taste and satiating feeling.

Our first pitstop was at the car wash to get Lucy shined up for our arriving guest, JD. His flight landed at 1:07pm direct from Calgary, and it was awesome to be greeted with his genuine smile. JD is always stoked on life and fits in perfectly with Saud and I who love to explore, adventure and discuss intellectual topics as much as we enjoy silent appreciation of the universe. Shared comfortable silence is definitely the sign of a good relationship, one that doesn’t need the false reassurance of words to believe that you are enjoying one another’s company.

Our first tourist destination was Fisherman’s wharf, and the lively tourist atmosphere was one to be experienced in the light of day. Over lunch, we witnessed some of the best entertainment ever, as we watched a homeless man whose gig was hiding behind some brush he carried with him, sitting against a garbage can and scaring anyone he could who was mindlessly walking by. It was like being on the real world set of Candid Camera, and his follow-up lines were even better than everyone’s screams of sheer terror. “That’s the best thrill you are going to have all day. I at least deserve a dollar!” After a man took a picture of him, he yelled “If you are going to take a photo of my bush you need to pay me! If I took a photo of your bush I would pay you!”

This man provided world class entertainment with this bush!

After finishing our seafood meal, we secured tickets for the Alcatraz tour on Saturday, and then made our way on longboards to the largest Chinatown in the USA. This area took us out of San Francisco and launched us into the far East. It was amazing to see how these immigrants created a successful area that also preserved their culture, which is so important to their identity. That’s one thing I thought about; what is our cultural identity in North America? Hard to come up with anything that truly defines us in a positive way.

We concluded the day with a venture to the cinema to watch the new 3D Prometheus. In short, it was the worst alien movie that I have ever watched – a combination of Armageddon, Alien, and Starship Troopers. I think it must have been written as a parody?

Goodnight.

June 15, 2012

Lucy’s kitchen was well utilized especially for my favourite meal breakfast

The last two days in San Francisco presented the opportunity to enjoy this city in ways we never could have imagined. JD spent the first night with us on the top bunk, while Saud and I shared the bottom bed. Lucy is the best home we could ask for! We parked not far away from our location the night before, just one street North of Van Ness and 24th. A lot quieter than the trolley tracks, but there was the constant sound of homeless souls looking for bottles that scared me awake at times. Breakfast was foraged at Whole Foods. I know that this commercial “organic” store is not really that much better, if at all, for the planet, but at least it seems like a step in the right direction and the food is amazing. All three of us sat in the coffee shop eating and watching the Euro Cup game between Holland and Germany.

Next, we headed off to the Golden Gate Bridge to take care of some classic tourist yearnings. This 1.2 mile world landmark was completed in 1939 and is a true testament to the functionality of the modern world’s iconic creations. The number of people that are moved by this bridge daily is baffling. It was unnerving to walk past all of the emergency help phones on the bridge, trying to save the tormented souls intent on escaping this reality, desperately hoping the next one will be less painful or not even exist at all. Unfortunately I doubt that there is any easy way out of this existence…God doesn’t seem to make loopholes like that.

After the windiest walk over the bay harbor, being entertained by ships, kite boarders and hoards of other tourists all vying for the best picture, we cruised over in Lucy to the Golden Gate Park to explore this green space that takes up a larger area than Central Park. After following the concrete path for 20 minutes, we took an entrance leading up a hill deeper into the park, where we met the most interesting people existing in this society.

We drove past a black bus and outside of it were two very gentle looking faces of a man and a woman. The man came up to our van and was genuinely interested in getting to know us and Lucy. He was tall, slender, wore mid-thoracic level hair in a messy ponytail, and moved with the humble vibration of the first true modern hippy I have ever met. His name was Matthew and he eagerly invited us over to his bus to meet his wife and take a tour of their home on wheels.

The all-black bus was difficult to enter, as a bike almost completely blocked the entrance, but I snuck past it through what seemed almost like a wormhole into another reality. His wife, Aloma, originally from Uruguay, but now a permanent citizen of the USA after a long immigration deal, was sitting on the floor feverishly cutting bananas that were to be dried on the hood of the bus. It had the musk of a room used for fruit prep, trance dance, and the homemade toilet was in the corner. Not long into the conversation, she informed us that she is a fruitarian – well, not actually any one “label” but she believes in a very unique set of life principles, that include no permanent living locations, no single family units, basically just living in the paradise that the world can be if we align ourselves with nature in a harmonious way the eliminates all of our addictions to possessions. It seemed she could talk forever, but she was well-read and very passionate, so it was easy to stay engaged…until she showed us her website that made it slightly harder to take them seriously. On the site, she advocates for several practices that they live by, fruitarianism, trance dance for meditation, and dumpster diving for food. Watching the “sensual” fruit video, with her first hand describing it and her husband expressing his concern over looking tired because they shot it so early in the morning, caused us to literally have to bite our lips to prevent a hysterical laughter to escape from us.

(here is a link to the video if you are interested)

I have to admit that I was very impressed with the motivataion this couple showed in living the type of life that they believe will bring about a positive change in society. A lot of people talk about what it should be like and fantasize about it, but they were actually living it. Their ideas seemed theoretically feasible, but they admitted that in today’s society, their lifestyle wasn’t necessarily viable. Their passion to help make a change is one that I also share, I just think that it is much easier to help change something from the inside-out rather then outside-in. Being a part of society, however difficult at times, is very vital to me in maintaining a healthy social life. Sure it sounds great if I could live under the sun and eat mangos everyday on the beach, but if I am not able to share that reality with my family and friends, then what does it mean? Happiness is only real when shared. I guess the middle path seems to make the most sense… at least to me.

June 18, 2012

My favourite spot Lucy slept along Ocean View Beach in San Francisco

We are driving on the US 86 Interstate Highway, moving easily across the fresh pavement that seems to be synonymous with US motorways.

After our fruitarian adventure, we posted up on Ocean View Beach in the parking lot and listened to the constant rush of the ocean guide us effortlessly into a deep slumber.

Waking up overlooking Ocean View Beach was a definite highlight. Our first adventure of the day was a jog down the beach. The sand was dark, smooth, and glittered as if littered with diamonds. I normally can’t stand jogging, but when I am able to forget the need for runners and enjoy the texture of finely ground rocks on my feet, it becomes a very pleasant form of exercise. Breakfast consisted of a fresh fruit salad, vegetable omelet, and toast. Dessert was a mocha. The sun was shining with brilliant force so we went back to the beach with the skim board and slid along the shallow water. The ocean facilitates so many ways to enjoy life with minimal effort.

Since we only had a relatively short time in the Bay area, Saud, JD and I made a joint decision to break from the beach and go explore Berkley. This quaint and friendly College city had an amazing campus covered in fresh paths great for longboarding and exploring. For supper we stopped to eat at a Persian restaurant just off campus. Spending time eating with JD and Saud always makes for interesting conversation with topics of silence usually prevailing after a day where the sun drained us. After the adventure at Berkeley, we retreated back to Ocean View Beach to take refuge for the second night in a row.

Friday. Sleeping until you’re awoken naturally is always easier when you wake up to spend the day hanging out with friends. Saud, who has been an amazing motivator for me on this trip to stay committed to working on my faith, went to Friday prayer at a Mosque in downtown San Fran, while JD and I cruised around the streets exploring some local shops. The rest of the day was spent cruising around Haight Street, which was definitely one of the coolest neighborhoods in San Fran. This area was full of old hippies, new age hipsters, and offered very authentic selections of restaurants and stores. The majority of our time was spent at Amoeba records a gargantuan store that would tantalize the senses of any one who appreciates music.

For dinner, we delighted in flavors of India and then spent the night listening to a DJ in a busy pub on Valejo street. I always wonder how anyone ever meets each other in a place where you can barely hear yourself think?

Saturday morning. I woke up excited like Christmas morning when I remembered we were booked for a tour of Alcatraz at 10:30am. The boat ride was only 15 minutes until we were on the rock that was reserved for the worst criminals in the USA for 30 years. The best part of the tour was that everyone received an audio guide that allowed you to pause and reflect wherever you desired, and since there was no group following a single guide, people naturally spread out and made viewing the former jail a crazy walk through history past.

I never really understood what made this place so famous until this tour, which revealed how windy, cold, and damp the isolated rock was, and displayed the most torturing view, according to some of the former inmates who were forced to look at the free life that they were physically barred from. The jail was created for one purpose; a place for criminals to spend the remainder of their life, with no hope for a future. After it was understood that the rehabilitation of prisoners benefits everyone, this facility could no longer be run with any level of conscious intelligence. There has never been any punishment that works to make people into a better person; only allowing people to focus on their authentic abilities and starving their demons will ever let them transform into a productive member of the human race.

The afternoon sun pulled us down to Baker Beach, which was packed with locals. Observing the sunset with the Golden Gate Bridge in my peripheral vision, I realized how the natural beauty of the universe immediately overshadows anything manmade.

Nighttime brought us into downtown and we found a pub that was averaging 40-45 years of life experience, but despite feeling slightly out of our generational crowd, we enjoyed the live music. Both JD and Saud are guys that smile with no reason other than to enjoy that moment of life, and being surrounded with such easy going guys makes every night one to remember.

Inside our home…after a few days of beach cruising it became a little disorganized

JD’s flight home to Calgary left at 12 so we dropped him off at the airport, and with a standard male hug/handshake, we said farewell until the next adventure.

Saud and I then mapped out our way back to Saskatoon on Google, and took off in the direction of Nevada on the 80 East. We ran out of mental energy around midnight so we took up residence in the small town of Lovelock to rest.

Awoken by the screaming vibrations of the train rushing past Lucy brought me back to the 36-hour road trip. Saud and I have shared a 50 square foot living space for the past 3 weeks, and it’s so amazing how well we have gotten along. His genuine compassion and enthusiasm for a purpose-filled life are constant and make each moment of the trip a real vacation. I have never enjoyed driving as much as in the last 3 weeks. As we cruised through the vast deserts of Nevada, we pondered reality while staring at the mountainous skyline. Trying to discern with words if the beauty of the landscape is equally shared, we agreed that it seems as if the division between different peoples’ realities are only know when discussed. Most of the time it seems as if the only real purpose in life is to be understood by another soul traveling along in this spiritual journey.

San Francisco – The 37th and final entry

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