Wednesday, November 6, 2013

November 5th, Day 5

November 5th, Day 5
I'm sitting in the home of Walt Kelley who came across me on the Nacimiento Dam. He asked if I had all the water I needed and told me about a market on the top of the hill. Then he drove off and I started topping the hill. Before I get halfway up, Walt comes roaring back down the hill, pulls over and offers to put me up for the night!

It's clear to me that Walt is a good man and a hard worker. He adores his two daughters Emily and Julia who've since moved out of the house. When he was young, maybe 10 he says, his father put him to work stuffing papers for the morning route. By 18, he'd moved out of the house and was using his money to ski around the country. Surfing and skateboarding were also sports for his youth, but now he does motorcross and bungie jumping! Trophis, old and new sports equipment and photos appear all along the wooden paneling of his house. He pulled out albums, newspapers that marked historic moments, and an essay his daughter Julia wrote about their friend who died of leukemia.

Walt has taken to calling me "Green Boy," immediately picked up on the fact that I'm not the most street smart person. He helped me rethink how to pack my gear. "Expect the best but prepare for the fucking worst, brother." I now have a "ditch" bag for my most essential items in case I need to bolt.

"You ever hurt anyone?" he asks.
"No," I say, quiet now. I've never been in a fight.
"Good. I have and it's not something you want to do."
"I'll admit I'm a bit of a homeboy."
"Well, that'll snap if it comes down to it."

I know nothing.

Walt also helped me upgrade my cart! I told him I was concerned about the life expectancy of  my wheels and axle and he recruited his neighbor Philip who apparently can Macguyver anything. Philip is a mechanic and Walt describes him as "a little Scooby-doo" and "cracky" but it's true what he said about Philip being able to klooge a solution to my cart. Now I have aluminum conduit greased around my axle so it doesn't wear away at the PVC frame. Slicker than snot on a brass door knob, as Philip says.

To end the day we had Walk Kelley's famous tacos and promptly went to bed.

Oh, and Walt also has a dog! Her name is Cocoa.

Before I forget: As I was eating lunch outside the market  I was approached separately by two women, Gigi Greene and Leslie McCloud. Both were interested in following my blog and sending word of my route to friends. Gigi offerend me a place to stay and both gave me money! How cool is that?

Videos of the Day:
Stove Tutorial ( :/ Audio a little low )
Lake Nacimiento
On The Dam
Upgrading The Rig (Audio also low here)

1 comment:

  1. Sam!!! My mom and your mom just left a few days ago after visiting me for almost a week - your mom told me about what you're doing, her excitement was so contagious I started reading your blog! Your posts are fantastic. You paint such a vivid picture of the people you are meeting and of what you are experiencing, it's so easy to feel we are there with you. What you are doing is worthy of being covered by NPR! Keep it simple, 1 step at a time. We are thinking of you! Xoxo

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