I headed north from Los Angeles on Friday, Nov. 14th. I worked fast and furiously all day to get out of my apartment, as I had booked a hotel room in Sacramento for that evening. My friend Carolyne came by in a pickup truck to "pick up" my futon bed and a chair. I drove it to her apartment, as she wasn't used to a stick shift. The truck died several times and the top of the gear shift came off in my hand a couple of times. But we made it. Carolyne came back later and helped me pack up stuff. I didn't head out of town until after 8 pm, after (I'm ashamed to say) a quick Filet 'o Fish combo at McDonalds. My car was packed to the gills. I arrived in Sacramento around 1:30 in the morning. The hotel was very comfortable and affordable--I used Priceline for the first time and got a really good deal at a Mariott Residence Inn.
I left the next morning at around 10 am. Along the way, I stopped in Mt. Shasta City for gas and food. I'd never been there before, though I've always appreciated the view of the mountain from the freeway. Mt. Shasta is said to be one of the Earth's eight chakras, by some reports that of the heart chakra and by others the head. Either way, it is inspiring. I drove for quite a long while without sighting a gas station and was fearful of losing track of how to get back to the freeway. I finally pulled up in front of a burger joint, where I figured I could ask for directions. There were a couple of items of note in the place. One was a weathered wooden signboard reading "James Dean Road." Since I was wearing my James Dean watch at the time, you might guess how I feel about Jimmy. I took it as a sign that maybe I was following the right road in my move from LA to Vancouver, WA. The other thing of note was the spectacularly gorgeous view of Mt. Shasta this little place had to offer. Just beautiful. The fish and chips weren't half bad either. Two officers of the law who were also eating gave me directions to a gas station and back to the freeway.
I finally arrived at my parents' house north of Battle Ground, WA around 9 pm yesterday. I was glad to see them and they me. I ate some chicken and vegetables my mother had cooked. Today I went to my brother's apartment and unloaded all the stuff from my car. He lives in Hazel Dell, which is on the northern outskirts of Vancouver near I-5. That is where I'll be living for the time being. It doesn't seem quite real yet, but a new chapter in my life has begun!
