Sunday July 13th 2008. Endpoint: Arcata, CA

I woke up in the communal house in Eugene a little crusty but still feeling pretty green. going only two hours away on your first night of tour is a real easy way to slip into things, and besides, i was telling myself, it was only a 10 day tour.

first, Dutch Brothers offee hut, Eugene.
second, Fred Meyer Eugene. i turned the van on and blasted lionel ritchey songs at the senior citizens on their hum-arounds.

third, white fang car blew a tire 30 miles north of Grants Pass. 8 men a jack and a spare.
so we rolled into grants pass
it was very hot
some went to a dairy queen
all went to the tire store.

then another Dutch Brothers. which was WAY cooler than the first one.
then we drove through the redwoods, and went swimming in the Smith River. 5pm, with the sun dropping into the trees

when we got out of the water there were little bugs on all of us that looked like miniature leeches.
the highway slowed to a stop due to forest fires.
i ate the smallest bit of weed cookie and got mildly stoned, but the terror of riding in the huge van on those tight little forest curves won out.

in astoria they had a BBQ going
there was a beautiful coastal haze.
it was refreshingly cool and damp.
fang played on the patio next to the grill.

people played with a frisbee until it was too dark to see, and a little after.
rob did mild donuts in the back yard

i played inside, in the living room, as did the straving weirdoes


afterward, some fell asleep in the car
others in the van
still others on the living room floor
i remember, before bed, stacking dishes in a big neat pile, calling that 'helping'
i spent a notably long time in the bathroom brushing my teeth.
and there those amazing asian sandwiches at that donut shop with the pizza.

in the morning white fang got stoned and left their guitar amp at the house.

and then later, further down the road