Thankfully, I wasn't in some random campsite over Thanksgiving. My dad's third wife Jan had two wonderful children, and I have now visited them both. Jeff has the winery in Berkeley, who I visited last week, and Alison (and her husband Parke) have a place near Joshua Tree. They were going to have Thanksgiving dinner just by themselves, so I totally crashed that party. We cooked, we ate, I made bagels, we did some nearby hikes, it was totally great. We talked about our kids, and the joys and challenges that go with parenthood. We visited an art exhibit in Joshua Tree, which was terrific. Here are some pics…
The thing that I find truly impactful is the effort these artists make to create their work. and the willingness to deal with it when the show is over…
Alison and Parke gave me some travel tips, which brought me here to Idyllwild, CA. It's a very cute mountain town with lots of nearby hikes. I did a nine mile hike yesterday, and considered another one today, but decided to take it easy.
I am FINALLY getting into a rhythm of playing music. Still not much with the electronic music studio, but the truth is I really enjoy the physicality of playing an instrument. I've been developing my chops on the handpan, and am also working on playing melodic guitar. Who knows what for, and who cares? When it's not about making money, the motivation has to come from somewhere else. I reconnected with a college friend Deniz, who pointed out some obvious truths which are all too easy to forget: you can make music because you love it, you can make music in order to get some validation and appreciation, and/or you can make music to have an outlet for your emotions. Giving up the fear of mediocrity and criticism opens the door to unbridled creativity. She also reminded me that it's very difficult to be creative when you're preoccupied with emotional challenges in your life, which definitely applies to me. But, each day I remind myself of my incredible privilege to be able to spend my days traveling the country and seeing beautiful vistas wherever I go.
I'm dealing with house issues at home, the latest being burst pipes and the possibility of lead remediation, but mostly I'm dealing with one vehicle and living in 25 square feet. I've figured out how to bake with my toaster oven, and have made banana bread and sandwich bread. I don't hesitate to eat out on occasion, but I enjoy making full meals for one. Tonight was steak with caramelized onions and garlic, baked potato, string beans and salad.
Here are some van-life challenges: I have to pay attention to the battery charge, and sometimes have to idle the engine to generate enough charge to have heat overnight. The heater taps directly into the gas tank, but frequently throws an error, and I have to unplug/plug the power cable three times time to reset it. Not fun when you realize you're freezing under all your blankets at 2:00AM. The grey water tank doesn't always empty, and today I tried to clear it with a rod, but the rod got stuck in the drain pipe. I had the oil changed and tires rotated, and the mechanic said my left front boot is leaking grease, which means I'll need a new axle at some point. I'm well below 36K mileage, so it should be covered. The point is, wherever you are and whatever you're doing, you've got shit to deal with.
I get a kick out of the fact I can do everything required to make my coffee without even getting up from my seat. I'm super organized where everything goes, and even then I still need to clean up and find ways to streamline further. I brought a few towels but I've only needed one. I brought a camp table, a tarp, a yoga mat, a ukelele (thanks Phil!) but I haven't used any of them yet. I donated the high-end Yeti cooler; it was taking up space between the seats, completely unused. But truthfully, I did a great job deciding what to pack overall. It's not easy adjusting from a 3100 sq ft house to a van, but it actually feels great to have zero excess.
After the long hike yesterday, I took today to poke around Idyllwood, doomscroll on FB, take a nap, play some handpan, and in general just chill. I still don't do that much. I hope to do it more.