Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Tristan and Andrew play a second game at the courts of Arcata United Methodist Church, to revisit the court in the daytime and to say goodbye to friends before leaving to camp on the Oregon coast for the night.

3:00 PM Church Bocce Courts, Arcata, CA

Tristan Kadish & Andrew Anderson

15

Ben Clyde Malden & Andrew Shaw-Kitch

12

Overly excited by my return to civilization I left various things at the bar in which had reveled the night before.  During the night, searching for a usable pillow, I realized I had left my Portland, OR sweatshirt at the bar; awaking and searching for the time and potential missed calls I realized that I had left my cell phone; upon returning to the bar midday I realized that not only my keys but also Tristan’s spare key to his truck were left; and all were returned to my horribly abashed self.

This enthusiasm nearly stuck us in Arcata a third night

1/12/11--Bullard's Beach State Park, Oregon

Camp Host Velva Smith, off duty

We stopped at Bullard's Beach Park just south of Bandon for the night.  The camp host was Velva Smith; she was off duty.  It seemed important to write that down.

We set up camp, started a fire, ate some dinner, and chatted.  It started to rain and Tristan got out an extra tarp and began to set up an elaborate rigging for a rain-protection system for our tent.  It started to come down and Tristan put on his rain gear and began frantically, yet assuredly, to split wood, tie knots, and hammer things into the ground.  Getting wet and feeling unhelpful, I retreated into the tent and slowly fell asleep to what now sounded like an epic aqueous assault.   

When I got up in the morning I found an intricate handmade scaffolding that appeared capable of withstanding a small tornado.  I took my new towel that I bought at Grocery Outlet to take my first shower since we left because it was cold in Andrew's house in Arcata because his roommate refused to put the heat on and I didn't have a towel and Andrew said to me when I asked him for one "you could use mine but I really wouldn't recommend it."   We set off to a christian coffee shop in Coos Bay and said goodbye to Velva Smith and the rest who survived the storm.