day one- pictures will come later.

9:01 am
driving north on the 101, out of huntington beach 5 lanes wide through L.A., haze so thick and golden with the morning light I couldn't see the city though it all. I took a nap in the crowded back seat and woke up out of the city to tall, pointy hills with spidery trees scattered on the worn brown ground- these would make great sledding hills if there was ever snow here, no snow though, not even rain- vineyards thrive- the wet wind off the ocean keeps them going but that's about it for crops.

214 miles out of san francisco. the first stop on our trip.

when I travel to the beach in maryland the drive is three hours long, the hours go by slow and three hours seems to take forever, this morning we woke up with 8 hours ahead of us, just a fraction of the time it will take to cover the 4,500 miles of our 9 day trip, the first three hours of our drive seemed like minutes. time flows differently when the entirety of it is laid out in front of you on maps and GPS eta's.

my favorite song right now is unknown- it is an Iron and Wine sound for sure, a sound, not a song, because I do not know songs by them, nor do I want to, I just have foggy impressions attached to memories of scent, touch, and dancing visions of your hair resting on my face.

In my world, separated, it leans to the beatles - probably "here comes the sun." I listened to it at 5:45 this morning right before the trip started, my ipod is limited though, just 8 gbs, will this music be dull to me by the end of this? it will all be repeated several times over.

right now I feel excited to be in this car. we all do, pictures are being taken, small videos are being shot. I am only writing about this because I want to remember that feeling, not that I am sure that the excitement won't last but I have to admit that I doubt it, these are my friends that I am with right now, i like them a lot but a trip like this is a test. these roads are long- nothings become somethings.

I wonder what a trip like this would feel like with you. I hope to find out someday.

I feel a need to talk about everything I am thinking about, I've got the time. We keep driving through massive clouds of smoke, the smell fills everything- these are wildfires, I can see the flames tearing through the trees.

1:42pm - 102 miles of San Fran.
Passing through Steinbeck country now, I see men with sweaty backs working all along the rows on the sides of the road, pushing hoes and picking lettuce.

3:59 pm - we are bailing on San Fran, I'm a bit bummed, I wanted to see the home of the Grateful Dead and Kerouac's bop bars. Save that for next time...

We stopped at the Google Campus in Silicon Valley to visit a high school friend of Dave's. Google was awesome, free food for employees, volleyball court, endless pool, a ball pit, and free bikes for employees to ride around. This must be the greatest office environment there is, still I cannot see myself working there.

5 pm - The Golden Gate Bridge. it is very windy and very beautiful.

8 pm- Sacremento, here till tomorrow then to the redwoods.