MEGA UPDATE
Holy hell I’m tired. I thoroughly apologize for taking so damn long to update the site on my travels. I sincerely was so busy exploring and adventuring that a bunch of work was pushed aside to simply experience the trip. Streaming was throttled back a tad as well due to me being on the road so often on the return trip home. Plus, keeping electronics charged out in the wild is difficult without a fat power inverter. But alas, I wrote everything down in my book. So here it is! I’ll break it down by location starting where I left off, because weeks and days starting getting really blurred.
Pittsburgh
I loved Pittsburgh, it might be because I saw it before it started to get all gloomy, which I guess it now has. Regardless, this place was a blast. I spoke with countless professors and students about life at the university, and more specifically about the Engineering and Public Policy program it offers. This seems like the perfect transitional fit for me considering I want to work in government some day. They have incredible connections and what seems to be a phenomenal internal structure and culture. I could definitely see myself going to school at CMU, but I need to build up my knowledge/resume/confidence before I apply. The application period opens in November, but I think I may wait a year or so until I’ve gotten some real software engineering experience.
I also met some beautiful individuals. While staying at the Delt chapter I got the opportunity to fraternize with my bothers. We shared stories over meals and drinks, and I was lucky enough to attend their chapter meeting and thank all the brothers for their hospitality. I saw my first familiar face in the man who helped start my chapter in SLO, Evan, who is the chapter adviser for CMU Delt. The other adviser, Jaison, took me out to a brewery for a couple of pints and we talked in depth about the EPP program. He was the main reason I got so much face time with persons in the program, and was one of the most compassionate men I met. Overall, I couldn’t thank them all enough for what they did for me. Other than just cool dudes, I also met a few cool chicks. One in particular stood out among the rest for her diverse past and incredibly adventurous personality. Julia showed me the Pittsburgh downtown scene on a very interesting non-binary double tinder date. Saw her twice, hope to make it a third someday.
Niagara Falls
We all know how powerful water is, from flooding, to erosion, to hydro-power. But you will never understand the power of water until you visit Niagara Falls. I was told I would not be too impressed, but whoever said that didn’t know how easily impressed I am haha. I loved it. Selfie stick in hand, I skated around and acted like a total tourist. I didn’t stay for more than a few hours because I had to be in Boston in 2 days, but this little side excursion was totally worth it.
There was only one hiccup, the US/Canada Border Patrol. Pulled up to the entry to Canada and this is what played out:
Canadian Border Patrol Agent: “Where you from? … California?! What are you doing all the way out here? … You live out of your truck? Are you planning on staying the night in Canada? … No? Alright, well do you have any Alcohol, Tobacco or Firearms with you? … No, cool. Whats in the back of your truck? … Your bed and camping supplies? Alrighty then, we are going to have you pull into spot 14 for a full search of your vehicle.”
Fuck. Sorta. I never lied to him, but I did have some weird and potentially illegal stuff in my car I know they’d find. But whatever, if I go to Canada jail for small amounts of weed or the suspicion that I was defecting, I’m sure I could figure my way out of the situation.
Ten minutes of watching them rip my car up and having a drug dog smell me up, I built up a bit of a nervous sweat. I did not plan ahead for this. Luckily, everything was chill. They let me pass with no problem, and when I got back to the truck they had all the questionable stuff on the passenger seat noting their findings and leaving them be. I suppose
they were more interested in finding smuggled cocaine or trafficked humans. So with a sigh of relief, I continued on into Canada.
Getting back to America was easy, pass the BP agent my passport, a few questions later… “Welcome home”.
Boston
I made it to Boston the night before my morning flight to Seattle. Made dinner on the back of my truck and slept in the economy airport parking lot. This lot stood next to the refueling jets, lets just say I had some weird dreams that night that may or may not have been fume based. Hopped on my 6AM flight and 5 hours later landed in somehow sunny Seattle.
Seattle
One of my main objectives along the way was to find places I could see myself living in more permanently. Seattle was the second city/area I found to fit the bill. The downtown was not overwhelming large, and there were many districts around that provided for a nice taste of diversity.
The whole reason I was in Seattle was for an on-site interview with Amazon on Friday. They flew me out early Thursday, which gave me time to explore the city and get a feel for everything. I ended up skating to a Chicago pizza joint for lunch, dinner, then dinner the next day. I probably could have sampled more places, but I figured since I missed the pizza in Chicago, I would try it in Seattle lol.
Later that day I went to a bar downtown called The Whiskey Bar, and got hammered. This kicked off the first of many charades I called “Find Your Way Home”. With hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have started the game the night before my interview, but I was pretty confident. Skated tipsy around the city and managed to find my way back to the hotel. Later trials of the game included finding my parked truck/friends apartment.
The interview on Friday went great! I got to talk about my travels with other interesting and cool engineers. I made a friend, Omar, before the interview started up and at some point used one of my favorite quotes, “I ain’t no bitch.” I think it was in relation to how I wouldn’t buy a more comfortable sleeping arrangement for my truck. We chatted throughout the day, had lunch together and ended up getting told the same thing at the end of the whole process, “Sorry we filled the position, more spots may open later”. Sounds like Amazon had a freeze, and needed to recount their openings. All applicants from my day on (thousands) got the same message, whoops lol.
After the nearly day long interview I decided to chill out by the sound and sample one of the many hemp shop’s goods. Turned in for the night relatively early, set no alarm, and passed out.
I woke up the next day an hour and a half prior to my return flight. The skate to the rail station was going to be 10-15 minutes, the rail would be 30, and who knows how long security would take. Long story short, I showed up for the last boarding call and sat my smelly ass down in between two lovely old ladies. Luckily, prevailing winds cut the trip time down a full hour. Landed in Boston in the evening and made my way to Cambridge.
Cambridge and Boston
After the recent success of “Find Your Way Home”, I decided to take another stab at it. This time I headed to a “Harvard Bar” I don’t remember exactly which, but I figured going to the one in Good Will Hunting was a bit unnecessary and out of reach. Woke up the next day, Sunday, and had a blast streaming Harvard Yard and a local street fair. However, I wasn’t really feeling the vibe. Checked out MIT and the Delt chapter there, but decided to keep on the move and start heading South toward NY.
https://clips.twitch.tv/KathishExuberantFishDxCat
That was, until I met a girl named Nat. We decided to visit an art museum since it was free admission for the holiday. I got to know her very well as we eventually made our way into downtown Boston. One good thing about the city was it’s oddly diverse architecture style. Many buildings extended past their footprint, and others were left unchanged since the colonial days. The city and all its luster was lost on me since I had already decided to leave. So with a goodbye we parted ways, but only after a deep understanding of each other’s person was made, and I headed South.
Rhode Island and Conneticut
Right around this point in my trip I started developing a really nasty case of tonsillitis. It started slowly, but due to stress and poor sleeping habits it only got worse as the days went on. So I decided to take it easy as I made my way down the east coast towards the next stop, New York City. One of my best days was spent at Harkness Memorial State Park on the coast of Connecticut just hammocking and writing in my journal. I got to touch the Atlantic Ocean, which was a goal of mine from the beginning. Even more over, I was able to sleep and mediate for hours. Little days of relaxation were super necessary as I got further and further away from home.
Also, Connecticut was the only state where I had a run in with the police. The story isn’t that interesting, but I learned a valuable lesson. If you plan on sleeping in your car in a neighborhood, choose your spot wisely and later in the night. After an interrogation lasting 10 minutes, I hadn’t given the officer any reason to search so I asked to be released and he reluctantly did. I’m pretty sure the neighbors though I was a drug dealer or something and wanted me out of their neighborhood. I drove a few minutes north, parked in a similar hood, and hopped out quickly to later return and climb in the back.
New York City
This was by far my favorite place on the whole trip. New York City has a really special feel to it, unlike any other city encountered. At this point I was tremendously ill, but was determined to still make the most of my visit. I took the train in from New Jersey early in the morning, and headed to Central Park. I didn’t remember much from the last time I visited NYC, but knew I had to skate around Central Park. Checked off another life goal with that beautiful skate. I live streamed as much of the city as I could, before catching my old friend, Colin Adams, for lunch. He works at Google in the big apple, and for lunch I got treated to a free Google buffet, yeah that was nice. We talked about life after college and passion finding. He enlightened me to the fact that most people have to balance their own personal desires with those around them. Responsibility doesn’t mean giving up your dreams, it just means compromise. That’s why I hope to be well on my way toward my dream job before I settle down, get married, and start having kids. All in due time.
Unfortunately, him and his fiancee were traveling to DC for the weekend and wouldn’t be able to show me around the city. No matter, they still were kind enough to lend me their quaint apartment for the weekend. I was able to spend a day trying to get well and catch up on sleep, much needed. I wrote a poem that night that I would end up recording on their rooftop lounge. Some highlights of the day included visiting the 9/11 memorial, which I start to tear up just thinking about, and skating in the busy streets of Manhattan.
The next day I slept in as much as I could, and only went out in the late afternoon for amazing pizza and to stretch my legs. That night however, was to be the third run of my game. I went to a very notorious jazz bar, paid a fat cover, and proceeded to get three drinks in a 90 minute set. This was the first time where I felt like a 10 out of 10.
Normally when people ask me how I’m doing, I’ll give them a numerical answer ranging form 1 to 10, ten being the best. I lived in a depressed state all last year hovering around 5 or 6. Not until I started traveling did I notice it rise to an average of 7. Then it kept rising, and peaked at 10 a few times, this being the first and best. The band came up to my spot at the bar during and after the set and thanked me for my enthusiasm. I was by far the loudest and most vibe-ing patron. After the set I went to a few more bars to grab a drink and check out the scene.
https://go.twitch.tv/videos/181891696
Decided to head out the next morning, bearing towards DC. Cleaned up the apartment, and thanked the couple for their incredible hospitality in a note, and left.
Car Troubles
Something was bound to go wrong. After a full inspection pre-departure, I knew there was little to no way I was going to make it through 8,000 miles without some mechanical failure. My battery light came on while driving towards DC. A few things could be broken, so I checked them all. The alternator was dying. It wasn’t completely dead yet, but if I didn’t take care of it, my car would run out of battery on the road and just about cease to be useful. My engine would surely overheat and I’d be in way bigger trouble. So I took it into a local shop, chatted up the store clerk while the mechanic switched out the part. A bit of a bummer and unforeseen expense, but I was back on the road in no time!
Washington D.C.
Before each big city, when I knew I’d be streaming as much as I could, I would often spend a full day or two preparing. I would prep for travels, locations to visit, and charge up all my electronics and battery packs. This also would give me an opportunity to research or write a blog post. Which is why I didn’t get around to writing as many as I’d like, I just didn’t get that many opportunities to do so. Nevertheless, I spent this time writing my post on gun violence.
D.C. was immaculate. I arrived early in the morning to visit all the major monuments and memorials before the big crowds. Boy was I rewarded greatly for this initiative. The entire mall was empty except for a few morning joggers. I was able to visit each cite and stream them with nobody to block my view. My favorite was walking through the FDR memorial and laughing at all the quotes we will never hear our current president say. I even wondered aloud at a point, “I bet Trump hasn’t even been to this place.”
https://go.twitch.tv/videos/183154816
While visiting the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial I noticed his addiction to “Justice”. I admitted my reluctance to accepting this word and ideal as one I like. After some more research into human history and better understanding of the full picture of justice I have changed my opinion. I like justice, in fact I demand it. To me, justice are the actions taken after an injustice. Without justice, humans are allowed to take advantage of each other with no fear of repercussion. Hammurabi to Julies Cesar, the question of just justice has always been debated. I don’t claim to know all the answers, but I know that my fight for justice will not be the same as many past revolutionaries. I want to fight against the injustice of corporate greed and unethical economic practices. Of course I still care about women/minority rights, but I see a bigger evil in capitalistic fueled inequality.
I wrote another poem while in D.C. This time, with a self inflicted time limit to draft it: 10 minutes. I wrote a piece on motivation because at this time I was finalizing my own. Which I wrote down in my book and will continue to attack with ferocity.
I visited many museums, monuments, memorials, statues, and witnessed the three branches buildings. I felt satisfied after a long day and decided not to return for another day.
Appalachian Backpacking
It had been way too long since I brought out the full backpacking gear set. At this point I had decided for sure that I would be visiting another one of my old friends who had graduated and moved across the country. So, I let him know I was on the way, but would be spending a few days in the wilderness beforehand. He told me the weekend would be best, so I was chillen. The first night I essentially car camped, but pitched my hammock in the forest for a bit more seclusion. The second day I packed up my gear and hit a trail. This was all done in the South Appalachian, the Carolinas.
It felt good to be somewhere nobody could get to me. I added a value to my principles, solitude. I find that my favorite types of vacation have an element of solitude. As much as I thoroughly enjoy people, I crave a place where there is no sign of human life. No telephone poles, no cars, no people. Nature does the trick often, but I’ll still get the occasional wireless signal and airplane over head. Can’t wait until I get to visit Antarctica. (I’m going to visit all 7 continents, 5 to go)
Atlanta
Throughout the trip, whenever I was driving or hanging out in a new area I would listen to rappers from that area. I was very pleased to make it to Atlanta, that meant I got to listen to my favorite artist, Childish Gambino. Not only that, but I got to visit one of my greatest friends from the beginning of college, Mike Nothem. He had graduated when I did, and went back to school to obtain a M.S. in Aerospace Engineering. He posted me up in his place and introduced me to all his new friends. We were going to the Georgia Tech football game against Wake Forest, so I borrowed a GT shirt and played the part. After a fun pre-game at his buddy (Isaac’s) house we headed to the game. I had no ticket, so there was only one option, plead drunk ignorance and weasel my way in. Worked like a charm and we ended up winning the match!
After the game there were some shenanigans, but the most fun was trying to get a shell store attendant to sell alcohol 30 minutes past the legal time. It didn’t work out, but I learned an important lesson, alcohol hours vary per state and locale. So, find a place with the most liberal laws, like New Orleans!
The next day was hangover recovery and catching up on sleep. I probably should have written this post then, but I wanted to play GTA with my friend lol. We made dinner and I bid him a grateful farewell in the morning.
New Orleans
Back to the Mississippi! Before arriving to New Orleans, I learned of some interesting history that guided my experience in the swamp city. Apparently back in the early 1800s France fucked their entire economy due to a credit bubble similar to the housing bubble in 2008. Unlike other ventures at the time such as Boston and New Amsterdam/York, this one failed tremendously. Lies and government corruption caused the first large scale stock crash of human history.
So it was no surprise when I arrived and found the city to be incredibly small. There weren’t any skyscrapers, no transit, no flare. That is until it hit midnight. The streets started lighting up with sounds of Jazz. I visited a few live jazz bars and hit another 10/10. I would love to find a weed and beer jazz bar some day, then I may just break the scale. I was having a grand time until I decided to take a skate in the rugged streets of NO. I fell and cut my hand and knee open pretty bad. That was the end of the night for me, I went back to my car, bandaged the wounds and went to bed. I left the next morning.
At this point in the trip I was about ready to get home. I was still 2,000 miles away, but I wanted to be done. So, instead of stopping in Austin, I drove straight through Texas and New Mexico.
Arizona: Petrified Forest, Painted Desert, Sedona
My last state before I return to the great western banana called California. I spent a few days in the Arizona desert and had a blast! Initially I had a very hard time just picking a day hike to make. The first days were dedicated to chilling out and reminiscing on the trip. After I had come to terms with the end, I went on a few crazy hikes to get as high as possible with my feet still on ground. I climbed to the top of Cathedral Rock in Sedona and streamed my high altitude beer from the peak, then the hike down as well. Saw a guy carrying up a didgeridoo, and had him play it, 9.5/10 cuz my knee was still bleeding from when I reopened it climbing up the hill.
https://clips.twitch.tv/CrispyBigBeefOSsloth
Overall I loved Arizona, right up there with my love for Coloardo, you just don’t have to worry about snow in Arizona.
California: Joshua Tree, UCSB, Cal Poly
I finished up my desert camping in the beautiful Joshua Tree National Park, where I started really thinking about value theory. I love ethics, and often think of it as the more important side of value theory coin. Yet, aesthetics theory took a hold of my mind whilst sitting on top of a 200 meter tall rocky pillar. I wondered about natural beauty, and what it means to us humans. I think Plato had it just about right when he said they whisper to us our inner desires. I read a lot on the final portion about philosophy and great philosophers. Starting with Aristotle and Plato, then working through stoicism all the way to Marxism. It helped me clarify my own personal philosophy when I heard centuries old dead Greeks saying the same thing I was saying.
After Joshua Tree, I visited my little sister in Santa Barbara. Julianna, or Julie as she prefers, just got to school and has already faced a number of challenges. Similar to what I had faced once in my life, I gave advice on poignant issues and insisted she read more of my blog. Some day I’ll write a post on my family, they’re an odd bunch.
I left after chatting for a few hours to return to my college town of San Luis Obispo. And that’s where I am now, enjoying time with friends, and planning for the next steps.
Next Steps
I don’t have all that much money left after this long trip, so I feel the need to go to work. The capitalist in me, feels motivated, but the socialist wants to keep searching for purpose. I compromise to do both, yet the balance is yet to be defined. I know for a fact that I need to return to my family home in Fresno and spend a few weeks sitting in the same spot and mashing away at key and mouse. I must take the next step in my grand plan. But at least I’m poised to take that step with confidence and certainty in my bright future.
I will probably still travel around locally, living out of my truck as I have done for many weeks now. But, I need to devote a considerate amount of my time to taking the next step. Stay tuned for more posts about ethical dilemmas our nation faces, and how I want to solve them.