650+ Miles Without an AUX Hookup
Mendocino, Humboldt Redwoods SP, Bothe-Napa Valley SP (CA)
On Thursday, I rented a car and drove north. No set plans, no concrete destinations, no idea where the next few days were going to take me. No one else but me, my camping gear, and a rental car—a car without an AUX hookup.
Wet and muddy from the rain. The sun came out when it wanted to. Ocean, countryside, Redwood trees, vineyards. Mendocino, Humboldt Redwoods SP, Bothe-Napa Valley SP.
Silent meals, silent campfires, silent hikes. Not-so-silent moments on US-101 when I started to ‘oooh’ and ‘awe’ as I witnessed the Avenue of the Giants for the first time. I find peace being in, around, and near Redwoods. There’s something about them.
Spreads in my notebook filled with thoughts, goals, new To-Dos. Memories resurfaced, closure from a previous life finally happened, new perspectives gained, chapters in books read, 2015 considered.
A question came up while I was making my foil-packet the last night of camping:
Why do I ‘reset’ by unplugging when I come back Sunday night into the same ‘set’ of circumstances that made me want to unplug in the first place?
Hmm… Going to have to address this.
This is the first time I’ve ever took off on a road trip by myself. I felt like I was in some Ben Stiller movie or something, but without any shady encounters, whacky turn-of-events, or car mishaps—unless you count the no-AUX hookup fiasco. Four days with shitty FM stations and bad NPR reception. Ugh.
Anyway. Another highlight was buying this jacket from REI. Best camping gear purchase ever!… right after my 12’x16′ camo tarp.
