Exploring the Brave Old World. December, 2011

Hello community!

I am on the road again, as I have been many times before. Only before, it was undocumented, which is a shame really, because no one, including myself, can remember anything that happened.

Any ways, the main reason of this particular trip is to do a bit of recon on schools to attend for next fall. And of course to explore. There is so much in this world I have never seen, so much history and drama, I just gotta see it! I bought

a little 95 Geo Metro, that will carry me accross the US. I am very proud it. It barely fits me, my stuff and two other people, and it has a tiny 3-cylinder engine, which means that going up a hill or getting up to speed on a 65mph high way requires race-man like skills, shifting at the right times, flooring the gas and weaving in and out of traffic. Absolutely thrilling. The car also gets an average of 38mpg (better on a hwy) which makes the commercials for fancy and expensive cars like the Prius seem ridiculous, when you think that this car is over 15 years old. It makes me think that its not a lack of technology at all, that makes our cars burn through gas like newspaper, but the cheap price of oil in the states. Those of you who have spent time in Europe, can testify to the greater efficiency of the cars there. What the

heck--?

The schools which I have in mind are (and please feel free to suggest others if you think i'll like them) in order of when I will visit them: Santa Monica College in California, Prescott in Arizona, Clark University in Massachusetts and College of the Atlantic in Maine. I already visited Santa Monica College and Maharishi University of Management, in Fairfield Iowa. The reason I did not include Maharishi in the previous list of schools is because I already decided to not go there. There are some things about this school which are nice. There is a feeling of peace and general friendliness there, but as far as worldy education is concered, well, kooky is the best way to describe it. For a weekend it was doable, but I am sure that living there for a couple of months a creative and and inquisitive mind would begin to feel stifled. Santa Monica College was OK. It fulfills everything a community college should. Two years there, and then your out. That is exactly what I will do if I decide to go there. I would get a transfer certificate as efficiently as possible then go to a better UC school. The main attraction to this school is the evironment its set in, Santa Monica. Immediately above Santa Monica there is wildnerness complete enough for you to forget the appalling sea of car fumes and cement to the south east that is most of LA. Not to be misunderstood, Santa Monica has a bit of traffic to contend with, and painful parking tickets $50 a pop, as I found out, but its just lovely if you have a bike. There must be over 200 yoga studios, and you can easily shop well at farmers markets and health food stores, and eat absolutely divine food at the restaurants. My friend works at a place called Euphoria Loves Rawvolution. I quite honeslty have never eaten food as exquisite as I had there. Everything is raw and vegan and simple to the max, and satisfying and energizing perfectly. I felt as if I were digesting pure energy. There are also many bike shops and pedestrian or community area

s, and all of this is separated from the ocean by the widest beach ive ever seen. Being in Santa Monica, one gets the feeling of being on the leading edge of society, as if the forward progression of the world is marching west and its captain is that furthermost left-hand side of the map.

Starting from the time I left my family's ranch in Oregon, on which I had been working to save enough money for my car and traveling expenses, which I have already burned up. I dont know where it goes!? O well, I can work along the way. I stayed in the Bay Area for a week visiting old friends. I had the opportunity of running on the trails at Tilden Park. I never realized how beautiful

the hills surrounding the Bay actually were! Then to Santa Cruz for Christmas. As always, there was activity and fun every second. Cousins literally piled on top of one another, successive events and social gatherings. So much fun! My family then went to Lake Tahoe, to not go skiing, because there was no snow (that's what you usually do there). Instead we got to ice skate on a frozen lake! Man! There is little more poetic than ice skating, especially when you can do it on a wide expanse that is usually just water and fish and the like. Gliding, or flying, through space with an infinite amount of variable movements

to be made. Such freedom! Then down to Santa Cruz for a night, and along the Camino Real to Santa Monica. El Camino Real, the Highway of Kings, is the route pilgrims or travelers would take, going north or south in California. Every 40 miles or so there is a Mission one could stay at. As far as I know, they are all still standing and available for visitation. The one I visited, and pictured here, has an incredible vibration of peace, and strength in its antiquity. Definitely a suggested travel destination, maybe a day driving along the route and stopping at as many missions as possible.

And now Hidden Valley Ashram, way out in the wilderness of SoCal amidst flaky rock boulders and pokey shrubs and dry dirt where silence and still air is everywhere. Not much longer before I brave the desolateness of the south-mid-west in my tiny car. Likely to prove wrong the validity of my inherited disdain for that area, I am sure.