southern Cali

Shawn and Darren are surfing at the moment. I've been going with them, but they already went today and I spent a good few hours on the beach taking pictures and documenting in my new travel sketch-journal, so I decided to stay behind and maybe start painting on one of those canvasses I brought with me.

The housekeeper stole my tampons today, or thought they were garbage. have you ever?! a WOMAN should know better. had to get driven to an emergency gas station, since there are none within walking distance of our hotel. Darren came up with "horsehair" tampons, and it is now a trip joke. this is apparently what people use south of america. you can also call them "cherokee tampons". we've all gotten a little too close maybe. Darren is like a brother.

We're in Encinitas, California. We're going to stay in this area. Mexico was cancelled because Darren's vehicle won't be able to handle the trip. We had to have the alignment fixed here (luckily we were referred to a very honest mechanic who hardly charged us at all and fixed it so that it feels like a new car), but even with that fixed, the GAS this vehicle consumes is insane. We have to fill up every 135 miles. If you take a look at a map of the Baja, you'll see that there's NO way we'd make it. there is a stretch you must drive, for like a day and a half, with absolutely nothing in between. It is a little bit of a bummer, since Mexico is so different from here and we were going to camp and do the simple life, and I was really looking forward to it, but I'm SO over it. It's impossible not to enjoy yourself here. And tomorrow we're going camping right on the beach.

This area is special to me too, because it's a place where a very special and influential man lived that I've read quite a bit about. Paramahansa Yogananda. there is a beach named after him, Swami's, with a beautiful garden in front called the Self Realization Fellowship. It's so neat to be here because I read all about that fellowship and the making of that garden. Paramahansa Yogananda was a beautiful person who influenced thousands. His was the kind of wisdom that transcended religious dogma. accessible to anyone. He was a gift to the world, for sure. And I'm HERE!! I can't believe it.

Anyway, just wanted to shout out from California!! A Snappi shout-out right here!