Day 19, 20, and 21

Day 19.

Not sure why I like this photo so much- I think bc it was an accident. And yes, that's a Yellow Belly

Talk about a lazy day. I woke up in my new temporary home and made some oatmeal. I picked fresh strawberries and blueberries in the garden to put in there. Warm strawberries are the best, all of their goodness comes outJ 

 What can I say.. I just rode the four-wheeler around and played in the river. I did absolutely nothing productive except make sure my debit card was going to come in tomorrow. I made some dinner for everyone and we had some beers next to the campfire, and bed it was.

                        

Day  20.

I woke up early with the intention of getting out of there early, but come to find out, the place where my card was sent doesn’t come until three. So I waited around and played in the woods some.  I went into town and waited at the farmers market for the card to come. I was almost 4 by now and I had a nine-hour drive to go, I didn’t want to be driving all night again.  So I decided to have my friend mail it to me at the wedding I was shooting, because I didn’t want to be late. I started to leave town, and of course it came in, so I turned around to get it.

I drove until about 11pm. I couldn’t hack it any longer. I don’t know what it is about driving at night, but I cannot do it. I fall asleep even if I’m not tired. I found a chill little motel in a small town off the 101.  That drive is so beautiful. It is so green and luscious. I love it! The trees are extremely tall and the sun shines through them like nothing you have ever seen before. I think I have a few pictures that show what I mean, that I can show later. At times I feel that your true eye is the only thing that can capture something at its highest beauty.

Oregon Coastline

I can't even describe the beautiful yellow sunlight shining through the trees, hitting the green moss on the trunks making them glow this indescribable yellow-green glow. I think that it is one of my most favorite things in the world… almost. In these forests up here, there is a glow that the sun puts off as it hits certain trees and branches and not others that is so wholesome. Im not sure how sunlight can be wholesome, but that is the word that comes to mind when I see it. Pure. Perfect. Warm.

Alright.. until tomorrow.

Day 21.

 I got up and wrote some for my blog. I posted, but from days before. I seriously have had no interwebs for days and days, just my phone.  I’m writing my days down, but I cant upload my photos or words, so sorry about that. I have had some people ask me if my adventure was over. I don’t think the adventure is ever over, there is always something going on, right?! The adventure isn’t ending until I am published.. and then it will be the beginning of a new, so no, its not over yet. It may take me the whole 18 months to make it happen, but it’s going to happen.

As I was driving North to get there, I saw a hitchhiker that had a sign that said Florence, that was the town I was aiming to make it to last night, but I was too tired. It was a good hour and a half up the road.  He looked young like me. I wanted to pick him up. There were numerous hitchhikers along the way that I wanted to pick up but they were always couples, and I have no room for two people and their packs. I passed this one up at first, and then I felt guilty. I remember a friend had a hitchhiking trip and he said it is so hard to find someone that will pick you up. So I turned around and got him.

Naturally I was ready for anything so put my 38 special in between the drivers side door and my seat, loaded.   

He was actually quite attractive. Curly blonde hair and blue eyes, young face. 

‘Hi there!” I say as he gets in the car.

“Hi, thanks so much for picking me up. My names Sam.”

“Deleigh”

“De-Leigh?”

“Deleigh, like delete with out the T. “

“Oh, got cha okay, interesting name. “

“Thanks, I get that a lot.” I say with a smile.

I asked him what his story was. He was from Tulsa and he rode his bike from there to Oregon in a course of six months. He got an apprenticeship at company that makes cob houses and made his way up Oregon, I think he has been there for almost a year. On this day,  he was on his way to a workshop in Eugene, OR for building cob houses. So that is why he was hitchhiking, he said that hitching a ride was faster than riding his bike. Im sure it would have taken a few days to ride. 

He asked me what my story was. I told him I was a photographer who quit and sold everything trying to make something happen.

“Did you go to photo school?”

“Yes, at Texas State in San Marcos, TX”

“Oh I’ve been there! The river is beautiful there.”

“It is quite magical, huh. “

“Yes. Hey do you know someone named Tony Sipes?”

“I know a Topher Sipes.”

“That’s it! Topher!”

“Yes! I know him! What?? Man, what a small world. I went to school with him.”

“Ya, he came to Tulsa and stayed with me while he had an exhibit up there.”

First view of the ocean ... it was a good one! 

Mind Blown.  Really? … really??! I mean to tell ya, I am thousands of miles away from San Marcos, I end up not being able to make it to Florence which allows me to even see Sam the next day, then I pass this guy up and turn back around, and then he knows someone I know? Small world… I love it, I just love it! The freaking universe and all of its awesomeness!  When we got to Florence I dropped him off on the road heading east to Eugene. He gave be a pretty stone that he found for a thank you.  I put it in my coin holder where it will stay.  I gave him a hug and said goodbye. About two miles down the road, I yell, “Shit!” No picture! Damnit, what kind of photographer am I? I just got so caught up in our great conversation that I didn’t even think about it. He got out and that was it. I guess, that was just meant to be in my head. Maybe well cross paths again some day.

I drove from about 11 to 5 and made it to Canon beach right on time. I was to be there at 6 for the rehearsal dinner.The wedding I was shooting is a family that I have known for a while. I met Bob in the dorms in college at Texas State. He moved away but I knew his sister, Milly, from when she would come visit him, she lives in Austin. We connected and started hanging out. Then their older sister, Abi, was at the house and we met.  She is into photo so we talked photo one night forever and we became friends. So, I have this awesome sort of separate friendship with the whole family.  I love it. They are all amazing and a good-hearted family.  Abi and I talked a lot about photo after that. She ended up asking if I would shoot her wedding. I was so pleased to do so! It’s easy to shoot a wedding that is for someone you care for.  I mean it’s busy and crazy of course, but fun!

After the rehearsal, we had amazing pizza delivered and then went to the beach and had a little bon fire. It was nice. But I was out of there early.. Well, kind of. Haha. I pitched my tent in the back yard.. it was pretty awesome there on the ferns. It was super cozy. I loved it actually. Abi’s cousin gerrid, couldn’t believe that I was sleeping out there, he insisted that I have more blankets and pillows. So he rushes in the house and gets me a blanket to sleep on and some pillows. What a sweet heart! I can’t lie, it did make it even more cozy than it was!  Thanks! Okay off to bed.. lots to do tomorrow.

Oregon's beautiful Highways

Day 18

Well I woke up at my new home for a while! My friend has a house off the grid in Northern California that is trading me rent for work. I told him what I am doing with my photo excursion and he said that I could stay however long I need to get some photo stuff done. I really want to take a journalism class online through Matador. It’s a three-month journalism class that teaches you the basics and from then on, you have access to the site forever on. So you can find jobs and projects on there. What a dream job, to get paid for writing and photographing- one day… one day, soon! I have been manifesting this for so long.  I truly feel that some times are not the right time.  But the time is now. I can feel it.  I have worked so hard for this.  I have thought about this for some years now. I have journals from years ago that say, “I want to be a published photographer, I want to be a National Geographic photographer.” But it was not my time. I feel that I had to work and grow to get to this point where I could drop everything and be in the right mind frame to make it happen.  But again, I also thank the random guy at the bar who told me,  “You know you want to be taking photos that mean something, what are you doing here? I give you 18 months to be published.”  That really did it right there.  I sold everything and gave my job some time to hire someone new and I bolted.  I have never felt better about anything before. I have always felt alive and loved life, but I can’t exactly explain how I feel now. I feel calm and confident. I feel little and big at the same time. I am alone, but I don’t feel alone.  I actually feel the most support than I ever have by my friends and family. I feel like a strong woman. I feel whole. I just feel…good.   And on that note.. Im out. I love you all. 

Day 17

Day 17

I woke up about 6:30 and got the last of my things together.  I was starting to drive north for the wedding now that is in Oregon. That is about a 20 drive.  I wanted to give myself plenty of time to get there in the event that something went wrong, I would have a day or two extra to get there. On my way north, I decided I wanted to stop by Venice Beach. I love skating around and checking out the bowl, there are always good skaters there. While I was driving to Venice, I was sitting in horrible traffic for about an hour and my car started doing this strange idol shaking thing. It doesn’t like idol, it died on me twice, but it started right back up again. It must be some sort of airflow or spark plug thing. I’m not too sure, but it’s got to be air not getting to something. When its over 10 miles an hour, it’s fine.  Needless to say, it was a stressful drive. I was just glad it started up again. I kind of just pretended like it wasn’t happening… and every time it started to die at a stop sign or in traffic, I just talked to my baby and motivated her to keep going, haha.

When I got to Venice I decided to skate to the pier with the roller coaster on it (Santa Monica pier?) and back to Venice. I ate at a little café and had some bomb mahi mahi tacos. Mmm. Afterwards, I went to watch the kids skating the bowl. Some of those little kids are just amazing! They have so much confidence skating and fitting in like a little adult there. I love watching the dynamic of the two age differences skating, they all work together and I think that’s neat.

I was about to walk to the beach and a guy came up to me and said, “Hey! Where are you going?”

“To the beach.”

“Great, Ill go with you.”

I reply with a long “Oookay… your coming with.”

It’s funny how blunt and bold people are.  ‘Well alright, I guess your comin with then…,”  I was thinking in my head. I don’t mind company at all, so it was nice to chat. His name was Josue. He was a little taller than me with dark skin and brown hair. He had a great smile and a great attitude about life. We went and sat on the beach and watched the waves come in.  We talked for about an hour about all sorts of things. We talked about skating, health, working out, reading, 911, and ambitions in life. We also talked about how sometimes you have to quit hanging around certain people just because they are not benefiting yourself.  And not in the way that they are bad people by any means, but in the way of just being healthy or setting a goal for yourself; sometimes people get in the way and that’s a fact that no one wants to admit sometimes. That is how some people get sucked in and never get out. It is self control and being self aware.  Two girls and I, back home, Andrea and Angela, always say “Be self aware!" So many people aren’t and it really kind of blows my mind.  Some people are just oblivious to what’s going on right in front of their face.

Anyhow, it was a great variety of things in such a short amount of time. Its funny, too, how you can hangout with someone and you ask questions and try to engage them but they just don’t follow suit or ask back. Then you talk to someone you have never met before and you can talk for an hour straight about all kinds of things. It’s interesting to me how certain people feed off of each other. I wish I would have gotten a photo of Josue. Sometimes I just get caught up in the convo that I don't think to take a photo. That's odd for me right? 

Around four I finally got on the road. Time really passed me by. Well, I actually left around 2:30ish but traffic was so bad I didn’t get out of LA until four. I had 9 hours to go… My stopping point was in Northern California at a friend’s house. I didn’t get there until about 1am. In that time, I dropped my debit card at gas pump and didn’t realize it 200 miles later when I stopped to get a snack. You’ve got to be kidding me.. its that moment when you’re at the register and you go to get your card out and kind of panic, but try to play it cool. “Um hold on, let me check my car.” Then you check your car and your thinking, "No, no no. No way!"  I called the gas station to check on it- they had it, I told them to cut it up and I canceled it. I had one rushed to my friend’s address that I was stopping at. Way to go Deleigh… I have no clue how that happened. Good thing I gave myself a few days, because the card takes two days to get there.  Alright, long enough for today!

Day 15 and 16

Day 15

Day 15 was super chill… I don't even think I took any photos. Is that okay? I kind of felt guilty, but I feel that sometimes you just need to have some memories that are only in your own brain.

I went to see an old friend in Southern California; we went to the beach in Oceanside and surfed a little bit. It was so nice out. It was hot but at the same time the wind has a slight chill, so you're never actually hot. I watched all the little kids build sand castles and scream and play. It felt good to sit in the sand play in the water! I love the oceanJ  Later we went to his house and watched the fight—US against Brazil? I think. I don't know, I don’t pay much attention to those kinds of things. It was a good fight, though, I always like good competition. I cooked dinner while it was on. It was so nice to cook a real meal! Yummm, I cooked a tenderloin with dirty rice and sliced up potatoes, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and mushrooms baked with melted cheese on top. It was delish!

Day 16  

My friend had to work all day today, so I ran a few miles as well as did some crunches and pushups. I miss working out. I guess I have been going on hikes, but it’s not the same as going on a run and really working your self out. I miss being on routine as well. As much as I go with the wind, I do like having some sort of regiment. I feel that keeps you healthy.  

After that, I washed my car real well inside and out as well as took everything out and reorganized. It felt so nice to start over. I washed all my clothes and showered before I left. You learn quickly when you're on the road: if you have any opportunity to wash your clothes or take a shower, definitely make that happen! You never know when the next time for that is.  After I finished that, I long boarded the rest of the day. He’s got the perfect neighborhood for it.  When I ran I made a mental note of all of the good hills.  Man they are so much fun! I was out there for hours! Haha – You know I got some gopro action of it!  Dinner, shower, bed, and I’m out in the morning.