China!

Life has been busy! Writing this I wish I had kept up more. I can only brief the past 6 months when so many interesting things have happened. So many thoughts and experiences. So many people I would like to introduce. This will have to do.

The end of my stay in Alaska was a lot better then the begging. It turns out that I like office work just fine and that I liked the attitude in the office better then on the boats. After a month answering phones I moved downstairs to the front counter. That was great. I could interact with people again! I liked it better then the boat work even, except for the fact that I was no longer on the water. The best part was the camaraderie.

Outside of work I started going to Resurrection Art Coffee Shop instead of the mountains every day. I met a few really great people. Most notably Brianna and Jo who would become my adventure partners. Brianna and I took a surprise train trip to Anchorage to sleep in a cardboard box and hitch hike back the next day; and Jo came back to the lower 48 with me.

The weekend before leaving was the Seward Music Festival. I didn't expect much but much to my surprise it was pretty awesome. Great music and a great scene. Best part was that all the tourists had left for the season so most everybody knew everyone else. The most notable band was the "Flying Hearts". I was chatting a very pleasant vendor when they started. Punk! I excused myself and walked over to the stage. When I arrived I broke into a hysterical fit of laughter that lasted for the entire rest of the song as I watched this kid scream into the mic. He was only 9 years old but Wow what an amazing voice! The audience was not as impressive. I think I was the only one who had ever been to a punk show before. They stood around nodding their heads at best.

After the festival I hopped into an RV with a few other people and rode to Anchorage to pick up 2 more. We were a motley crew: Jo, the young ex-morman artist; Jonathan, the middle aged traveler; Isaiah, the party animal; Emily, the hot teacher/massage therapist; Philip, the fisherman; and me. We had an incredible 10 days drive through Canada. The stop off in Haynes AK and meeting Marion and Sarah was the highlight.

I spent a month in Washington. I can't tell you how much I loved it. I think that when I move back to the states I will move to the North West somewhere. Maybe Port Townsend? To much happened for me to write about here. I had a perfect month. Everyday was full and beautiful. I was on the phone with Carlos one day at Evergreen State Collage, "I am still doing the same thing I was 10 years ago! I am living in a closet and partying with Collage kids." I was staying at with Dave Crager. Dave is like a younger punker version of me. We have the same taste in music, women, and fun. He drinks a little (lot) more then I do though. Dave, Uma and I got drunk and had a dance party almost every night! That was only about a third of my time though. I also partied in Seattle with kids my own age and relaxed in PT when I needed a break. I stayed up all night my last night in Seattle with Ali, the sister of Bri from Alaska. We biked around and scavenged dumpsters, made beer with Garth, and talked about politics and philosophy until I had to go. In the morning I went to the airport and passed out. I woke about 20 minutes after my plane left... Fucked. The next day I finally made it out. The plane was delayed 6 hours but I did make it to

CHINA!