Musing

What a beautiful trip south this has been so far. We’ve camped in old growth forest, where the only noise you hear is the soughing of the wind through the trees. We’ve stayed at the beach where we were 10 steps from toes in sand and crashing ocean waves. We’ve camped beside a pristine lake with rolling hills, glorious sunrises and sunsets and good friends close by. We’ve meandered through the redwoods imagining ourselves in movies with Ewoks and dinosaurs. I hated to leave the coast route that twists and turns through Oregon and California behind and head over to I-5 again but, alas, all good things must come to an end and our lazy, “no schedule” leg means it is now time to make some time.

Here is the big surprise. While the secondary (?) roads in California are in great shape (albeit narrow and twisty) the same can’t be said for I-5. After a day on that thoroughfare my insides feel as if they have been in a blender. It is clear that the infrastructure of this beautiful state (and, yes, a good deal of California is quite beautiful) is suffering severely from the current economic crisis. They are not unlike other states that are struggling to keep things going but the roads have clearly taken a big portion of the “hit” when the budget got cut.

Eureka was a big surprise to me. We’d stopped there on our way southbound in ’08 but with no ground transportation we couldn’t leave the marina so I don’t know what the town looked like at that time. What it looks like now is, basically, sad. It is easy to see that most of the businesses are hanging on by their fingertips as even the buildings look unkempt and neglected. This is an old town filled with beautiful old homes with lots of gingerbread and unique features but so many are in need of painting and maintenance. And then there is the large number of homeless people wandering the streets and going through dumpsters. It only takes one look to see that many have never been in this situation before. They look dazed and shell shocked and overwhelmed with hopelessness. If California is anything like Washington, the Social Services are also being cut and cut and cut so they probably aren’t getting much help from that program either. From the outside, Eureka seems to be sort of a microcosm of the problems that are happening all over country these days.

OK…I think this has gotten a little too melancholy so I will move along. I just can’t help but be thankful that we are able to live the life we do. Chris and I are by no means wealthy, and it costs us much more to live when we are in the States than when we are in Mexico, but we still have all the necessities of life. And we have our health. Too many of our friends and family are struggling with serious medical issues and all we can do is pray for them, hold them close in our hearts, and be thankful for what we have.

Only one of the reasons we keep on cruising:

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/10/16/1330911/pismo-fatality-freeway-pedestrian.html

Life is so very short and none of us knows how much time we are allotted. Please take the time to do something that pleases you every day. Take a trip to a place you’ve always wanted to see…make cookies with a grandchild…call in sick and spend a day doing whatever you want…connect with an old friend…or just sit and watch a beautiful sunset. Life is a gift…use it wisely. And never forget to tell the people in your life you love them.