After finishing my journal I noticed the young guy next to me looked familiar and finally realized I saw him the day before at another Starbucks. I started to talk to him but his answers were short and looked very sad. I asked where he stayed the day before and he said he stayed nowhere. He was sleeping there an hour or so before I started talking to him. He was maybe mid twenties and he was here from kansas city. I'm not sure why he was here but said he was anxious to get back home and was leaving on a bus the next day. After talking to him a little he seemed really tired so I left him alone. I really wish I could have known more about his story.
I was resting my knees and sat in one of the big soft chairs, I always hope those are at each Starbucks when I come to a new one. I was researching radiation in japan and looking up more information about the journey there.
I met a man sitting next to me named Ed. He was from the area of fairfield. He was 46 and a sf giants fan. We talked sports for a little while then he asked me where I was going. I told him about my worldinstrides adventure and he thought it was really cool. It's always funny to see people look at my stuff then when they learn about me and why im living homeless they are so friendly and supportive. We soon ventured into many subjects about the elements of my journey. We talked about soul searching and the crazy experiences so far. And also that he really liked the reasons I was on this journey. I'm on this journey to see what the world has for me. I'm in search of anything that comes my way and am just following my heart. My main concern is helping others and eventually would like to give back to those who help me. Not sure how yet but I will love to give back in a loving way. We talked about much of my search and travels. We spoke for maybe an hour and a half before he took my information with him as he headed home.
I was at Starbucks until they closed at 9:30taking an easy Sunday.. I thought. Before I left Starbucks I asked if they had any cardboard and they gladly gave me a couple pieces. On one piece I wrote "SAC" referring to Sacramento where I will eventually like to get to. And on the other I wrote "donate to help japan" and also "follow my journey atworldinstrides.blogspot.com" in hopes of more supporters. I packed my bag and attached the signs on my backpack then took off.
I headed over to the freeway and planned to check out a church I found on gps to see if there was a good place to crash. I got to the church and it looked like a good place to stay and the area was nice, but I really wasn't tired at all. I checked my map again on my phones gps (which works even without Internet, just can't look places up ect.). I looked at the road between fairfield and Vacaville (next town north 8 miles away) and impulsively said screw it and decided to make the walk. It was about 10 pm when I would take the road and head into the mountains north towards Vacaville ca. (picture above is the beginning of the road and last light also)
I started to walk and got sweaty so I took my jacket off. I put the hood of the jacket over my head and let the rest of the jacket drape over my backpack and to my sides. I headed down the road which was mostly mountains (foothills) and knew there was definitely some wildlife out there. I was lucky the moon was bright and lit up the night just enough to see the road. I decided to carry my pocket knife in my hand. I know mountain lion population is very low in the foothills but if you do see one they can be vicious. So I figured just in case I might as well be ready. A few cars went by within a couple mile stretch and the roads were so windy I sometimes would see lights and last minute dart out of the lane they were driving in. After a few cars I didn't see any for a while. I was kinda bored and playing with my knife flicking it open and closed. I walked a while longer and then saw another car coming. I noticed as soon as they got next to me they hit the gas and floored it away. I wondered why. Then as I took a few more step I realized I wasn't really being conscious about my knife and when that car had passes I was full on holding it open and in my hand very much exposed. Also with my jacket over my body and my sleeping bag to my side I probably didn't look to friendly in the cars headlights out in the mountains. Whoops. After that I made sure to put the knife in my pocket when a car came.
When I got about half way according to the gps I stopped and drank some water. I sat on a railing on the edge of the road on a turn and relaxed for 5 minutes or so. I realized I was surprisingly comfortable being out there. Maybe because I grew up a hunter and in the country. I sat there and was pretty tired and my knees still hurt. I actually honestly considered climbing a mountain and sleeping on top. It would be a cool place to wake up in the morning. But I know the foothills are dry and full of foxtails and stickers so I didn't want to get my clothes and gear full of them. Also there is a possibility of stumbling upon a mountain lion and her babies in their bedding place somewhere. So I decided I would just keep walking.
I didn't mention a few days ago that I lost my headphones because I didn't think it was an important detail of my journey. So let me go back a few days to tell you. When I got a ride from the father and son a few days back my headphones must have slipped out of my lap and I left them in their truck. The reason I mention that is because I found something walking through these hills that made it important. While I was walking through these hills I noticed something on the country road in front of me. I looked down and shined my phone on it and it was the exact same kind of headphones I lost. That has been the only thing on my journey I have lost so far and I just found the same kind in the middle of nowhere. I picked them up, laughed, held them up over my head and said thanks. I later would see they were basically without a scratch or sign at all of any wear. Pretty amazing. Again thanks for who put those in my path.
Another mile or so down the road I heard some footsteps on the side of the road. I had heard a few small critters already but these sounded heavier as they crunched the grass down. I could quite see anything because the noise came from an area underneath some trees and the shadows were dark. I stopped and sat still then after a few moments I softly let out a "wooo" . Instantly something jumped and a deer landed heading right towards me but then saw me and jumped back away from the road hopping down the hill a few times. It stopped and I could see it and another deer standing there looking at me. It was just dark enough that I couldn't see if they had horns or not. I tried to het a picture but I don't have flash and the picture came out black. I looked at them for a while and it was pretty cool.
As I got closer to town A car passed me and it was like cheech and chong passing bye. For 5 minutes after they passed I smelled potent weed and knew it must have been some good stuff. Before I became sober I had smoked enough to know they had some good stuff.
I got closer to town and my knees were getting really sore and it was getting a little uncomfortable to walk. I ran into a deer that had been hit by a car and killed. It looked fresh and was just starting to become bloated. I finally got to Vacaville at about1:30am. I arrived the the first Starbucks and sat in a chair outside and used wifi to read my emails. It was pretty late and I was way too sore and tired to walk anymore after the 8 mile walk so I would just try and sleep in the chair and when Starbucks opened at 4:30 I would go inside and go back to sleep. I could see in the windows that they had the soft chairs so I was pretty pumped about that. So outside I closed my eyes for 5 minutes but a loud hauler truck pulled up right next to Starbucks. The man jumped out and said hi and how I was. He said it very friendly. I said hi. He eventually asked about my travels seeing my sign. He saw that I was headed for Sacramento and said he would drive me there but he can't in his work truck or he could be fired. I told him I completely understood and it was nice that he said he would have. He finished his drop off, spend about 5 minutes asking me questions, and got my website address for my journal entries. He said good luck and left in his rig. I leaned my head against a wall sitting in the chair and tried to go to sleep. It was a nice area and i didn't worry too much about anyone trying to mug me or anything. It was pretty chilly and I was shivering. I put on jack Johnson and tried to put my sleeping bag in my lap to see if I could warm up a bit ( it was still rolled up ) I got a little bit of sleep after that and don't remember shivering anymore.
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