October 8, 1980 At my South California Claremont Base
This entry will cover my stopover in Claremont and establish a map pin there as my starting point. If you followed part 2 you would know I had some van maintenance to do. I did a complete tuneup-spark plugs, rotor, distributor cap and points and set the timing. I also flushed the radiator and put new coolant in, changed the oil and lubed the chasis. I also got a new tire to replace the one I gashed in the wilds of Utah. I went to a car wash and vacuumed out the van and shampooed the carpet and the bed. I also added a 1 inch sheet of foam to the bed. I had made the bed from a sheet of plywood with legs I mounted on one side and attached the other to the wall. I had put a 1 inch sheet of foam then and covered it with some designer fabric. After living in it for several months it was very clear to me that I needed more padding-it was particularly hard on my hip. so I thought another inch would do it (ended up not but it did improve it a good bit). I also replaced the floor mats I tore up in the Utah desert when I was trying to get out of the river bed. And I also replaced the two front speakers that had been stolen in Hartford, Connecticut.
I visited with my relatives, and my mother had coincidentally turned up at my aunt and uncle's the same day I arrived, but she had flown out. We went to the Getty Museum. I stayed mostly with my cousin and I painted a picture of his first house, but I never took a picture of it for my records. I found that YumYum Donuts was the best bet in the area as far as donut shops went. At the time they were open 24 hours, and still had counter seating, but I never got a free refill there. With my laundry done everything was ready for my departure.
October 9, 1980 Day 1 West to LA for the day then North Along the Coast
I got up early to take my mother to the LA airport and then I parked by
the ocean just west of the airport to get my bearings and decide what to do
for the day. I was starting this trip of unknown duration with $100.54 and
as usual it would be a low budget trip. First stop was the Los Angeles Art
Museum downtown. I also walked around the La Brea tar pits. I had been
here years before when my aunt and uncle brought me with their kids. At
that time there was not much to see, just a pit with black oily water. Now
they had more of a display of what was actually here. Even a statue of a
mastadon.
Got a map and then headed for that intersection they were always talking
about as the center of action in Hollywood-Hollywood and Vine. Actually not
much to see but I found a number of good used bookstores and got a book.
I walked a good bit around the area-saw the Chinese theatre and pictures
of movie stars, even a film being shot but didn't see anybody I recognized.
Next it was out Sunset Boulevard to Santa Monica and Will Rogers State
Beach. It was free, but I had a problem with a lot of state beaches because
I wanted to stop and just take a look but many of them charged. I became
acquainted with the "don't backup-severe tire damage" exits. The big teeth
that would pop up after you drove over them to prevent people from
coming in that way. They don't seem to be used that much any more. I
know I've been to the Santa Monica Pier but am not sure if it was this time.
I have a thing for piers and I try to get to as many as I can every time I
visit California, especially ones I have never been to before. Presently I
think I've been to every one from Imperial Beach to Seal Beach except the
one at Scripps, which is private. Hopefully some day I will meet somebody
who can get me on.
Leaving here I headed north stopping at a county beach and then I
stopped just over the Ventura County line by the beach for the night. I
come from a beach area in the east that aggressively enforces no sleeping
on the beach or in cars, but as I went north it seemed things were pretty
loose. Maybe it's the presence of off shore oil rigs and workers, as I saw
numerous people who actually appeared to be living by the road. Some
even had sofas and tables next to their vans or rvs. Well I never had any
problems going north and I felt I fit right in.
October 10, 1980 Day 2 Following the Coast to Seacliff
Today was spent hopping from one beach to another as I found free parking and beach access. I started by moving only a short distance and painting a picture of Point Mugu. This took most of the morning, then I drove to the point and walked around. Next it was Port Hueneme by the pier. After getting gas I went on to Ventura State Beach and washed up and shampooed in the men's room sink. Again a move to the Ventura Pier and on to a spot by the County Farm Grounds next to the surfing beach. I had surfed when I was young and hoped to keep it up as I got older but the Vietnam war kind of interfered with those plans. So I've seldom surfed since then but I like to watch.
It was getting towards evening so I went and parked downtown and walked around down there for about an hour. I found a spot above Seacliff on a dead end road between the freeway and the ocean by an oil rig pier where I stayed for the night. This may have been the spot I had thought that I found the night before.
52 miles for the day and an average of $9.39.
Point Mugu 12x16
October 11, 1980 Day 3 More California Coast Towns
I headed on north to Carpenteria and went to my first Fosters Donuts.
Now I don't want it to be assumed that the places I liked are
recomendations. Unfortuneatly things change, and not always for the
better-usually not. Fosters had the best donut that I had in a long time-
large and chewy, cinnamon sugar where it was rolled in the stuff, had to
eat away from the body and over something because so much stuff fell
off. this became a favorite donut place a couple of years later when I was
driving a cab in the Pomona valley. There weren't a lot of them and I was
always glad when I got a call that took me up near Rancho Cucamongo
where the only one in the area was located. However more recently, with
success I guess and spread out all over they no longer make the donuts
the same way. Now like most of the others they completely coat the
donut in about a quarter inch thick coating of sugar, or some other overly
sweet thing. I guess this helps keep them from going stale. But it also
makes me not want them anymore.
Anyway, enough of donuts. I headed down to the Carpenteria beach
area. Then on to Santa Barbara, which was kind of van unfriendly and it
was hard for me to find a space near the beach, and because of this I
missed seeing some things that later came to my attention through
photographs of the area. I did park at the north end of town in a park by
the beach. I proceeded to paint a large painting for one sitting (16x20) of
the cliffs and steps leading down to the beach.
Afterwards I was able to get a parking spot south of the pier and
walked up the main street from there. When I returned I did a couple of
sketches. It was getting late and I took a scenic route out of town to the
north and ended my day in a rest area on 101 by Gaviota.
Cliffs-Santa Barbara 20x16
October 12, 1980 Day 4 Surf-Isolated Coastal Spot
I had to leave the coast following route 1 north of Gaviota and it would
not come back close to the ocean for quite a ways. So looking on the map I
saw a road going west off of 1 to a place called Surf. Wanting to see as
much of the coastline as I could I decided to take this detour which would
be out and back. The scenery was relly nice. Not spectacular, but the lines
and colors on the rolling hills off to each side highlighted by numerous low
growing bushes or trees was perfect for many nice compositions, for some
reason I didn't take any pictures on the way out, maybe thinking I would
come back some time later. I did get one shot as I approached the beach
with the Santa Ynez River on the right. When I got to Surf it turned out to
be one old railroad shack with nobody there. You can see the railroad
following the coast in the picture. I was the only one in the entire area until
a tour bus arrived loaded with Japanese fishermen who proceeded to walk
down on the beach and start casting, while I took a walk up the beach.
I headed back into Lompoc and would liked to have been here in flower
season because as I understand the vast majority of flower seeds that are
sold in this country come from farms in the area. That's got to be a lot of
flowers. However I had to satisfy myself with a donut from Winchels and
then continued north to Oceana, stopping at the beach. then to Pismo
Beach by the pier and finally past Avila Beach to Port San Luis Harbor,
where I had a waterfront spot for the night. Really nice with the boat pier,
sailboats in the harbor and the heads of seals popping up here and there,
while pelicans dotted the sky.
Surf, California
October 13, 1980 Day 5 I Reach the Big Sur Area
I discovered a drawback to this almost perfect spot early in the morning. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of cars were going by at an earlier time than I was ready to get up and everytime one passed it not only made noise but also shook the van. I thought that I was basically on a dead end but it seems a little nondescript road down the street was the entrance to the Diablo Nuclear Power Plant. There was no sign of it from the harbor where I was and the next year when I returned here I came right at the end of a protest against it, with a record 1600 arrests at an anti-nuclear demonstration, but I will write about that in a later blog.
I started a 16x20 painting of the harbor and as I did I got an audience of seals that popped up not far offshore and were all watching me. The wind picked up too much and I had to pack it up. I came back here several years later and finished it.
I went into San Luis Obisbo and then up the coast to San Simeon State Beach where I got a photo of the coast and had a wash rag bath and shampoo at the faucets. I passed Hearst Castle and started up the Big Sur coast area. Really tremendous views all along the route from different elevations above the ocean. I stopped at the Pacific Valley Cafe for soup and coffee as sunset came on. A little further down the road I took a picture of the sunset. this was one of the places that you had to be real careful at sunset because of the number of tourists zooming up and down the highway looking for a good place to take a picture of the sunset and they don't pay much attention to their driving.
I stopped by the side of the road a little north of the town of Big Sur. I turned around so I would be on the ocean side of the road and my traveling home had a spectacular view. Plus I was rocked all night by the impact of the waves far below.
122 miles for the day, $8.96 average expense.
Port San Luis Harbor 16x20
San Simeon Coast
Pacific Sunset
October 14, 1980 Day 6 Carmel and Monterey
First stop for the day was Carmel where I parked by the beach. I spent
a couple of hours walking around and seeing a small town by the ocean,
however I think if I went in anywhere and got something to eat or drink
it would have cost me several days expenses. It's an example of the
stratifying effect of money on class. But it did remind me of the place I
grew up before it became overdeveloped.
Next on to Monterey, Steinbeck country. I had read some of his books
and was interested to see the setting of some first hand. I went to
Fisherman's Wharf and got an ice cream, but walking around was
imperiled by the mass of seagulls that were everywhere and crapping on
everthing and anybody who ventured out on the dock. I walked down by
the aquarium and watched some surfers in the cove. I made a stop at a
grocery store for some supplies and then drove out to Pacific Grove Park
and went to the point where I took a photo. I didn't take the 17 mile
scenic drive because they charge you and I figure there was an awful lot
of nice things to see for just the price of gas. I stopped for the night
north of Carmel Highlands along route 1.
Coast View near Pacific Park
October 15, 1980 Day 7 Starting Back because of Low Funds
I spent the morning painting a picture of the coast looking south from where I was parked. Then I headed south, getting short of money and was going to see some more of the coast as I started back. I met a hitchhiker as I was getting ready to leave and took him to Andrew Molera State Park where he was going to camp. He was familiar with the area and he told me about a warm springs that was a few miles above the campground where people would get naked and spend the night in the spring, it creating enough wamth in the growing chillier nights, and that way you didn't need to pack in a tent and stuff.
After letting him off I parked next to the entrance to Pfeiffer-Big Sur State Park, a real picturesque area that I thought would be a good area to do a painting but didn't have enough time then. I returned to Andrew Molera State Park to take a hike to the beach, which was at some distance from the road there. I took my soap and towel hoping to take a bath in the river. As I approached the beach river area I saw two ladies also hiking in the area and figured my bath was off. I walked on further to the ocean and when I looked around back up the river the two ladies were buck naked and going in for a swim themselves. So I refigured and got naked and went in to my section of the moving bath water, somewhat chilly but I was use to that. I always am careful when I wash up in natural settings because in our society a naked woman in public is looked upon as an exhibitionist at the worst, but a naked man is considered a pervert and is usually arrested. Doesn't make sense but if a policeman had seen us he would have probably told the women to get dressed and taken me to jail.
Anyway after I walked back to the van I moved up the road a little to a nice spot and stopped for the night.
34 miles for the day
October 16, 1980 Day 8 A Change in Plans-Headed Back North
I had started to head back to Claremont the day before but after the events of today my plans were changed.
There was a couple nearby that were having trouble with their VW and they had found a part they needed by phone in Monterey. However it was a good ways away and they needed a way to get there and back. So he asked me if I would do it. Understanding the situation and being a person of the road I was glad to help out. As much time as I spent on the road I figured I would be in similar situations, which I was-one time being out in the middle of nowhere up in northern Minnesota. But it wasn't a give to get thing, it was more what you would call the code of the road. Or people who live in isolated areas understand that helping others is part of survival.
So we headed north to Seaside, just past Monterey, where he treated me to breakfast, my first big meal in some time, then on to pick up the part. We stopped at a gas station where he paid for my gas and then we returned to the VW. He didn't have a lot of money but he wanted to give me some for my trouble and he liked the painting I had just did by Carmel Highlands and he bought that. Now with this influx of cash I decided to try to make it all the way to San Francisco.
But before I did that I wanted to go to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park which looked real interesting from the road. I walked the path to where I found a real nice view of a waterfall across the lagoon and painted a small picture. Years later at an art fest I saw a photo that had to be taken from the exact spot that I had set up. After fininshing the painting I went and got cleaned up in the sink there and then headed north again. I stopped at the Ripplewood Resort in Big Sur and had soup and coffee for dinner. I was living like a king today. A few miles up the road I stopped for the night. Today had been a full day.
104 miles for the day, 670.4 miles so far on this leg of my travels.
Waterfall/Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
Ocober 17, 1980 Day 9 Half Moon Bay
With my new cash infusion I headed back north, going back to Pacific
Grove first and drove Ocean View Boulevard to see some more of the local
coast then headed up route 1 agian. My next stop was Santa Cruz, beach
front by the wharf. Walked around the beach area then downtown and
returned to West Cliff Drive to Lighthouse Field State Beach where I did
some sketches. Next I moved further down the road to Natural Bridges
State Park and watched the surfers there. What was really neat about
that was there was a little cove below the cliffs were I was and a sea cave
so that they were going past me and underneath the cliff. I had a real
bird's eye view.
I covered some ground passing a lot of places because I wanted to be in
striking distance of San Francisco. I figured Half Moon Bay was close
enough so I stopped downtown and had pie and coffee at the Original
Johnsons and then I headed towards the beach to look for a night spot.
Route 1 was pretty far back from the beach but I saw a dirt road that
headed west and it was just fields with some stands of trees and nobody
else. So I decided to explore. I followed dirt roads getting closer to the
ocean and then finally reached the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific. I
had a really beautiful spot, isolated and away from any real roads. It
would have been a great place to spend a longer time and use it as a base
for doing my paintings. I've seen a lot of books that are supposed to tell
about secret spots, but once they tell they are no longer secret and they
have a good chance of being over run. I wouldn't have revealed this spot
but I think this is what became known as Mavericks-the place where the
biggest surfing waves are found in California when the conditions are
right. I've seen videos of the waves online and some of the contests here,
so it is no longer a secret anyway, but I read about the guy who
discovered the spot and I am sure it was after my stopover there. I
wouldn't be surprised if those empty fields were now filled with condos.
October 18, 1980 Day 10 Into San Francisco and Back
It was getting close to halloween and there was a Pumpkin Festival in
Half Moon Bay so I thought I would go downtown first and then head for
San Francisco. It didn't take long to see it, then heading north I stopped
at Skyline Plaza in Daly City and got a SF map and went to an
independent donut shop there were I got breakfast of coffee and a donut.
There was so much to see and I figured I could only spend a day here
before heading south again, and I expected parking to be a problem,
which it was. First stop was at Pacific Ave. and Davis Street. I walked
around downtown a good bit covering a lot of ground-getting to China
Town.
Next I headed for the Palace of Fine Arts hoping to see artwork, but
they didn't really have fine arts so I didn't go in, but I had parked along
the bay shore and got a good look at the Golden Gate Bridge, the bay
entrance and I could see Alcatraz so it was worth going there. Then it was
to Geary near 11th Street and a walk to golden Gate Park to see the
Conservatory of Flowers. I didn't have a guide book or information more
than the name of places so here I missed the mark again. There was some
meeting going on there but I couldn't get in and I didn't see many flowers
anyway. So I walked a little around the park and headed back to the van.
A stop near California and 30th Street I'm not sure why. Then to the
1100 block of Mission to see another part of SF. Finally I headed to Sutro
Heights Park near the ocean. I walked down by where the Cliff House
was, but as I remember at that time it was just a shell and there were a
couple of guys walking around on the rocks and some kind of wall with
bows and arrows, I guess trying to shoot some fish.
This ended my day in SF, seeing a lot but not seeing a whole lot, so much
more to see and I would have to come back on another trip. As I was
leaving I felt that at least I should have eaten at a chinese restaurant
while in San Francisco, so as I was passing one along the highway I
stopped. It was kind of pricy and I ordered the sweet and sour pork. Big
mistake-I'm sure it came in a plastic bag or was frozen because it was
lousey. I ended spending almost a whole days average expense on a most
disappointing meal.
I returned to the same spot by Half Moon Bay I was at the night before.
Not the most efficient use of my time in San Francisco but it was a start
and I was glad to see what I had seen.
October 19, 1980 Day 11 Back South Again to Point Sur
Well my trip to San Francisco was short but at least I got there, now it
was back to hopping my way along the beaches back to Claremont
again. One of the beaches I had passed on the way up that I stopped at
now was Pescadera State Beach. After about 20 minutes looking
around I headed to my next stop that was below the Pigeon Point
lighthouse. Then I hopped past Santa Cruz and went to La Selva beach
for a short time. It was frustrating because I would have liked to
probalby spend a whole day for about every 15 to 20 miles of beach. I
found a book that covers every beach all along the west coast and
while probably not able myself to get anything published it would be
nice to get paid for doing what you like. And that is just what I
attempted to do at my next stop which was Monterey's Fisherman Pier
area again where I set up my paintings in an attempt to get some
income from my odyssey. However it ended up that I was just out $.30
for the parking meter. After a stop to get supplies from the grocery
store I parked a couple of curves above Point Sur for the night. This
was with the intention of painting a picture of the point the next day.
Plus I had a beautiful location for the night.
October 20, 1980 Day 12 Beach Hopping South
I moved the van a short distance to get a better spot to do a painting of the coast and Point Sur. There was a pretty heavy fog and this is reflected in the picture. I must have been at the end of a roll of slide film when I took a photo of the painting because it is a 12x16 but a good part of it has been cut off and I no longer have the painting. I also tried to sell some that I set up along the road while I was painting.
Next I moved on south to my spot near the Big Sur River and shaved, bathed and shampooed. As I went further south I stopped at beaches I had passed going north but now took the opportunity to stop and walk along the coast at each of them. First was Mill Creek, then Sand Dollar Beach and finally a stop at Jade Cove to see if I could find some nice jade. I did meet a man from the area who told me he knew a man who found a large block of white jade that a Japanese jade carver was so interested in that they flew the man over to Japan with the jade and after examining it paid him a royal sum. This didn't happen to me. I just found an assortment of green shaded pieces of rock that might have been related to jade but only worth the price that I had paid for them-a walk on the beach.
After this I stopped once more at William Cove Picnic Area, then ended the day a few miles south below Gorda where I parked for the night.
51.3 miles for the day and no new expenses.
Point Sur in the Fog 12x16
October 21, 1980 Day 13
When I left my spot for the night the fog was really heavy and I only
ventured on because there was so little traffic and I could go slowly. As I
wound in and out along the coastline I was going up in elevation and all of
a sudden I broke out into the daylight-the sun was shining and I could see
for miles out to sea. I stopped and got out and saw the dense fog I had
been driving in was now a cloud below me. This is shown in today's
photograph.
I stopped above San Simeon and started a painting of the shore rocks
and cormorants, but didn't finish because the tide was going out too fast.
So I continued on to Morro Bay, getting there about one o'clock and after
parking downtown I walked along the embarcadero. I had my first coffee
and donut in a while at Anna's Bakery-67 cents, what a deal.
Then I got back on the road and headed for my spot of a few nights ago
by the Port San Luis Bay harbor. I went to the Old Customs House Cafe and
it looks like I had three beers for $1.50 this put my average expenses to
$10.40 and I had $15.14 left, but I had filled my gas tank and plenty of
gas to finish the rest of this leg of the trip.
Above the Clouds
Double click to edit
Shore Rocks and Cormorants
October 22, 1980 Day 14 Finishing Old Paintings
I finished the painting from the day before and one of the ones from
Wyoming, then worked some more on the San Luis Harbor painting but
didn't finish it and it would be a couple of years and a return trip to
this spot before I did. It was late afternoon by the time I left and went
to Lompoc grocery for some supplies and stop at Winchells Donuts.
Next I drove out to Jalama Beach which was a real nice drive but the
only place to stay was in a pay park so I returned to the highway and
found a spot along Route 1 for the night.
October 23, 1980 Day 15 Back to Claremont
Not too much to enter for today. Time to head back to Claremont. I stopped
along Route 1at places by the beach. Then when I reached LA I drove
through Hollywood and did some sightseeing and then on to Claremont. I
had covered 1450.7 miles and had an average per day expense of $9.98. I
was back with $10.69 left.
My next entry will cover the few days that I am back in Claremont and
then after renaming this travel blog I will start a shorter trip south along the
ocean, in which I see some new piers, do some more paintings and end the
trip short in a delerium that was possibly toxisplasmosis or perhaps the flu.
North
Now South
November 2,1980 Day 1 West to LA Then South from Long Beach
Double click to editccc
After a quick stop at the store to get two quarts of oil I left Claremont
once more and headed west to the coast, hitting it at Long Beach near the
Civic Center. From this spot I walked around the Harbor and Long Beach
proper. I could even see the Queen Mary. Next I headed to the southern
part of Long Beach on Ocean Ave. and stopped at a beach parking lot. I
spent a couple of hours here and then went on to Seal Beach, parking on
Main Street near the Pier. I had forgotton that I had been to this pier
until recently because I visited it again a couple of years ago and thought
it was my first time. I walked out on the pier and then up Main Street,
where I got an ice cream cone as my other expense of the day. The oil
cost more.
Finally I ended up in Sunset Beach in a residential section for the night.
With the coming of winter my daylight hours are getting shorter and I
don't like to travel very far after dark because I miss too much. 61.9 miles
for the day.
November 3, 1980 Day 2 Huntington Beach Pier and Balboa Island
Got an early start for the day, up at 6:40. Moved a little later to the south
end of Sunset Beach and stopped at the state beach. Many years later I got
a neat book about all the west coast beaches but then it was hit and miss.
Sometimes Route 1 was right on the coast and other times you would have
to keep going up dead end streets to see what it was like, and even though I
would have liked to see every bit of coastline that was rather difficult to do
in practise. After about a half hour I headed on to the place I had heard so
much about when I was a teenager surfing on the east coast-Huntington
Beach. It seemed to be a surf mecca and back then the big thing was to
shoot the pier, unfortunately this is now against the law at about every pier
I've been to. I spent time on the pier and walked up Main Street. It's
unbelievable (bad) what they've done to the main business district since
then.
I went to Balboa Island next, not actually on the ocean because it seemed
it would be real difficult to park the van, but I did park on Topaz and the Bay
Walk and painted a picture of the old boathouse across the water. The
winter before last I did have the use of a jeep and went out on the actual
island and discovered there were not one but two piers which I spent a good
bit of time exploring. After finishing my painting I went on to Corona del Mar
and stopped at the county beach where I was able to get a shower and
shampoo my hair.
I couldn't stay here for the night but I wanted to come back and do a
painting, so I went to the grocery store for supplies and then had a warm
meal of coffee at Cocos. I found a place on Poppy Street for the night. 29.9
miles for the day.
Balboa View 12x16
November 4, 1980 Day 4 Corona del Mar for a Painting then on South to Dana Point
Got another real early start. When I stay somewhere for the night surreptitiously and a place that wouldn't be cool to be washing up and brushing my teeth and spitting in the street, etc., I usually move first. I went back down to the Corona del Mar Beach Park by the inlet. Things were pretty quiet like I like them-off season so no crowds and much more relaxed. I'm not much for lying on the beach, but I love to see the ocean and listen to the waves so it can be a lot cooler than a usual beach goer desires. As planned I set up my easel along the inlet and did an oil painting. To repeat an explanation from my first northeast blog-my paintings are darker than I would normally paint them now because since I had started traveling last summer and painting on location I had never had the oportunity to look at them inside a house and the general outside light always made them seem to be lighter than they were. Also I had to take the weather as it was at the time I set up and california often was not the sun drenched state you hear about. Ususally along the coast it was an overcast to foggy sky. Also the photos of the paintings scanned from old slides often alter the color range.
As I was painting I noticed that there were a lot of cats around-there appeared to be dozens of them wandering around the parking lot, the jetty, the beach-everywhere. I think they were the cause of a problem I developed on a subsequent day.
I wrapped up there and headed on to Laguna Beach where I stopped to check out the beach and walk around town. Then on to Dana Point, another name I had heard a lot back east. I parked near the wharf and checked things out but it wasn't a suitable spot for the night so I moved inland some. My average expenses had risen to $4.92 per day and I hadn't even had a cup of coffee. 22.4 miles for the day.
November 5, 1980 Day 5 Inland to San Juan Capistrano and Back to the Coast
I moved back to the wharf area early in the morning to check it out some
more, than I moved to a different part of the harbor for another hour. Then I
headed east to San Juan Capistrano to the mission. I had heard many times
about the swallows and even though it was't the time of the year to see
them return, I was still curious about what the place was like and I wanted
to see the old mission.
After this short side trip it was back to the coast and San Clemente. I
stopped at the beach somewhere there but didn't see the pier and wouldn't
get out on it until many years later. They have a really good live cam of the
pier area now too. There is also google earth now which I have used on my
last trip out to locate more piers that I hadn't been to. Leaving here after
noon I stopped at a rest area along Interstate 5 to set up my paintings, but
after about 4 hours with no luck I packed up and went on to Oceanside. As I
stated in my blogs somewhere I was hoping with the internet to start
marketing my artwork more successfully. It's discouraging to put yourself
out there and not sell anything, even though there were a few time I did.
The most embarassing time happened many years later. Living a block from
the University of Michigan stadium football days thousands of people go by
the house so I set up one day before a game. Well an older lady that lived
on the other side of the street a few houses down would keep holloring to
me every few minutes while people were streaming by, "Did you sell
anything yet?" To which I would have to hollar back a couple times each
time because she couldn't hear too well "No, I haven't sold anything." I did
get a commission for my troubles but that was it.
Anyway, back to the past. I parked by the Oceanside harbor near the beach
for the night.
November 6, 1980 Day 6 Southern Trip Ends Prematurely
I got up really early for me feeling worse than I had the night before.
Something like the flu, but I venture it was toxoplasmosis which is
carried by cats which I was surrounded with in Corona Del Mar and could
have picked it up there. It was funny because I felt kind of dizzy lying
down and when I would get up and try to function it wasn't any better.
The only time I could feel level headed and in control of my muscles was
when I was doing my tai chi. There was a small lighthouse in the harbor
and I wanted to do a painting of it, posibly the only painting done by
someone suffering from toxosplasmosis. I do like the way it turned out,
a little on the dark side but it was another overcast, almost rainy
morning.
I moved on about noon hoping things would get better. I stopped on
the beach south of Carlsbad, then a short stop in Encinitas and on to the
day use area of Cardiff State Park by the river. I wasn't feeling any
better by the time I reached the San Diego city limits and I decided to
return to Claremont and recover there.
This ended my first exploration of the california coast. I was to remain
in Claremont for about a month and then head back east to conclude this
years travels. However I did go via southern florida to get to maryland
so it was not a direct trip. For the rest of my stay in Claremont and my
return trip I will go back to the second part of the greenvan east to west
coast story and back and finish the cross country odyssey.
Oceanside Harbor Lighthouse 12x16