Last night we stayed in Cambria Ca. with an old high school friend, Torstein Volz, his wife Alicia, and their two children, Chase and Riley. Today we looked for surf and there were no waves so we went rock climbing. We took turns running up a slabby chunk of granite outside Morrow Bay. It was TorsteinÕs first time on the rock and he was super excited about getting to the top. ItÕs always fun to take someone out climbing for their first time and see them do something they thought they couldnÕt do. Both Torstein and Z seemed a bit nervous, understandably so, tying into a rope and climbing up a rock wall isnÕt the most natural thing one can do. In fact it can create the most interesting nervous response where one leg will vibrate up and down like the leg of a sewing machine or Elvis on stage barking like a hound dog. Well today, Elvis had left the building, in fact I say him sewing on a rock wall in Morrow bay. I think it was defiantly a different experience for them and one that I could relate to because normally we go surfing and I am the one sewing with Elvis. We all spent the rest of the day in a lazy daze napping and lounging. Tonight we have moved, a whole twenty or so miles, down the coast to Morrow Bay where we are staying with some old friends of ZackÕs, Erick and Pia and their two children. We stopped in to say hello expecting to pass right through and they fed us and offered us beds for the evening. Seeing as our head light situation is quite grim (the cars approaching from the rear cast our own shadow in front of the us so dark that we are blinded by the lights of the on coming traffic) we have decided to stay in nice beds and move on in the morning.
Friday, October 31
The timing that occurred to land us where we are tonight could not have been strategized or planed, it could only be the stupidest luck of all time. Where are we? Oh we are just hanging out with Yvon and Melinda Chouniard at their Hollister Ranch home in California. WHAT? HowÕde that happen? Well, passing through Ventura this morning we decided to stop at the Patagonia surf shop so I could buy a surfboard. Not knowing where the shop was, we stopped at a pay phone and look up the address and then spent some time wandering around asking directions until we found ourselves in front of the Patagonia clothing store. We parked the car, went inside and they directed us down the street to the Quonset hut where the surf shop is. So we walked in and whoÕs standing right there but Yvon. Just hanging out. IÕm thinking ok this is pretty cool thereÕs Yvon Chouniard, owner of Patagonia Clothing Company, prolific rock, ice, and alpine climber and environmental business mogul. To me as a climber, the guyÕs a straight up legend. Almost every piece of climbing gear IÕve looked at for the last 20 years has his name stamped on it. I have these photographic images tattooed to my brain, from when I was 12 years old that inspired me to become a climber, of Yvon Hanging in a hammock on the North American Wall of El Capitan and standing in camp 4 with his quiver of pitons. He was a hero of mine; someone whose actions inspired me to climb but of such mythic proportion and from when I was such a young age, that in a way he didnÕt really exist. And there he was just standing in the surf shop talking to the guy who works there. Wait a minute; guys like Yvon donÕt stand around the shop chatting. ShouldnÕt he be off doing something, fishing for bonefish on some secluded beach, making some new product out of recycled something, or jumping over a building, or something, anything not just hanging out at the surf shop.
So any way they turn and ask if we need anything, and I say, Òyea I want to buy a surf boardÓ and they chuckle a little, like thatÕs right you can do that here, and I start telling the guy who works there that we are doing this trip from Alaska to Argentina just as Yvon is turning to walk out and his ears perk up. He turns and says, ÒI did that trip. Well from here we drove to Patagonia and climbed Fitsroy.Ó Then he says ÒThatÕs a great adventureÓ and we start chatting and 2 minuets later he invites out to his house for the weekend to go surfing and see the film he made about his trip in 1968. Then he takes us for lunch at the Patagonia cafeteria and introduces us to every single person we pass saying Òyou gotta meet these guys there going from the Alaska to Argentina. All of the sudden we have befriended Yvon Chouniard and he is this super genuine, super nice person who is excited about our trip. We met so many people I cant recall them all but the one that stood out the most was, Chipper Bro. Chipper works the switchboard and has more charisma than any one I have ever met. Its Halloween and he is dressed like a pirate and he is pulling it off it was subtle I actually thought woe hard core this guy has a tear tattooed under his eye. So after lunch we are walking back to the car and IÕm thinking what if we stopped to put air in the tires or get a cup of coffee or anything but thatÕs life itÕs timing and flow and right now we are in the flow.
Tuesday November 4
Spending time with Yvon and Malinda has given me faith in human beings and affirmed feelings I have been having about being positive person in order to be happy and create positive change in the world today. On this journey I have examined many things about myself in regard to who I am and what I want to accomplish with my life and how I want to go about it. I have accepted that I am a pessimist and donÕt have much faith in human kind with regard to what our life styles are doing to the environment and that has really brought me down. But have also come to understand that I want to do positive things, be an environmentalist and make positive changes in my society, not just complain about whatÕs wrong and be negative about it. I have realized that the first step to creating positive change is having a positive point of view and being happy. I see Yvon and Malinda making positive change in there every action. They drive economical vehicles. They build their homes as models of sustainable building with recycled concrete sidewalk and reclaimed timbers from old structures. They use their business proactively to fund environmental causes and create products from recycled and organic materials. I see their success in creating positive change stem from their happiness and the way they live their lives. Their excited about life; they laugh, tell stories, go surfing, eat, drink, and are merry. ItÕs like anything you have to have your fundamentals down before you can you can progress.
Today we hung out with Dan and Keith Malloy They are pro surfers that live across the street from Yvon and Malinda. Who had just returned from Ireland and hanging out waiting for the swell to pick up somewhere on the planet and we talked about maybe hooking up with in Dan in Peru or Chile. They were super nice guys and I hope we can see them sown south. After another lunch at Patagonia and logistical photocopy session at their office I bought my new board and we headed out. I couldnÕt think of a better way to start our trip south into Mex than being sent off by Yvon and Malinda.
Zack
Dumb Luck
The last few days in Marin are spent scrambling trying to get everything
together and ready to head south. It was one thing coming down from
Alaska looking towards the bay area as a stopping point, a time to rest
and catch up, eat home cooked food, and enjoy my favorite time of year
in Northern California, but now we are past that, and heading south
from here is different. There will be stopping off points, but none
like home, which makes it hard to leave. Although we want to leave Monday
morning, we donÕt get out of the bay until Wednesday, which actually
ends up working out well. On a reconnaissance mission to Clif Bar in
the east bay, we randomly meet a young woman named Issa who is working
at Clif Bar. She is a dance instructor as well and invites us to visit
her class where she teaches modern dance to a group called Loco Bloco
(www.locobloco.org).
Loco Bloco is a San Franciscan dance troupe based out of the mission
district that provide classes for the youth and teach the idea of rhythm
and movement through music. Tuesday evening Scott and I drive out to
hang with Issa and Loco Bloco, whom kindly let us film their practice
routines of samba and modern dance, and give us some interesting perspectives
on San Francisco and the rise of youth culture involved with dance.
ItÕs really cool to see the involvement and dedication in the group.
The percussion section is made up of hardcore conga players and marching
band style drummers, from age 8 and up. In the dance class there are
some women who have been working with the group for 10 years. We do
an interview with Issa, eat some tacos with her and her boyfriend at
El Toro in the Mission District of San Francisco, and talk about the
upcoming travels that we are about to embark on in the next couple of
months.
Wednesday morning we have some last minute computer headaches, but finally find ourselves headed south. A quick stop in Santa Cruz to eat some tacos and say goodbye one last time to my girlfriend Sara and we are on our way towards Cambria. Leaving Santa Cruz we hit rush hour traffic, and find ourselves driving in the dark. Our headlights suck. Really suck. When a car comes up from behind, our lights are overpowered, and I find myself looking at the shadow of our vehicle. My eyesight is not the best, and by the time we get to TorstenÕs house in Cambria, my eyes ache and I am worn out. I fall asleep to the sound of Torsten and AliciaÕs baby daughter Riley throwing up, trying to think about the positives of having children. Thursday morning Torsten takes us and the kids to look for some surf around Cambria, but we end up going rock climbing in Morro Bay. This is my second time climbing with ropes, and TorstenÕs first, and Scott has to coach both of us to reach the top of the short pitch. What takes us 15 minutes of heavy breathing and rubber legs takes Scott five. As Torsten climbs, I find myself babysitting in the dirt with his kids Chase and Riley, trying to keep them happy rubbing dirt on themselves and at the same time watch T climb. As Torsten nears the top, not super sure of himself, his baby girl Riley seems to sense her fathers fear begins to cry and point towards the top of the rock. T makes it up after some heavy coaching, and like myself is stoked to have climbed up, but not totally sure if climbing is the sport for him. We bid goodbye to Torsten and his chiquitos and once again the cruiser rumbles south.
On the road, we donÕt make it far, as we stop to visit our friends Eric and Pia and their two children Colt and Matilda who have just bought a house in Morro Bay, about 30 minutes south of Cambria. Although we plan to say hello and goodbye and continue south, we end up eating some food from the Chapala market down the street and drink some wine, and we grind to a halt preferring the idea of a bed to the back of the Cruiser. Up early Friday morning, we are greeted by rain and south winds, something all to familiar on this trip thus far. I actually feel refreshed knowing that I am experiencing once again the first rain of the season in Central California.
We are on the road early heading rather aimlessly towards Ventura where Scott is planning to purchase a surfboard at Point Blanks, PatagoniaÕs surf shop. Not totally sure where to find the shop, we stop at the Patagonia outlet and ask directions. The man behind the counter is really friendly and points us in the right direction, but fails to specify how far we actually need to go. I ask rather bluntly if we should drive there, and his rebuttal is something like, ÒBRO!! Dude!! ItÕs like 75 yards man! You donÕt need to drive Bro!Ó More amused than offended by this mans honest answer to my question, we head over to find Point Blanks and pick up a new surfboard. The shop is located in a large Quonset hut painted brown and tan with a sign out front that says POINT BLANKS. As we walk in, I notice a man who looks vaguely familiar, yet I canÕt really place who he is. That is until I look over at Scott and watch his face light up. Judging by his facial expression I figure he is either seeing God, or Yvon Chouniard. Now I know who Yvon Chouniard is mostly because I have heard Scott talk about him countless times, and had just recently read some interviews with him in climbing magazines, but I donÕt know about Yvon like Scott does. Just the mentioning of the name (Yvon) and its like, ÒWHOAAA!Ó with Scott, time to sit down and listen.
Yvon is famous for many things, mainly to the average human for his company Patagonia that makes some of the best outdoor gear in the world. Others more hip to climbing culture know him as the inventor of the climbing tool the piton, as well as the owner of the most environmentally helpful corporation in the world, or as one of the important business leaders that President Bill Clinton invited to partake in meetings concerning the environment. Yvon started a foundation called 1% for the environment, in which his company Patagonia and other companies donate 1% of all profits to environmental causes.
So here we are, sitting in Point Blanks surfshop with Yvon Chouniard showing us his line of surfboards. He asks us where we are from and what we are doing, and we casually reply that we came to get a surfboard to take with us to Argentina, where we are headed over the next few months. When we tell him we are driving to Argentina, his eyes light up, and he says in an excited tone, ÒI did that trip! I drove to Argentina!Ó Yvon is obviously taken aback by the fact that we drove from Alaska to Ventura to by a surfboard from his shop to take to Argentina. He asks us what we have planned for the weekend, and if we have time would we like to come stay with him and his wife on their ranch in Gaviota and try out some surfboards. THE RANCH?? Are you kidding??! SURE! Yvon gives us his phone number, and tells us to meet him up there at 6 or so for dinner. We drive away dumbfounded. What just happened? As we sit and drink a cup of coffee trying to process our dumb luck, I canÕt stop thinking about how much travel opens up opportunity. If I had spent 5 more minutes that morning sleeping, or combing my hair or something like that, we might have missed this incredible chance to spend time with Yvon Chouniard. As we drive back north on highway 101 in a beautiful fall rainstorm highlighted by the sunset, talk of good luck changes as we come upon a brutal head on collision involving both sides of the freeway. I canÕt help but think how precious life is as I watch the lifeline helicopter land on the freeway. I ask Scott to please drive carefully.
The next two days are spent at the Hollister Ranch, on some of CaliforniaÕs most coveted coastline. The Ranch is famous to all surfers, especially Californians, who dream about this 8-mile stretch of beach that has some of CaliforniaÕs best surf spots. ItÕs completely inaccessible unless you have a boat, or are one of the lucky ones who own a parcel of land, or you have a friend who does. Its really a gated community for surfers, lucky ones mostly who have a lot of money. We end up spending some time at the gate, not sure if we have been chumped or if there has been a mistake. The guard tells us that our name isnÕt on the list, and we will have to call to be given permission to enter. Scott calls the number we have been given, and its busy. We wait. 20 minutes later and the phone is still busy. We make friends with Robert the guard who is nice enough to let us hang out in the booth and check out the surf report online. We show him our website and heÕs super stoked on what we are doing. Not stoked enough to let us in though. We wait. Another guest of YvonÕs passes through, and we ask him if he will have Yvon call the gate to let us in. He agrees and we again wait. Finally 30 minutes later the phone rings and we hear Robert apologize and he waves us through. Whew! I was beginning to think our dumb luck had run outÉ
YvonÕs home is incredible. Built completely with recycled materials, you get the feeling that he himself knows personally every piece of matter that was used to build the structure. He tells us where each piece of wood has come from, some as far as the Great Lakes from a sunken barge. The walls are built with quadrants of concrete sidewalk found at the dump. He tells us that the enormous beams that we see came from the now deceased Ventura pier. Looking out the window from the granite tiled bathroom there is a perfect view of St. AugustineÕs Point, a perfect little reefbreak for surfing.
Our group is made up of myself and Scott, Yvon and his wife Malinda, Lisa and Jay, kayakers who are learning to surf, Dan Duane, the surfer / author from San Francisco, and Tetsuya, the mad scientist / fabric designer from Patagonia. Although we spend both days surfing, the surf is small and soft, perfect for beginners but difficult for me on my 6Õ2Ó with a hurt knee. I think I find most enjoyment at dinnertime, eating wonderful food and partaking in conversation with a really interesting group of people. The conversation flips from surfing to politics, then to travel and onto business, we laugh at stories told by all, especially Yvon and Scott, and talk about our experiences thus far on our adventure and what we have to look forward to. Yvon and three friends made the same trip back in 1968, driving from San Francisco to Patagonia, Argentina to surf and ultimately climb the mountain Fitzroy in the heart of the Andes. Yvon even shows us the 16mm film they made about their journey.
In the beginning I feel a bit overwhelmed and have the urge to find a corner and hide out, away from the intensity of the situation. One minute we were headed to San Diego to get work done on the car and drive to Mexico, and the next moment we are eating dinner with one of the most influential persons in the outdoor sports world. As I feel more comfortable in the surroundings, and less likely to run and hide, I come to realize that although Yvon is a world renown figure, someone who should be put on a pedestal and be asked to speak and teach and share his wealth of ideas and information, he is also a person, a very likeable person at that, and I begin to look to him as a friend and almost a father figure, feeling less intimidated and more so comfortable and happy with my surroundings.
Sunday the surf drops, but its still glassy, and I take out one of YvonÕs longboards and have a blast. I imagine what it must have been like for guys to surf here 40 years ago, negotiating the kelp on their 10-foot boards of balsa, and cruise the easy peaks until the wind came up. I canÕt help but envision some of the wonderful photos that the late photographer Ron Stoner took out here back in the day of surfers like Mike Hynson and Miki Dora surfing Rights and Lefts. We leave the ranch by the afternoon, counting our blessings once again for a wonderful weekend. Yvon and Malinda once again invite us to dinner at their home in Ventura and offer us a place to sleep. We gladly accept, and enjoy wonderful home cooked chicken soup and some more stories from Yvon. After dinner Yvon graciously allows us to interview him, and once again I fall asleep to the sound of the ocean, thinking about Mexico.
Monday we are up early drinking coffee and planning out our day. First stop, Patagonia to purchase Scott a surfboard, and then on to LA where we will spend the night with my stepbrother Scott and his wife Michelle. We end up spending most of the day doing last minute prep at the office of Patagonia, making copies of documents, sending emails and bidding farewells to our new friends. 5 oÕclock is not the perfect time to enter Los Angeles, but that is where we find ourselves, southbound 101 rallying with the rest of LA at rush hour to make some headway. Tuesday out of Los Angeles, we make a quick stop at Surfer Magazine where we pick up a dozen copies of the surf report for all the places we will go, and by the evening we are in San Diego, enjoying the sunset and recollecting with our friend Dominique who has been patiently waiting for us to go to Mexico. San Diego seems to have a rope tied around our necks as we end up spending the whole next day dealing with the car. $800.00 dollars later, two new tires, a rodded radiator and window tint, and al fin we are ready to cross the border. Dominique loads up her boards and gear into the Cruiser, and away we go.
We make a quick stop in Ocean Beach to visit my momÕs first boyfriend who goes by the name of Bob Levis. Bob is the perfect description of a character, as well as the perfect person to see us off into foreign lands. HeÕs done it all, and lives life with a sense of spontaneity that I think motivated all of us. As we eat lunch, he is trying to convince his daughter Serena to take him to Baja so that we can all spend the evening in Ensenada. We say goodbye to Bob and say hello to Tijuana!
