OosImaginary

cannon beach

oregon coast

warm sand dunes

cradling in clouds

these cliffs

the pacific roaring

misty like dreamin

protruding monuments

earthly reminders statuesque

like a foreign land

breathing sea while veils are lifted

layers beneath

finds home

not in body

a small visitor

in god’s living room

god invites the senses to remember

home

an aching

lost memory

faint like last night’s dream

fragrance lingering 

but through cracks

see the sunlight

and painted earth

We’ve finally made it to the bay….

We have an important tour update: In Portland we learned that the woman who was co-ordinating one of our shows in Ventura was layed off from her job at the arts center, and the other show we had scheduled in Ventura wasn’t going to be in an ideal space, which meant that we had no more scheduled shows for the summer. So we assessed how we were feeling, and after three weeks of touring, we were more exhausted than we had been expecting (I had also injured my toe in Seattle), and the prospect of street performing in the bay was beginning to be more stressful than exciting. We felt that we had successfully done what we set out to do and were very happy with all we’d accomplished in the previous 3 weeks, so we decided that it would be best to “end” the tour after Portland and take our time and simply enjoy the trip down to and in the Bay before splitting up. So that is where we are now…

After leaving Portland, we spent three lovely days reading, sleeping, beach-combing, and merrymaking at the beautiful beach home of Ed & Ruthanne Rankin (Teddy’s Aunt & Uncle) in Cannon Beach, OR. They live in Seattle and came to our show at the Josephine, at about which time they got a call from their son Nate, who was in Honduras taking part in a Medical expedition. He had just contracted a “classic” case of Dengue Fever from a Honduran Mosquito and needless to say was not feeling well. He cut his trip short by about 2 weeks and returned to Seattle whilst we were in Portland, and it worked out such that Ed & Ruthanne were going to take him to Cannon Beach to recuperate, and we had an open schedule after we left Portland, so they graciously invited us to spend a few days with them and Nate at the house. We had an amazing, relaxing, and refreshing time (and Nate is feeling well by now!!) and were sad to leave. 

We went South along the Oregon Coast, pausing briefly for another flat tire just south of Tillamook, OR. Apparently, the spare which we put on when the rear right tire deflated in Montana was slightly smaller than the other 3 tires, and must have gotten unduly stressed out by being treated as a normal tire, so it blew out while we were driving (It lasted pretty long though). This time we didnt waste time on pretense, and went straight to the trusty AAA card for help. We were told it would take about 45 minutes, so we read by the side of the road and waited. After what must have been about 30 minutes, a white truck pulled over in front of us and out walked a hardy-looking blonde man with a big smile who started to inspect our tire. It took about 2 minutes of slight confusion and talk about tools before we realized that he was not the man from AAA. We told him that we had help coming but was not the type to take 
“No” for an answer. “Those guys in Tillamook are swamped, Trust me. I ran into a guy back in Washington, same situation as you, so I get out and he tells me he has AAA coming. I say how long you been waiting? He says an Hour and a Half. I say an hour and a Half? Well you’re gonna be waiting another hour and a half, Trust me! Besides, I like doing this. People gotta help each other, right. And I’m a truck driver…”  You can get the picture. So he set to work and got the tire off and got the spare on and as we were shaking his hand and putting the busted tire up on the back, the AAA guy rolled up in his car and we waved him along. Not fast enough it seems. 

We camped for a couple nights along hwy. 101 and 1 down California, before arriving in Crockett, CA which is a little town in the Northern part of the East Bay where Teddy’s Aunt Alice & Uncle Steve and Cousin Colin live. We stayed with Alice in their amazingly tasteful home for a day (Steve was out hiking in the Marble Mountains). We had a great time and spent the next day in Berkeley (Lisa took Teddy & I to our first-ever session of Bikram Yoga) & San Francisco. We got to hang out some with my friend Claire and her Partner Michael in the Mission District and continued to have a wonderful time here. Now Lisa & I are at a coffee shop in the Mission and will head back to Crockett to hang out with Teddy & family a bit more before we split up for the summer. Lisa & I will head down to San Diego to visit my Dad & Sister and Teddy will stay in the Bay and wait to go backpacking with his Dad in the Sierras in about a week. 

Though this may be the last official in-the-thick-of-it “oosimaginary summer tour” post, we will continue to post about how and what we’re doing and where we are, etc. Definitely stay tuned for details about the post-tour performance at the Archer Ballroom. Tentatively, its looking like it will happen in the first weekend of September…

All the best to whomever is reading this!!

~Sam