Fairview Gardens, Santa Barbara, December 4th

Hi! So much has happened in the past few weeks. I've had almost as little access to internet than I have had access to hot water to clean my body. It's been exciting! Here's a lightning telling of the tale, including our heroes, their urine, 4 thanksgiving dinners, Rivendell and Rafiki and his dog's saddlepacks.

Me and Bryce set out to meet fantastic natural builders. We did not set out to empty their urine from 5-gallon jugs into 45-gallon barrels but that is indeed one thing that Ianto Evans, the originator (with his wife Linda) of the North American cob revival, asked us to do while we were staying on his company's land. It stank in a more bothersome way than I thought it would. That ammonia really goes to your brain.

He also had us do fantastic things with a tool called a "froe", with which we can split wood into shakes that can cover a roof. Fantastic! Me and Bryce were well chuffed about this. Look that term up.

Anyways, his place was called The Cob Cottage Company, in Coquille, Oregon. It was essentially Rivendell, if you would compare our journey to that of the Fellowship's, which me and Bryce regularly do. My goodness. The most beautiful houses. The deliciousest potlucks. The wisest and most effective people. It was all I could do to not cower and throw myself at everybody's feet.

And of course eventually we left.

You may very easily expect to see a post later on in this very blog about us coming back to that place like pilgrims to a holy stone.

First, though, we have to drop a ring into a volcano. More on that later. Anyhow, the rest of Oregon was a chilly and wonderful time. Me and Bryce got a speeding ticket! We went to see the Accordion Babes. They were fantastic, and we bought their sexy accordion babe calendar, which can be viewed at my family's house cause I sent it home to them, starting in January 2012. Me and Bryce and Daveed and Kathryn met back up again in Klamath Falls, headed to Ashland, where we ate American Thanksgiving in a church. This was me and Bryce's 4th thanksgiving feast of the year, and we count ourselves as amateurs, but you can email us for tips (hint, cross the border.)

We became richer by a huge bushel of apples in Klamath Falls, upon finding an apple tree. We do not let these things pass us by. The impressions will come quickly now. Stream of consciousness begins now. Ashland is a lot like Nelson, BC. We met a traveller named Rafiki with a dog named Juju who carried saddlebags. We picked chestnuts in Ashland. We became warmer and warmer as we crossed over a river into California. We found a chocolaterie next to a creamery and bought much fine blue cheese and spicy chocolate. Commando Fridays have been a success, and if I forget I always change by noon. Me and Bryce have played music for everybody we've met. Arcata is one swinging town, I tell you what. I earned a glug of whisky for playing accordion which served to blur an already blurry night of busking, and I remember at one point teaching myself "Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow, back to my home, I dare not go".


But then eventually we got to San Francisco, which is an excellent place to sum up-



our travels are a success so far. Me and Bryce left with the aim of learning how to be better peasants and people. We keep meeting people who are making this work and who are willing to show us. So we keep asking. Travelling for travelling's sake could be a full happy adventure, and we do it then and now.

But I'm feeling like this is the travel of a tetherball, which spins wide and wildly but is always pulling itself back to center. Except we won't bounce when we come back to center. We'll stick there. So maybe a tetherball with spikes. We are a morningstar, ladies and gentlemen.

Right now we're in Fairview Gardens, Santa Barbara, a farm, a place that grows good food, in the middle of suburbia. It's heartening to say the least.