(no subject)
I've returned from cali.
This whirlwind vacation is winding down.
It's been a rush.
One of my good friends J from way back in High School came up here to visit me.
He's a marine now, a tanker crew man.
We went up to canada to see some of my friends up there and go camping.
It was a nice retreat into the wilderness. We spent a lot of the time running
around, hiking, swiming in a creek, drinking, being wild adventurers, and rainbows!
Of course, it rained the first night, and left everything muddy, and we were
pretty far from the tent so everyone got freaking soaked and two of us later suffered slight upper respiratory infections.
It was really a good time, and brought us all closer than we've been in a long time. Which is good, because friends like these are few and far inbetween.
By the time I got back from canada my nose was running nonstop and my lungs were getting pretty messed from fluid buildup. So I took a few hot showers, drank a bit of nyquil, and passed out for about 11 hours.
We went and did laundry from the camping and then packed the car for cali. We got the GPS on the laptop started up, got all the supplies, the redbull, the nodose, the Sudafed PE, and headed out.
The 240 started up with overdrive shut off. Which in laymens terms means the car will not engage 4th gear and is more or less limited for under 50mph.
I wasn't about to drive 1,400 miles under 50, or over that and have the engine blow up. So I turned around after making it up zee big spokane hill and went back. The car had been doing this before but it'd usually kick off in about 3-4 minutes.
I took it as a sign that I shouldn't be traveling right then, gotta follow zee
signs. So we went and got some food, and I napped for a half hour.
Then I started thinking about it. I had a suspicion it was the overdrive relay
not switching properly when the car starts and it becomes energized.
So I went and searched interweb forums about 240s for awhile. I quickly found similar failures often being caused by the relay, so all I had to do was find out where it was and bang on it. I found out it was behind the glovebox, so I went out with my trusty leatherman and pulled the glovebox out.
I couldn't quite figure out which of the many things behind there it was, so I
went and searched for it to order (froogle). This gave me a picture of it, and
within a minute while J was napping on the sofa I was using my trusty flashlight to tap the thing. Sure enough it switched off immediately.
We got everything ready to go again and began the drive down to LA where another one of my high school buddies that became a Marine is stationed. If it was anyone else, even remotely less awesome I wouldn't even have thought about a 1,400 m drive.
He's a dude of musical passions and tallents. He got me into punk music back in the day and inspired me in different ways. He's always been one of those friends you can be completely honest with, and that's the only real kind of friend. The Marines haven't been good to him tho. I spent a few hours trying to convince him face to face before he enlisted (while I was already in the military) that it wasn't the thing for him. That he'd more than likely not enjoy very much of it. He really hasn't either, and lets be honest the military kills a part of everyone that's in it. It reshapes and causes other new parts, it has a good side and a bad side. Like they say you can marry the service or you can marry your wife and have a family. It's a choice and a balance that not many can pull.
You can't focus on the bads or it tears you up inside. Lets face it any service that won't let you keep a bottle of Jack in your own fridge in your own dorm room because keeping booze in the dorms is against the rules is just fucked. How are you supposed to have a relaxing after work jack and coke and jam out on the guitar otherwise? You can't take your guitar to the bar!$%@ But I digress.
So back to the drive. We set off with the idea that we were going to go down there and have a good time, see the family values concert, and enjoy the ocean. Jeremy and I have the driving thing down. We've been on so many road trips we can't even count them now. We don't take chances on them and we've worked out a system over the years.
Depending on the lenght of the road trip there's different sets of systems.
Either you stay awake and talk, you listen to music, you discuss life, the past
and the future, Where we're going, whatwe've done right, and wrong... Which is a very spirital thing.. and gets you no rest.
Or you drink a redbull, put on some agressive energy music or listen to something that isn't going to put you to sleep and the other guy passes out and catches a nap for 2-4 hours while you drive. If at any point you feel slightly tired, you change activity, you change the song, you open a window and smoke a cig while slowing down. If you feel a little more than just a tad tired at any point you make a cell phone call to a good friend that you can chit chat with for awhile (as conversation puts the brain in a different state and wakes you back up) or you pull over and walk about, do some jumping jacks. If for any reason none of this wakes you up to wide awake (or you get tired feeling again within 10-15 minutes after doing one of these) then you're probably going to start down the road of involentary eye closure and those other things that get people killed on the road. So if for any reason one of us feels tired you hit the other person in the face.
This is also a good game, Because then he comes to and goes "WTFQ!!$$! Oh mAN$! tired? yea, pull over I'll give 'er a go for awhile." And he knows that at any point he's tired he can get you back for what you just did to him. Driving long distances with little sleep isn't advisable. Which is why both of the systems often work well when combined. Say when a driver change happens the rester will then stay up for an hour or so and you'll both conversate.The drive down through oregon was arguably the worst part. It was a very windy road, going up and down the mountains with sharp turns and sections of road that weren't very well lit. Once we reached norcal the road opened up and became much more straight. It was interesting to see the intensity of the sun over california. The sky was much more clear, with a lighter shade of blue than I normaly see in washington.
The sun beat down on my left arm as it hung out the window so hard that I got a pretty good burn/tan. By the time we were climbing the hills outside of LA the 240 started to run a little hot. So we had to pull over into a stretch of shade and give the car a 30 minute break, then pour a bit of water over the radiator. She never touched the red, I care about her too much to let that happen.
We arrived in LA city limits around 5pm and I-5 traffic slowed down to grid lock rush hour shortly after we got into it. I must say LA traffic is no joke. They slam on their breaks then speed up. It's constant break checks and floors. The heat bleeds directly off the radiator in the 240 I just opened all the windows and put the heat slightly on and that kept the radiator cool even in the rush hour traffic and the heat. She hasn't cooled off as good as she should since I lost the fan guard on her. Never thought that would do as much air shaping as it actually does on her...
But all went well. I just turned off all the music, and focused on driving in the
rush hour traffic and in 4 hours we finally made it through LA and down to
oceanside. We met up with Steven and went to denny's to get a bit to eat before we went back to his pad to chill and talk for awhile and then pass out.
I was so excited to be in cali right by the ocean that I only got about 2 hours
of sleep before we decided to go out and get some breakfast and head to the beach. The water was soo much warmer than it was in canada. It felt so great to get into the waves.
We spent the entire day just swimming and walking the beach. The sun was
wonderful and very rejuvenating.
The next day we were supposed to see Korn, but my buddy hadn't gotten the tickets like he was supposed to. So we ended up just catching a train (amtrak) down to San Diego. Which was insanily packed when we got on it. After standing around for a bit and getting pushed by everyone making their way around the train we made our way down to a luggage rack. I figured I'd get on it and lay down for awhile. It was actually more comfy than it looks.
We walked along the ocean and looked at the midway aircraft carrier museum from the sidewalk before deciding to check out the gas lamp district. We walked all around the gas lamp disctrict before heading up to Balboa park and walking all around there. When we headed back to
the gas lamp the sun was heading down and it was time to grab a few drinks. We started off at the original gas lamp bar, the oldest one. Which wasn't all that impressive.
So wandered down and found Dicks last resort. Where the party really was
happening. We drank a few drinks in there and watched the ridiculous live band and flirted with a few girls before J called his cousin (who was in the navy and back in town for awhile) She showed up with her husband and we all got a table to eat and drink a bit. Really good nachos is all I can say.
Steven ran into two Marine's he worked with and they bought him a few drinks. After J's cousin left I was feeling like actually starting drinking if you know what I mean. But we wanted to smoke a bit and walk around so we headed out. About that point we came across a dood sitting on a corner and playing punk music on his guitar. We sat with him and listened to him play for awhile and it became apperant that steven was starting to feel the effects of the small amount of booze he did drink very heavily. He quickly got very emotional about the music and we spent 30 minutes chillin and listening.
We went up to hooters and Steven was starting to show that he was waaay more drunk than he really should have been. We tried to get him to drink some water and pretty soon he just wanted to leave and became slightly beligerant. Fast forward a bit and we're in fridays eating a bit and trying to get steven to get something down and drink more water. He became very upset that he couldn't have another boozy drink and then insisted he needed to use the bathroom. J wasn't about to let him go to the bathroom alone and after about 10 minutes I went in to make sure he hadn't fallen in. I found him on the floor by the towlet dry heaving as J attempted to keep him straight and make sure he was doing good.
Quickly I was sure that it was something more than the booze affecting him. He couldn't have been that drunk off the small amount he had. This was about the time I got out of him that it must have been the antidepressants he was on, as he had never drank on them before and they had just upped his dose...
God I hate antidepressents with a passion. They don't solve any problems, all they do is give you a false sense that everything's really ok and make you feel good about whatever. This really does nothing to inspire nor does it give you a step in the right path. Just a false feeling of wellbeing.
Of course Steven didn't remember much at all past what happened at Dicks... Man I've never even got close to that bad, ever. I don't understand how that's even possible. But then again I'm not one to put things in my system that I don't know all the side effects of, and I certainly know my tollerances.
In the end we made Steven walk it off, and then we got a ride from a DD he worked with back to his place. Where we chilled out and discussed war, politics, and all those wonderful things before calling it a night.
The next day we dipped in the ocean for awhile, ate some really good seafood up at joe's crab shack, and then headed back to spokane. We avoided I-5 through LA this time, going east on an interestate and then north, and then west back to I-5 farther up, and that cut about 4 hours off the trip. Making it only a 26 hour drive this time, and much easier.
Now it's time to relax!
This whirlwind vacation is winding down.
It's been a rush.
One of my good friends J from way back in High School came up here to visit me.
He's a marine now, a tanker crew man.
We went up to canada to see some of my friends up there and go camping.
It was a nice retreat into the wilderness. We spent a lot of the time running
around, hiking, swiming in a creek, drinking, being wild adventurers, and rainbows!
Of course, it rained the first night, and left everything muddy, and we were
pretty far from the tent so everyone got freaking soaked and two of us later suffered slight upper respiratory infections.
It was really a good time, and brought us all closer than we've been in a long time. Which is good, because friends like these are few and far inbetween.
By the time I got back from canada my nose was running nonstop and my lungs were getting pretty messed from fluid buildup. So I took a few hot showers, drank a bit of nyquil, and passed out for about 11 hours.
We went and did laundry from the camping and then packed the car for cali. We got the GPS on the laptop started up, got all the supplies, the redbull, the nodose, the Sudafed PE, and headed out.
The 240 started up with overdrive shut off. Which in laymens terms means the car will not engage 4th gear and is more or less limited for under 50mph.
I wasn't about to drive 1,400 miles under 50, or over that and have the engine blow up. So I turned around after making it up zee big spokane hill and went back. The car had been doing this before but it'd usually kick off in about 3-4 minutes.
I took it as a sign that I shouldn't be traveling right then, gotta follow zee
signs. So we went and got some food, and I napped for a half hour.
Then I started thinking about it. I had a suspicion it was the overdrive relay
not switching properly when the car starts and it becomes energized.
So I went and searched interweb forums about 240s for awhile. I quickly found similar failures often being caused by the relay, so all I had to do was find out where it was and bang on it. I found out it was behind the glovebox, so I went out with my trusty leatherman and pulled the glovebox out.
I couldn't quite figure out which of the many things behind there it was, so I
went and searched for it to order (froogle). This gave me a picture of it, and
within a minute while J was napping on the sofa I was using my trusty flashlight to tap the thing. Sure enough it switched off immediately.
We got everything ready to go again and began the drive down to LA where another one of my high school buddies that became a Marine is stationed. If it was anyone else, even remotely less awesome I wouldn't even have thought about a 1,400 m drive.
He's a dude of musical passions and tallents. He got me into punk music back in the day and inspired me in different ways. He's always been one of those friends you can be completely honest with, and that's the only real kind of friend. The Marines haven't been good to him tho. I spent a few hours trying to convince him face to face before he enlisted (while I was already in the military) that it wasn't the thing for him. That he'd more than likely not enjoy very much of it. He really hasn't either, and lets be honest the military kills a part of everyone that's in it. It reshapes and causes other new parts, it has a good side and a bad side. Like they say you can marry the service or you can marry your wife and have a family. It's a choice and a balance that not many can pull.
You can't focus on the bads or it tears you up inside. Lets face it any service that won't let you keep a bottle of Jack in your own fridge in your own dorm room because keeping booze in the dorms is against the rules is just fucked. How are you supposed to have a relaxing after work jack and coke and jam out on the guitar otherwise? You can't take your guitar to the bar!$%@ But I digress.
So back to the drive. We set off with the idea that we were going to go down there and have a good time, see the family values concert, and enjoy the ocean. Jeremy and I have the driving thing down. We've been on so many road trips we can't even count them now. We don't take chances on them and we've worked out a system over the years.
Depending on the lenght of the road trip there's different sets of systems.
Either you stay awake and talk, you listen to music, you discuss life, the past
and the future, Where we're going, whatwe've done right, and wrong... Which is a very spirital thing.. and gets you no rest.
Or you drink a redbull, put on some agressive energy music or listen to something that isn't going to put you to sleep and the other guy passes out and catches a nap for 2-4 hours while you drive. If at any point you feel slightly tired, you change activity, you change the song, you open a window and smoke a cig while slowing down. If you feel a little more than just a tad tired at any point you make a cell phone call to a good friend that you can chit chat with for awhile (as conversation puts the brain in a different state and wakes you back up) or you pull over and walk about, do some jumping jacks. If for any reason none of this wakes you up to wide awake (or you get tired feeling again within 10-15 minutes after doing one of these) then you're probably going to start down the road of involentary eye closure and those other things that get people killed on the road. So if for any reason one of us feels tired you hit the other person in the face.
This is also a good game, Because then he comes to and goes "WTFQ!!$$! Oh mAN$! tired? yea, pull over I'll give 'er a go for awhile." And he knows that at any point he's tired he can get you back for what you just did to him. Driving long distances with little sleep isn't advisable. Which is why both of the systems often work well when combined. Say when a driver change happens the rester will then stay up for an hour or so and you'll both conversate.The drive down through oregon was arguably the worst part. It was a very windy road, going up and down the mountains with sharp turns and sections of road that weren't very well lit. Once we reached norcal the road opened up and became much more straight. It was interesting to see the intensity of the sun over california. The sky was much more clear, with a lighter shade of blue than I normaly see in washington.
The sun beat down on my left arm as it hung out the window so hard that I got a pretty good burn/tan. By the time we were climbing the hills outside of LA the 240 started to run a little hot. So we had to pull over into a stretch of shade and give the car a 30 minute break, then pour a bit of water over the radiator. She never touched the red, I care about her too much to let that happen.
We arrived in LA city limits around 5pm and I-5 traffic slowed down to grid lock rush hour shortly after we got into it. I must say LA traffic is no joke. They slam on their breaks then speed up. It's constant break checks and floors. The heat bleeds directly off the radiator in the 240 I just opened all the windows and put the heat slightly on and that kept the radiator cool even in the rush hour traffic and the heat. She hasn't cooled off as good as she should since I lost the fan guard on her. Never thought that would do as much air shaping as it actually does on her...
But all went well. I just turned off all the music, and focused on driving in the
rush hour traffic and in 4 hours we finally made it through LA and down to
oceanside. We met up with Steven and went to denny's to get a bit to eat before we went back to his pad to chill and talk for awhile and then pass out.
I was so excited to be in cali right by the ocean that I only got about 2 hours
of sleep before we decided to go out and get some breakfast and head to the beach. The water was soo much warmer than it was in canada. It felt so great to get into the waves.
We spent the entire day just swimming and walking the beach. The sun was
wonderful and very rejuvenating.
The next day we were supposed to see Korn, but my buddy hadn't gotten the tickets like he was supposed to. So we ended up just catching a train (amtrak) down to San Diego. Which was insanily packed when we got on it. After standing around for a bit and getting pushed by everyone making their way around the train we made our way down to a luggage rack. I figured I'd get on it and lay down for awhile. It was actually more comfy than it looks.
We walked along the ocean and looked at the midway aircraft carrier museum from the sidewalk before deciding to check out the gas lamp district. We walked all around the gas lamp disctrict before heading up to Balboa park and walking all around there. When we headed back to
the gas lamp the sun was heading down and it was time to grab a few drinks. We started off at the original gas lamp bar, the oldest one. Which wasn't all that impressive.
So wandered down and found Dicks last resort. Where the party really was
happening. We drank a few drinks in there and watched the ridiculous live band and flirted with a few girls before J called his cousin (who was in the navy and back in town for awhile) She showed up with her husband and we all got a table to eat and drink a bit. Really good nachos is all I can say.
Steven ran into two Marine's he worked with and they bought him a few drinks. After J's cousin left I was feeling like actually starting drinking if you know what I mean. But we wanted to smoke a bit and walk around so we headed out. About that point we came across a dood sitting on a corner and playing punk music on his guitar. We sat with him and listened to him play for awhile and it became apperant that steven was starting to feel the effects of the small amount of booze he did drink very heavily. He quickly got very emotional about the music and we spent 30 minutes chillin and listening.
We went up to hooters and Steven was starting to show that he was waaay more drunk than he really should have been. We tried to get him to drink some water and pretty soon he just wanted to leave and became slightly beligerant. Fast forward a bit and we're in fridays eating a bit and trying to get steven to get something down and drink more water. He became very upset that he couldn't have another boozy drink and then insisted he needed to use the bathroom. J wasn't about to let him go to the bathroom alone and after about 10 minutes I went in to make sure he hadn't fallen in. I found him on the floor by the towlet dry heaving as J attempted to keep him straight and make sure he was doing good.
Quickly I was sure that it was something more than the booze affecting him. He couldn't have been that drunk off the small amount he had. This was about the time I got out of him that it must have been the antidepressants he was on, as he had never drank on them before and they had just upped his dose...
God I hate antidepressents with a passion. They don't solve any problems, all they do is give you a false sense that everything's really ok and make you feel good about whatever. This really does nothing to inspire nor does it give you a step in the right path. Just a false feeling of wellbeing.
Of course Steven didn't remember much at all past what happened at Dicks... Man I've never even got close to that bad, ever. I don't understand how that's even possible. But then again I'm not one to put things in my system that I don't know all the side effects of, and I certainly know my tollerances.
In the end we made Steven walk it off, and then we got a ride from a DD he worked with back to his place. Where we chilled out and discussed war, politics, and all those wonderful things before calling it a night.
The next day we dipped in the ocean for awhile, ate some really good seafood up at joe's crab shack, and then headed back to spokane. We avoided I-5 through LA this time, going east on an interestate and then north, and then west back to I-5 farther up, and that cut about 4 hours off the trip. Making it only a 26 hour drive this time, and much easier.
Now it's time to relax!