It’s almost 6am, I’m sitting in an old canvass chair watching the dawn break through the mists in the valley to the East of the house. I can hear the ‘hiss’ of the gas range in the kitchen as it slowly heats the water in the traditional kettle, …. it takes time. Three weeks ago this seemingly needless delay had infuriated me, I missed the instant gratification of the electric kettle. By now I’m used to it, ….. my body clock is tuned into Boonville time, ....... where nothing and nobody hurries.
It’s Tuesday 16th of September, my stay here in Boonville is coming to an end and in truth, it had never been my intention to stay here for this long. Northern California has a cunning way of holding onto you, it gets under your skin while your not looking, …… inch by inch it creeps up and draws you into its uniqueness. Before you’ve become aware of this onset, it’s too late, ….. it’s already become a part of you. Back in the 1970’s, Ted Simon rode through here on his Triumph, ….. at the end of that journey, ’Jupiter’s Travels’, he returned and made his home here. He now lives in the next valley, possibly less than fifty miles away. It would be nice to meet the man who inspired me as a teenager, the man who is ultimately responsible for Poor Circulation, to share a drink and a few hours of his time ……. we’ll see.
The plan, .... if you can call it a 'Plan', is to head from Boonville through Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Grand Canyon .... down through Las Vegas and across Death Valley into Bryce Canyon. From Bryce there is an even more 'sketchy' plan to pick up old Route 66 and work my way towards the East Coast. I'd like to drop down to Mexico, ... but I'd also like to do a milion and one other things that neither time nor money (lack of) will allow. I haven't booked my 'Onwards' passage back to the UK yet, ...... and thus the above 'Plan' may be changed at any time, ...... I'll keep you posted.
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