So the intentional community we stayed with just outside of Deadwood, OR...the one we biked 40 miles inland and up a mountain to get to...yeah it sucked. We got there in the evening...stayed a whole day, got up the following morning and bounced. No one was welcoming or inviting and sometimes acted quite rude, so with that sentiment we left and headed back to the coast feeling a little perturbed about the intentional community vibe hence forth.
We managed to hitch part of the way back to Florence so we could at least make SOME progress down the coast versus staying in the same state park we did 2 nights before. We ended up getting maybe 10 miles out of Florence and were going to stay in another state park when by chance another dude in a pick up offered us a ride to Bandon...like 60 miles south. That would make up for the days lost at the farm and so we hopped aboard and cruised down to Bandon.
He was an interesting guy, lots of stories and strong opinions of matters of taxes, immigrants, and marijuana, but another wise kind fellow. The kind of fellow that returns the wallet of the idiot biker who hitch hiked with him down the coast and forgot her wallet when she got out. YEAH...that HAPPENED!! For some reason I asked what his full name was and REMEMBERED IT! I looked him up, called him and within 30 minutes my wallet was returned. He was REALLY awesome and didn't even let me thank him with the $5 bill I had saying only "Oh, I have lots of money!" Needless today, I went from a full meltdown to carefree in a matter of no time...shit...frightening.
We camped out in the park with 3 other cyclist, 2 guys named Pim and Jella from Holland (I know...more Dutch) Who started in Toronto, Canada and were heading to L.A. before returning home to start college, yep, they were 18. And then there was Joe, from Thailand, who started in Virginia and was heading to San Fran before he went back to Thailand to resume life as a sound engineer. Yes, it was a united nations at the campfire and much political chats and talks of homeland customs were exchanged. The dutch guys had jiffy pop and after we shared a tin we all went to bed. I actually managed to get a decent nights sleep, I haven't been sleeping well when we camp. Don't kid yourself, when deciding between the 1 inch or 1.5 inch sleeping pad...go with the 1.5, Lani sleeps like a log while I wrestle all night with the flipping and the flopping and the bruised hips and the knots in my back. When you add super uneven ground and creepy animal noises to the equation, you get a sleepless, strung out Maggie. BUT...last night wasn't too bad, there is a certain level of safety you feel surrounded by your fellow campers, strangers that they may be...we are all comrades in this here camp life.
The sleep was magical until about 8AM when the crows decided to go batshit nuts and CAW CAW CAWed until Lani contemplated confronting the issue head on with the bear mace and my Rambo knife. We tucked murderous thoughts away and awoke for the day in time to say bye to our new friends.
We're staying another day or 2 in Bandon, not really because it's that cool, but because rest days are nice and Lani has been having some muscular gripes. Since we're in no hurry, why not? I'm sure a few rest days will do my body good too. We did some much need laundry in the Laundromat in town and then went into old town on the bay to treat ourselves to a nice meal...something we don't do too often. Tonight we heard there is a town dinner, free for all, so we should get another awesome meal in before bedtime...FREE MEAL!
I'm really craving some ice cream so I'm gonna sign out for now....handle that hankering.
Sorry no pics...been slacking...I promise to be better!
