Blistered But Not Broken

Another day done. A few more centimetres on the map. I really shouldn't have bought a map that is at such a scale. Mind you if it were in a scale that seemed like I was making some head way it wouldn't fit in my back pocket so neatly. all that aside I broke 100 kms today. Its still double digits if you look at in miles but lets not talk miles at least not today. I just googled the distance and it came up as 55 miles. I don't want to check again as it may be too depressing. Now mind you google maps doesn't account for all the detours I had to take. So I am going to round up to at least 65 miles. My feet feel like they have walked a thousand miles. They kept telling me that they wanted to stop all day, but I didn't let it get to me.

Currently I am treating myself to a hotel room. Its not the nicest but its better than that one in LA. in addition I am able to steal wireless from the Motel 6 next door so its pretty awesome. The room is only $54 which is $10 cheaper than the others. Thank goodness I prepared for this trip and saved a healthy chunk of money. Despite what alot of people have said I am finding California to be pretty decently priced. So long as you stick to the places which are out of the mainstream. I LOVE burritos and they are real cheap. Especially if you lean toward vegetarianism. The methane from the beans is also a good propellant. I swear there is a little Mexican in me.

But on with the story.

Del Mar is a pretty rich town. I walked past some huge houses. One of which appeared to be brand new. It had awesome wood work on the exterior. Looked like that Nothern Californ Redwood. I prefer the natural tree look of the wood but the architect really did do a good job following the form. There was a crane in what was soon to be the front lawn. It looked to be just a 20 tonne lifter. They were using it to plant some palm trees. I am real glad thats not how we plant trees in Ontario. It seems pretty tedious and not very lucaritive.

la plage


an interesting use of the bunk

It was solid housing up the coast from Del Mar. Well it wasn't entirely solid. There were a few lagoons which were homeless. Ducks, cranes, pelicans, and seagulls live there. So I guess its all pretty inhabited. The town of Encinitas was the next place I passed through. I stopped on a bluff there to have an orange and some nuts. As I sat there I saw a falcon hunting in the wind. it hung in the air like a kite staring at the ground then diving quickly at things in the bushes. I saw it catch a mouse. Which there must be plenty of because it caught one while i was peeling. Out in the ocean I observed some whales spouting, and there were dozens of pelicans flying around.

big birds fly across the sky

On my way into Carlsbad I walked through a state campground. There was group of women inmates there cleaning up the place. They were extremely friendly. I waved and said hello to all of them. They told me to stay out of trouble. I promised them I would. The gaurd watching them gave me the evil eye so I bid haste from there.

Upon entering Carlsbad Beach I saw a huge pipe, about a foot in diameter spewing out this ugly sludge into the ocean. There was a man in a front end loader watching it. Whatever the crud was it smelt real bad and full of chemicals. By following the pipe i found out that it was attached to a dredging barge in the lagoon on the other side of the highway. All the locals seem un-disturbed by the scene. The Seagulls were entranced by the spectacle. I am not sure what was going on. It seemed incredibly wrong. But so did all the military aircraft flying about. Perhaps if I were a group of environmentalists I would have been able to find out what the sludge was. Since i was just a passer-by with little clout the workers weren't very forthcoming with answers to my inquiries.

the sludge

Carlsbad is home to a Military Acadamey. I realized this when I saw an unusual density of crewcuts and military caps. They start 'em out young here. A few seemed like they weren't much more than 13. It was a bit disturbing. Kinda cult like. They all walked the same way and talked the same way. Very orderly for punk kids. I walked past the academy a few minutes later. There was a Rudyard Kipling quote on the wall about being a MAN. Very disturbing.

Just across the lagoon from Carlsbad is Oceanside. The last town before Camp Pendelton. Its a strange town. It screams military, and anti military. A bizzare contradiction. Almost every sign declares something about a discount to military employees. Then kitty-corner to that is a head shop. Not just one but a few dozen. One store was so bold as to have a neon peace sign in the window. As I walked past I saw all kind of bongs. Very strange indeed. I wonder what is actually going on in this town. Its almost like there is strong division in principal in america. Perhaps I have been influenced by the album I was listening too: Jello Biafra and Mojo Nixon with the Toad-Liquours. Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys fame.

Tomorrow I walk straight through Camp pendelton. It should take most of the day. I am looking forward to it. When i passed through on the train it seemed to be quite natural. I may have to break the law and follow the train tracks for a while. With any luck i won't have and M-16s pointed at me. I am pretty sure that this won't happen as I don't look like a hippie, or a terrorist. If anyone troubles me i will tell as much of the truth as i feel comfortable with. It should work nicely as i am quite friendly. My mother trained me well. So here i go into the den of zombies. wish me luck. I may need it.