....on our way to Oz.....

Lucille, my 1984 FJ60 toyota landcruiser sits out front under a low hanging tree, tuned, packed, and rearing to go. Baja is calling. With a bull horn. We leave in two days. We'll return in April. Funny putting everything away, putting the rest of life OFF till April. Refocusing, redialing things to prepare for today. At least once a year I find myself packing things away, paying long term bills, arranging my life so that I may leave it for awhile, forget it for awhile, exist only as myself with no attachments but my backpack or my truck. As simple as my life is, things grab and tear and attempt to hold me back, attempt to delay my departure, attempt to convince me not to spend so long. It is these things that I fear, it is these things that I must balance ever so precariously. Chase one down, live it, be there, as with music, then be ready to stop, hold off, and chase down the dream of surfing and mexican fisherman culture, the dream of a sustainable home down there one day. Then when we return, I must slow my chase of that dream, even putting it off for months perhaps, while I chase down music and the mountains and the desert once again. This is the rhythm of my life I guess. It's what makes me a good fool in the Buckeye tradition.

Just yesterday a surfer in his 50s, who came by to look at our '71 VW bus that's for sale, said "keep moochin' while ya can." Following it up with saying that he has so many things to take care of and be a part of and be around for that he has a hard time leaving for very long. His message being that as life goes on, more things manage to hold you down. More responsibilities. One must be careful to maintain freedom. He didn't end up buying the bus, but we had a good time talking.

Now I sit and contemplate the present. Another big trip --- no work and all play makes dave a dull boy. Not really, but I'm no kid anymore, and so with each passing year now I feel that I must keep my eyes open, objective, and aware of my life because it is passing and I do not want to experience the sensation of "waking up" to realize that I'm 45 or something. I want to be awake the whole damn time.

And so it goes.
Here we go.
Establishing yet another new tradition: Winter in Baja. Warm winters chasing cold Pacific waves, giant cave paintings, and empty stretches of coast along the Sea of Cortez. As a friend told us once so wisely, "Once you've been to Oz, it's hard to go back to Kansas."
And that's how it feels. Everytime.
I've been to Oz so many times now, deep in the Sierra backcountry, skiing or backpacking, or living at Red's Meadow for three winters, or the five previous trips to Baja...even journeys out to Death Valley....Oz....Life in Oz is perfect. No work, good food, beautiful places, good friends.....Oz....the beer is always cold in Oz....the faces are always smiling too....

pura vida mi amigos!
adios---dave