OTIS AND THE BIKE RIDE

Return Of The Giff

Sunday, July 22, 2007 - Day 31

Distance traveled - 0 miles

Today had to be a day off. I've got to take care of this poison oak. It's killing me. I fucking hate this shit. While I'm riding my bike, it's all fine. I can mostly forget all about it, but once I get into camp and settle down, the shit just attacks my nerves. Sleeping is the worst. I found myself scratching last night while I was half asleep. There's really nothing I can do about that. During the day I have pretty good self-control, but what the fuck am I supposed to do about nighttime? Just let it be, I guess.

There are laundry and showers here at the campground, so I was able to wash all of my clothes and take a nice warm shower. I need to get rid of the poison oak oils because it seems like it's still spreading. I took care of all that in the late morning and early afternoon. Around 2 or 3 Gifford arrived. He's on his way back up to Portland for a job interview. It was good to see him again. He took me into town, we got some food, and I did some grocery shopping. Then we enjoyed some scenic views by the beach. He was going to try to stay the night there, as there was conveniently a parking lot right by the hiker/biker section, so it would have been quite ideal for him to be able to park there and sleep in his car. The rangers at the park, however, were not too friendly or compromising. They would not allow him to park there, even if he paid the price of a campsite. He didn't have a tent, so all he needed was a place to park, but they would not work with him. Why not make a little extra money and help someone out? Jerks.

Giff and I had some good conversations. I'm so glad he was able to make it over to the coast and visit me again. Hopefully I may see him up in Portland as well, if he gets the job and finds a place. That would be sweet.

So there are a bunch of other kids here tonight. They are from South Carolina. They seem to be about my age, maybe a little younger. I talked to a few of them earlier, but I found that they weren't really good conversation. Just no connection there. Bummer. They seem a little immature, plus, there are about 12 of them, and they just seem to want to hang out and talk amongst themselves. I didn't really feel like making any effort to talk any more to them.

Music selections for today:
The Beatles - Help!
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
LCD Sound System - Sound of Silver
Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
James Taylor - Greatest Hits