from my iTouch

Experiencing the yin-yang of returning to the spot where you grew up, where you couldn't wait to be gone from at 18, where you returned never wanting to leave again only to meet up with one Willy Gilmore who swept you off on various adventures for the next three decades. The way he tells it, he saved me from nowheresville. 35 years later I still miss it but .... I have had an exceptional life with Bill. Yes, the weather is lousy most of the time: if it's sunny, it's windy; if it's raining, it never stops; if it's summer, it's foggy.

Yes, foggy. I am camped by the Smith River in the redwoods going to bed with no stars, waking up to gray,gray,gray. Sweatshirts, fleece, socks, jackets are all out of my suitcase for the first time. Usually you can find sun inland along the river but even Gasquet was socked in yesterday. However, I drove up higher on the South Fork towards Big Flat and was blessed with sun and the discovery of a new swimming hole by way of an old friend. Good rocks to dive from, waterfalls, deep and cold water. We basked on the rocks but shivered a bit on the way home.

I'm having breakfast at the Hiouchi Cafe and the waitress thinks this is an awfully long text. Have to report that the espresso cart is gone from the Hiouchi Market. It's 9:30 and I again await the burn. Going to take a hike out by Lake Earl and the Tolowa Dunes, near Pt St George. Can see Oregon from there. My sun hat lies dormant until I return to the Oklahoma plains once again.