Salt Water State Park, WA
Woke up. Had pancakes and scrambled eggs for breakfast. Packed up the car as I wanted to leave that day. Went down to take a shower. Chased the ranger out for a while. They cost a dime - had to run back to camp to get one. Some guy was waiting there to talk to me. Went back & showered.
Then tried calling Margie and Sandy again. No answer. I decided to take off without seeing them.
Went down and visited Olympia Brewing Company. On the way I passed two hippie hitch hikers. I pitied them. On the way out I picked them up after nearly passing them. They were going down to California. I was headed for Crater Lake. I told them I'd take them down to Medford.
As we started off with both of them in the back seat, something I was not prepared for, they started kissing - just the way I act with new girlfriends. They started getting more and more cozy, which, for some reason, got me angry. It was odd that I would feel that way. I'm just too straight I think.
After a while they settled down. Several times they offered me a joint but I kept turning it down - didn't know what it would do to me while driving. I would have liked some wine but apparently they had drunk all they had. They lit incense which is just the thing I need for the Volks. It just adds the right touch.
They were really in love with each other and they showed it. It reminded me of the times I've had and it showed me how I act sometimes. It was amusing and beautiful. Tense for a while but then I paid attention to my driving and them to each other.
We went like that for several hours with me constantly fiddling with the radio. Finally I stopped for gas. The attendants said the best route to Crater was a few miles down the road. I offered to take them to Crater, to spend the night, then take them down to the main highway the next morning. They didn't really want to do that. They wanted to get dropped off in Medford from which city they could get another ride. All the other towns were too small.
What we decided was to skip Crater since I wouldn't be able to get a spot anyway and to go to their house in California. Then I could leave the next morning. I drove on for several hours till the sun went down. We had just passed Medford.
Then those two got up front, something else I didn't expect, and we drove on. It took Phil a little while to get used to the Volkswagen. He drove what I thought very slowly. He and Terry, his girl, kept kissing. He wasn't paying much attention to the road. That got me angry.
Finally they settled down a little bit. Then they had a joint which we all passed around. It didn't seem to affect them much. We drove on and on through the night. Finally they spotted Mt Shasta in the moonlight. It was a beautiful sight to see that 12,000 ft mountain covered with snow.
We kept going up and down hills until finally we arrived at their city - Redding. It's actually the first big city in California. We went into their house. Phil put on some records and Terry checked with the children & they took the babysitter home.
After a while Phil rolled another joint which we shared after Terry got back. Their house was somewhat large, $120 a month rent. Here you would pay 250 - 300 for the same thing. It was sparsely furnished.
Finally went to bed out in the shed.
[ Dates are all wrong again - was actually about July 3 ]
Odometer, July 4th: 60,860 (4,736 miles driven from Amityville)
Odometer, July 6th: 61,206 (5,082 miles driven from Amityville)
In the margin is the math calculating the mileages and the amounts of gas bought, and the division to calculate the mpg. All long-hand math!