There's quite a bit of missing time towards the end with "Derek." I don't remember much of that morning at all, I just know part of what happened later in the day. He took us back to a road that was "hitchable."
We were starting out in the middle of a heavy forest so we didn't go over to a main highway. Just the kind of roads that went a long ways through stretches of country. The ones the locals take. I've remembered the guys that picked us up all these years for lots of reasons. Two fellas driving a typical 70's muscle car.
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| Add in another guy |
We jumped in the back seat. The guys had something up there I had never seen before. A 12-pack. Sitting right between them. I didn't drink beer but my family did. I don't know what the deal is now, but in those days you had to buy your beer at a special distributor in New York. I loved going there with my mom because it was a big drive though building. Cold. The guy would come up to the window and ask what you wanted. Full service, just like the gas stations.
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| Ours was a stand alone whitewashed building. |
That's right. 12-packs weren't always a thing. They popped up in different parts of the country at different times, I suppose. I don't remember the beer they were drinking, just that it was one I hadn't seen before either. LBJ was very interested.
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| Early 12-pack. Don't know what beer they were drinking. |
They drove pretty fast and were drinking that beer. The windows were open and they had their arms leaning on the car door. You know the look. They didn't talk too much to us, but they asked if we needed to crash for the night. Maybe I should make up names for them too. Ok, let's name one Evan and the other Dave. "Yes, thank you." Evan and Dave proceeded to tell us they were renting a cabin in the woods. Pretty sure they said they were paying $60 a month.
I was tired but looking out the window. Never got bored going for long drives. Always absorbed the scenery. We must have stopped at the gas station at least a couple of times. Don't remember the radio being on. I did get a little worried when I heard them having a strange conversation. LBJ was listening too. I can't exactly quote what I heard but they were going on with stuff like "Yeah. When they hit fourteen, that's too old." Now I may have been sheltered in a strange way up until then because I never heard that before. They conversed a bit on the subject. I'm sure I had a weird look on my face. Why were they saying this weird thing? And why within earshot? I was obviously older than fourteen and was wondering if I should worry. I don't know. It wasn't that long before that I had that serious encounter in Berkeley.
I was looking at LBJ, probably with a worried disgusted look. He quietly said "It's alright." It was?
Well, they stopped after a couple of minutes and life went back to normal. They kept drinking beer. LBJ probably had one too. They told us we were getting pretty close to home. I didn't see any signs so I asked "Are we in Washington yet?" Yeah, we just crossed the state line. Evan and Dave already told us they lived just a little bit inside Washington. Now I'm guessing here but I think I'm pretty close... I think our route was from around the vicinity of Weaverville, CA maybe to around the outskirts of Yale, Washington. It makes sense with where we ended up later. Maybe they crossed a bridge near Portland, but these guys didn't take the main highways. It was a long drive but they took it fast.
I might have fallen asleep for awhile, I think. When I woke up it was getting close to dark and all the trees made it seem a bit darker. They were right. It was a great place. Secluded. Trees. And when we drove up, there were deer foraging in the front yard. Basically a city girl, this was a wondrous sight.
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| A similar setting |
Turns out these fellas were pretty darn nice. Driving us all that way and letting us stay the night. I'm sure we ate something too. I remember the living room had two big couches. The house wasn't fancy but it wasn't a pig sty either. It was ideal, especially considering the setting. All the guys sat in the living and continued to drink beer. There was laughing and getting along. That was our gift to them. But I spent most of my time outside. I think those few hours helped.
Didn't get to bed till late. We took the couches. The next morning I was outside again breathing in the clean air. Walking in with the trees. I don't know how to explain how good that is for what's in me. I can just lay on the ground and stare at the sky for hours. The guys were still wasted and didn't get up till late. We had coffee and something else, maybe toast. Eventually they took us out to a road we could head north on. No plans on what we were going to do when we got up there. Just see what it was like. "Thanks!"
We had gotten a really late start, there wasn't any kind of schedule or pressure. Everything was whenever. But it was already late afternoon when we got out to the road. Not a lot of traffic so we were there a while. Not much luck.
This is one of those moments that you think back on and go "why?" A big old farm truck pulled over the opposite side of the road. A load of people standing in the back. All animated and happy. Waving and yelling "C'mon. We'll give you a ride." "We're going north." "Hey, you can spend the night. We have sandwiches and chocolate." It was getting dark. Not much luck, we looked at each other. "Ok."
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