I left Newport, Oregon in the early morning hours and exited town without incident. The inland warm humid air was hitting the coastal surf, creating waves of fog in the air as large as those breaking on the coastal shore on my passenger side.
The temperature ranged from about 11C to 30 C on the trip down the coast so obviously the 'watcher' was trying to generate some heavy weather ... and in a couple of places it almost worked ... but luckily for me, I was able to motor on without delay or hazard .... for a while ... let me explain ....
I was approaching the the southern extremity of Oregon and the GPS directed me to take a right turn ... which I did of course and found myself on the wharf at Brookings Harbor ... that had me scratching my head .. I wrote it off to the GPS losing signal temporarily ... and as it was lunch ... and as I was right there at the Sporthaven Marina ... , I decided to have a quick repast.
The marina had a bar and grill ... so why not. I ordered a bowl of chowder and then I noticed to there were all kinds of banners around about the bar and grill being the winner of the 2009 Oregon Coast Professional Chowder Cook-Off .... well that's great but all that boasting .... oh shit ... boasting as in bragging .... it was Fort Bragg ... not Ukiah .... the knife was pointing at Fort Bragg ... it was Fort Bragg that I had to go to, not Ukiah ... I quickly downed the remainder of my Alaskan Brewing Amber .... purchased some smoked salmon ... and was on my way.
I was doing well until I came upon a small group of Elk and I knew immediately my cover was blown ... sure enough within minutes the blue sky disappeared under a blanket of fog.
I was stopped at the California border by the food and agriculture folks looking for fruits and veggies ... their job being to stop pests hitchhiking in on the fruit and veggies and then laying waste to the agricultural industry in California and therefore the economy ... if only they did the same thing with politicians ...
Now things get a bit weird and then they get scary ... I am driving underneath the vast cover of the California Redwoods and the GPS and digital radio is kicking out and in ... no problem ... the mantle of the redwood cover was blocking the satellite signals .... not an issue. Besides there was comfort here ... the information wasn't coming in was equivalent to what was not going out ... I was finally and truly out of the 'watchers' eye ... so I thought ...
Highway 101 in California splits at Highway 1 ... I took the Highway1 route to stay close to the coast ... we know why. The first 40k of that drive is through winding and narrow roads ... again under the cover of a dense evergreen cover .... the GPS and radio are kicking out and in ... it is dark and foggy ... dusk is approaching ... it is an isolated not well traveled piece of road at this time of day ... which is quickly turning to night.
At what seemed the darkest point of the drive, the GPS all of a sudden intones ... 'turn around' .... which is consistent with the GPS losing signal ... with one exception .... it was my mother's voice ....
Now I don't care how intrepid an individual you are ... when you know that 'something' is looking for you ... when that is weighing heavy on your mind ... when you are driving a solitary road unknown to you ... through fog and darkness ... and then your mother's voice says 'turnaround' ... can you avoid doing so ... because let's admit it ... that's what you want to do ... maybe, just, maybe ... that's what you need to do ...
The bottom line is that the road is too narrow to turn around ... too dangerous to even attempt such a move ...because the slopes on either side are simply too steep ... my decision was made for me ... I am not sure what I would have done had there been a turnaround possibility ...
As you exit the cross country run that is the beginning of Highway 1, you approach and enter a small hamlet ... just before McKerricher State Park Drive .... there is a sharp left ... remember by now ... it is also dark as well as foggy .... as I am approaching the left turn, the GPS intones, 'drive straight' ... in my father's voice ... a voice I have not heard since he died of a heart attack in 1971 ... I follow the instruction ... not that I always did ... I am simply in shock ...
At the last minute I see that there is a small, short road straight ahead that ends abruptly at the coast slope ... thus launching you into the surf hundreds of feet below ... I brake hard and swerve sharply to the left .. the road is wet and I lose traction ... I slide onto the shoulder ... traction is restored and I barely make the left turn ... but I do make it ... and now I know something for a certainty ... the 'watcher' has me through my GPS ... he has 'hacked it' for want of a better term and is now using it against me ....
I grabbed the GPS ... yanked the cord from the 12V socket .. rolled down the passenger side window and lofted the works in a long arc to the surf below ... I screamed at the top of my lungs , 'Surf's Up' ... I rolled into Fort Bragg not knowing what I was looking for and not knowing how to find it ...
I am holed up now in a small campground ... I have managed to grab an internet connection ... while writing this I finished a Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA ... I have just started a Red Tail Ale .... soon I will look for the reason I am here ... something tells me I will find an answer here ....
To quote from verse 183 of the 'Krome Koan',
'Beer ... making women look better since 2000 BC'
The quest continues ....
Forever Man
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