California Road Trips

California is the ultimate place for an impromptu road trip. A weekend getaway or a full week vacation, can be planned & executed within hours. There are so many destinations, from coastal to mountains, the only hard thing is making a decision on which region to visit. Do you want a winery tour with cottage on the vineyard? Or perhaps a High Sierra pack trip to the alpine lakes, with horses? Maybe it's a kayaking trip on a Northern California river, with some fly fishing? A cozy cabin awaits near Gold Country. Check out some of Total Escape's favorite routes on "A Road to Nowhere", on the above link.

celebrate the summer season

This wild iris field is next to the Chula Vista campground in Los Padres National Forest - where the drums will echo this Saturday eve. The temps are cool, the air is fresh & the walk will do you good. Click the link above.

Another memorable 'mountain summer' is in the making.
What are you doing this weekend?

Early on Tuesday

Early on Tuesday
Back to the city
Back to the lives that we don't choose

Driving, nothing to say
This is ok
It is just one of those things we do

And it's ok
If you can't stay
As long as we have these moments here

And I don't know
Tomorrow you'll go
All we have is now

And the only place I want to be
Is lost with you
The only place I want to be
Is lost with you

Oh...

Early on Tuesday
We could be driving
We could be far away from here

The sun will be shining
No one will be minding
Let's just escape now have no fear

And the only place I want to be
Is lost with you
Yes the only place I want to be
Is lost with you
Oh...

The only place I want to be
Is lost with you
Yes the only place I want to be
Is lost with you
Oh...

Na na na na na na na na na


lyrics by -- Jesse Cook

zero population growth

"the realities of parenthood and especially motherhood are kept carefully shrouded in silence, misinformation, and outright lies."

Universal Traveler

I know so many places in the world
I follow the sun in my silver plane
Universal traveler

If you have a look
Outside on the sea
Everything is white
It's so wonderful
Universal traveler

So far, so far
So far away

I met so many
People in my life
I've got many friends
Who can care for me
Universal traveler

Just feel everywhere at home
Tomorrow
Is a brand new day
Let's go somewhere else
Universal Traveler

So far, so far
So far away



lyrics by - Air

influx

disgusted by you
no more to renew
may as well give it up
hmmm.. what the fuck

look at yourself
and your lil lies
why oh why
must we say goodbyes

love can conquer all I hear
but that's not now, or near

later, hold me, leave, no stay
please just go far far away
enjoying heaven or hell
it's your own spell

head tripper

he is a boy, not yet a man
when he knows not what he began
the talk is smooth, decisions hasty
adventure abounds, sometimes, mostly

boyish charm is in the air
and are you wearing clean underwear?
roller coaster, the daily routines
damn-it ta hell... why be so mean

additions
conflictions
actions and turmoil
anger inside
always enough to make blood boil

call it an accident, call it naive
never take credit for ways to believe
it's your act - all the same
never meant to cause any pain

get what you want, means to an end
when needed, to learn only again
all ego aside, to make her cry
that is the power within the lie

how weak & shallow it all is

challenge not me

better with age

.... and can't let go of their ego's to seek direction

where cash meet dirt

I'll try almost anything - at least once. Last weekend was my first experience with professional off-road racing. While visiting in San Diego, Baja Lory & I attended the CORR racing event - which may be airing on NBC very soon. It was held at the new Chula Vista Raceway, also known as 'the Quarry'.

Although I have been to Mike's Sky Ranch several times & off-roaded all over northern Baja, California & Utah, I had never seen arena racing in the dirt. This was a closed course environment & the high tech rigs, cool people & bitchin' cameras made it fun. Total Escape Adventures has lead many road trips to Mexico, but I have yet to see a real Baja Race up front & in person. Lory likes this stuff way more than me, cuz she grew up with in the Mojave desert with a family of off-roaders. I am not to fond of crowds, noise & dust. I cherish my seclusion, experiencing quietness & nature. But last weekend was different than I expected & I was so surprised - I actually liked it.

The vehicles they were racing Sunday were similar to the infamous 'trophy trucks', but are referred to as Pro4 & Pro2 . They also had Buggies & Super Buggies. This is a big dirt track, grandstand, crowded, sold out each day deal. This is big business for this crew: the Baldwin's. A driver from Fridays race was hospitalized for a head injury; Go figure! I couldn't believe how fast these guys go. And yes, there are a few chick drivers too.

This is more than a weekend hobby for these folks, it is a way of life. The custom building, the logos, the marketing, the racing. As the queen of back roads in California, I consider myself an off-road girl, since I prefer dirt road driving over pavement any day. I had never seen such creative & capable vehicles up close. It was a real treat. From running up the Glamis dunes to rock crawling in the Mojave, & wheeling the high Sierra Rubicon, off-roading is so expansive.

The race coordinators & fans are so passionate, the drivers are total dare devils & adventurous fools. Some are even hot looking; Now I gotta go check out the rock crawling competitions & see what that's all about. Dallas where are you?

Lory introduced me to her brother Lee, from MDR - Mojave Desert Racing, who was working this event. We met lotsa folks including drivers: Carl Renezeder, who was the winner & Matt Barney, who hit a cow, while going 70 mph, on a motorbike - on the beach in Baja.

Fun stuff!

The stories are always endless. Who's got time to complain?

flax gardens

My wildflower garden is going very well. Lots blooming including the hearty flax. A tiny blue flower that dances in the wind, on a long thin geometrically leafed stem. Deer have not come around yet & the bunnies are now frightened of the garden hose. Saw a new lizard species, not the blue bellies & a medium sized horny toad yesterday.

Which reminds me, Where is that man?

travelholic

some people dream of the open road, constantly.
others just do it.

pink or red

Ever notice how a lot of wildflowers in California are yellow? Seem like you really hafta search out the other colors, if you wanna see something different. These little delicate 3-dayers, are sprouting up in my backyard along my Verdura retaining wall. More red than pink, they only last a few days in these mountain breezes. This is the strongest of the plants. I will continue to photograph the progression of the flowers & seedlings. All the colors of the rainbow.

mountain cabin vacations

Total Escape has compiled a complete list of all California small towns, near rivers & forest, many with cabin rentals for your ultimate vacation. Whether you seek a fishing resort, log cabin with spa, a secluded RV park or a historic fire lookout, we have 'em all listed on this killer web site. Reserve a mountain cabin fro your weekend away.

antiquated custom?

Does every girl dream of her wedding day? The 'modern' day culture would have you believe that, with all the Disney movies, professional wedding coordinators, & thick bridal magazines lining the shelves. She hopes for a prince that will sweep her off her feet & care for her, until death do they part.

Over the years, I have read that my X generation postpones marriage to their 30's, 40's or even later. My friends are a wide mixture of married & divorced couples, single never married, straight & gays. In my adult life, I have attended very few weddings simply because I do not know many people getting married. The couples I do know that are happily married are few. My young parents were divorced before I was 5. My mother has 8 siblings who were all married, as I grew up & now only one partnership is still together. Get used to the term "serial monogamy" cuz it will soon be the norm.

Commitment to love: Studies show that 'love', regardless of how everlasting it may feel in the beginning stages of a relationship, usually doesn’t sustain itself in the long-term. The honeymoon period that invites many of us to think about 'forever' lasts… at the very most… two years. And then we settle down into a rhythm that is better described as 'comfort' or 'companionship'.

Commitment to fidelity: Studies have shown that monogamy is the exception and not the rule in marriages. Commitment to morality: Contrary to the dogma of many religious figures, marriage doesn’t make us more moral creatures.

no mascara!

I am girl that doesn't believe in daily make-up routine, especially one that includes mascara. These are the fine pieces of hair, on your distinct face, right near your eyes, delicate areas & you want to coat each precious lash with what? Black gue? Blue gue? Made from what chemicals?

And you serve your kids Kool-Aid right?
Forget it.

As a hard core camper chik, I do value the 100% pure juice, the sun dresses & lipstick, but glad I do not want anything more than eye liner. Maybe if I turned Total Escape into the business of religion, I'd could wanna look like the mascara queen, Tammy Fae Baker. But nope, Total Escape will continue to be what it is, a bitchin outdoor resource for California. You, my Escapers, will decide the path of my career & the web.

All the clicks are appreciated.

Suspended

Don't wake me
I'm still dreaming
I don't see you
I can't feel you
I'm alone for real in my mind
I'll feel this all night
When my life takes flight

This isn't just in your mind
We're suspended from space and time

I feel like I'm falling
What happens when I hit?
Must mean then that's it
This black abyss, this pit
It all seems shades of gray
I'm never ready for light of day

Why do you hurt me?
This reality
Why you smile at me?
Show your fallacies
Dreams hold me down
But let me go
When reality will wake me
[I don't know]

Am I dreaming?
If so, then why?
My bodies back on Earth
Only spirits can fly
Soaring through dimensions of love
Kinds only my father speaks of
Scenery changes, spins and roll
So does the color of our soul
I know how this must make you feel
You hate me but believe me this is real
This was real


lyrics by --- Kelis

Travel for You

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime. - Mark Twain