Fallbrook, California, November 23rd-25th

With the ample assistance of Samantha, the voice inside my GPS, I got from Indio to Fallbrook by heading toward LA, then getting aimed sharply down toward San Diego (Highways 10, 93, 215). But before you arrive in the SD you drive thru Fallbrook, and that's how I got to Fallbrook! I was going there to see an old friend, Beverly. I hadn't seen her in over 30 years! Quick backstory goes like this: I used to live upstairs in an old garage apartment with an old girlfriend waaaay back in the 80's. Beverly lived downstairs. Oddly, I liked Bev more than my girlfriend, which not so oddly, always seems to be the way that it goes (for me). Our history, btw, is rooted in my hometown, Austin, Texas, USA.

In anticipation of this long-assed road trip, and with the assistance of Facebook (I've since quit Facebook, yippee!) I found Bev. Communication followed, vague plans were made, and my very lax road trip itinerary had another possible destination. As I traveled about, we kept in texting-contact, aiming for a visit, but not knowing if it would happen. And alas, there was an alignment of stars. When I pulled into the Fallbrook Cafe, Bev was behind the wheel of her car waiting for me. She'd only been there a short while. I negotiated a parking spot for the Forester and the Breeze (which always causes a tiny bit of anxiety), hugged my old pal, and proceeded to the inside the cafe, jazzed and wound up in anticipation. The waitress, Nati, was very friendly to us when we first slid into the booth. But by the time we left (we took our sweet time yakking up a catchingupstorm), she had grown a tiny bit surly. Informing her we hadn't seen each other in 30 years improved her mood a little, but as with any food service pro who's been at it for decades, she just wanted to get paid (we stayed there clear past her shift).

(While at the Cafe, another waitress named Sally, came up to me and asked if the car with the "little trailer" was mine. Uh-oh, I thought, I'm in trouble ((the Breeze, altho parked in the the barest area of the parking lot, was sticking out a good ways)). But Sally was not there to ball me out. Sally was there to praise me :) "Cute" is the most common description of the trailer I've encountered everywhere I've pulled it, and that's the one she used. I told her I'd built it (and directed her to this site of course :). Told her that I'd been through 4 states so far, that I was having a great time doing something I've always wanted to do - travel while pulling a tiny house behind me. And Sally told me that she's always wanted to do the exact same thing. I encouraged her with my pat response, "What are you waiting for - time's a wastin!)

Hunkered down in a booth, Beverly and I rambled down memory lane in frantic fragments of this time and that. Of faded memories. Of solid ones. Nati the waitress was no longer filling my empty coffee cup so we got out of there. I followed her to her place, an awful cute trifecta of tiny cottages less than a mile away. There was parking, but nothing for a car pulling a trailer. Just outside the gate and before the curb was a long, wide dirt patch. It was a perfect parking spot for the Forester and trailing Breeze. I pulled in. Bev alerted her kind landlord Howard she had a visitor with a trailer and it was parked "over there". He gave me the okay, and with the help of Bev, all my stuff (suitcase, electronics, traveling food, and spirits) was transferred inside.

Catching up promptly resumed. Timelines were gradually taking shape, history was coming into focus. We added a little smooth-out. I opened a bottle and Bev did bong hits (grass is legal in Cali!). We moved to her tiny deck and watched the sun set. I was glad to be there with my dear old friend and her marvelous smile, good nature and enthusiasm.

(I took an excursion to LA during my second day in Fallbrook, btw, to visit my daughter Hannah)

We spent another relaxed and very enjoyable day together, filling in gaps here and there, sharing photographs (she had an old picture of me and my ex-wife that I had never seen!) exchanging anecdotes (Bev was once Lucinda Williams's roommate) and plans for the future. She invited me to stay for Thanksgiving at her mom's, who lives in nearby Hemmet, but I had already committed to that date with another friend, Chiquita, who I was going to be visiting next. This was going to be a visit that would be entirely too short. Short and sweet, but nonetheless satisfying. I was gonna have to leave after only 2 nights.

I was extremely pleased to have traveled to Fallbrook and spent two days with Beverly. It was just like old times. We promised to see each other again. That way we could add some new times.

I had two days of travel ahead of me. I was going to Albuquerque, which was 12 hours and 802 miles away. It was time to get back on the road. - Max