Day 2: To the city of my birth

Day 2 Journal: Today I got up early in Klamath Falls. The weather was cool but I opted to not wear my riding suit. I got my things loaded up in about 15 minutes, and hit the road. I got many praises at gas stations for my journey… many more handshakes.

The long straight roads out to Bend Oregon were painful… I was freezing, bugs were dying by the score upon my face shield… it was positively miserable. When I got to bend, I decided I needed a workout… so I found a local snap fitness and ran through my Thursday routine. When I got out of there the weather was a lot warming so I took out my coat lining, switched my gloves and headed on towards La Grande, the city of my birth. The small town of Moro is worth mentioning. I got in a conversation with a shop keeper there while drenching my shirt and bandana for the ride. She loved that little town and we talked about how old towns keep their charm. It was a cool spot. I’d like to return someday. Eventually I hit Highway 84 and followed along lake Umatilla for 80 miles or so, then climbed back up into the hills.

At a rest stop about an hour outside of LaGrande, I talked with the girl I love for a bit via text message. She told me about how well her business was doing with renters finally coming in for the Salon. I was so happy to hear it, her success is extremely important to me, and her stressed about her business weighs heavily on my mind. She thanked me for believing in her…

 After a long day of riding, I descended into LaGrande. I got a room at the Moon Motel on Adam ave. unloaded my things and went off to seek the home and hospital where I was born.

706 A Ave was a little challenging to find, but I did it. The house was empty… no one around. The street was quiet and charming… and I spent a moment reflecting on the life I might have lived had my family stayed in this town. That was the place where the programming started… where I would see my parents love each other, although I don’t remember it. Where I would meet my older brother for the first time… and where I would leave without memories to California where I would be raised.

On my way back out to Adam Ave. I saw the Grand Rhonde hospital and drove up to the place where my life began. This small town holds no memories for me but the answers I seek may start here. My life began in the town where I sit now and write this journey… at one point, this was my home; The place that it all began.

I ate dinner in town… and came back to the motel to write and got another video chat with the girl. We talked for close to an hour, periodically interrupted by her youngest son's stories of the games he is playing. I love that kid. It is nice connecting with her, growing closer to her again while getting further away.

She said to me tonight that the town feels empty knowing that I am not there… I am head over heels still. Not getting over her anytime soon, so I’ll do it the hard way… become the man I need to be to win her back, or die on the road trying.

The revelation I had today was that at the beginning, I learned what relationships ought to be like. Walking where I was born gave me an insight to what my parents might not have known about raising children or working out a relationship. They never communicated well… so I guess it was a matter of time before their divorce. 25 years was a good run, but ultimately my first concepts of relationship were based on a premise of failure.