thoughts from a trucker hat.

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Yesterday I bought a blue trucker hat with "California 39" sparkling on the front of it. There were even two little stars. It was in this moment that I realized this was a cry for help. I was homesick and I bet you anything if there had been a bag of feces with the word California on it, I would have bought it. Thankfully, it was just a hat that went out of fashion like 10 years ago and will always be connected to Ashton Kutcher. As if that sounds any better...

I'm digging into the recesses of my mind in an attempt to find a summer that I haven't spent in California. There isn't one. There was the summer of '07 when I went backpacking through Italy and Greece, but I still spent the end of July and some of August in the Golden State. That's 23 summers of California goodness. Now it's summer number 24 and I'm in Korea.

Forced to wear shirts with sleeves and skirts that graze my knees. Gone are the days of calling a sarong and a belt an acceptable dress to go to the store in. If only I could be driving the Suburu down a winding road of pine trees in my bathing suit listening to Bob Marley; one hand playing with the wind that rushes past my window. What I would give for a river with class 3 rapids. An outdoor dance party at Hot Shots complete with fire dancers and a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in my hand. Raft guides from Australia and New Zealand living in tents at night and taking crazy tourists down the ice cold American River during the day. River sandals. Avocado chicken sandwiches. Mojitos and watermelon. Running as fast as I can to keep up with my dog Jack as we explore the golden hills. The fear of mountain lions. The stupidity of deer. The deliciousness of lemonade after a hike through jagged rocks and the remnants of snow. Drinking sweet wine from a local winery as my mom sings some song that was cool never and my dad makes fun of me and I make fun of him and my brother talks about things that none of us understand. And then my mom says how much she loves us and we're like "oh my god mom, embarrasing" and then my dad says he only loves the dog (but we know this is a lie, maybe..). That is what summer would be like at home. But as I said, it's summer number 24. I'm in Korea.

I may be homesick for a Californian summer, but so far summer in Korea has been beautiful. The intense humidity hasn't really hit yet and the sun has been shining. I go out for a run and there are families having picnics, old couples going for a walk, and women completely covered in clothing power walking. Even if they can't enjoy the sun like I would (ie wearing as little clothing as possible and swimming) they are out there enjoying the Vitamin D under some caked on SPF 500. Dancing in a summer dress on a friends rooftop, South African barbeques, hiking through thick forests, swimming in the cold ocean that takes your breath away, playing soccer against extremely talented Korean kids, racing a friend through a park while until you giggle so much that you have to stop, reverse rain dancing, and lots of soju. I do miss California, but summer in Korea is still summer. A summer full of more parties, paintball, a mudfest, a music festival, and even a few play performances. I may even break out the trucker hat if I'm feeling HELLA cool.

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Photos

my pup jack
i miss captain jack.

san francisco
san francisco speakeasy..a brisk summer night as usual.

getting saucy
in the sierra nevadas.