
ASHLAND, OR—Over the last few days I’ve checked out a number of California towns to see if they felt right—Lake Tahoe, Point Arena, Mendocino, Fort Bragg, Arcata, Mount Shasta. Each “called” to me on the map, but after driving through them and about them and talking with their people, none of them felt quite right.
I had been to Tahoe and Mount Shasta before (and loved them), but this time they felt “off.” I guess She’s got something else in mind.
What has become clear to me are the things that I’m drawn to: Nature and trails nearby, free-thinkers, coffee shops and bookstores, mild winters and summers. I like college towns because of their energy. Arcata is close (the town and people remind me of the Hawthorne district of Portland), but too isolated. Ashland’s close, but somehow too… civilized? Tomorrow I’m going to check out Jacksonville, OR, then head north to Eugene, Corvallis, etc. I’m open to (and appreciative of) suggestions.
I think if I don’t find a place to call home by the time I hit Canada, I’ll buy a used truck and travel trailer and return to my nomadic ways. Who knows?
Either way, I can’t lose.