Youngster Travel

Summer came shinning through the grey drudgery of Seattle's winters like a child's face at Christmas time. Slipping from our bulky layers, as neighborhood youngsters, we frolicked across the blacktop coldesacs and made retreats to the pine canopies.

During those lazy days sunlight filtered through the branches setting the forest aglow with a fairytale twinkle. This magical setting formed the backdrop of our many summer adventures.

Under the glowing hollows we hid from responsibility and let our imaginations run free. School, parents television, the puzzle pieces of life as we knew it, broke apart and crumbled away just beyond the tree line.

Rotting stumps became our new castles and vines our transportation. Suburban culture murmured in the background of our childhood boondocks.

Years later and miles away from my romping territory I search for the same uninhibited adventures of my past. Where society's grasp on the moment holds no significance. Gliding across the open road, sneaking off the pages of a guide book to find hidden treasures. Whether it be a funky psychedelic cafe on a side street of Santa Barbara or a hidden wilderness far from highway 1, adventures in the boondocks.