November of 2011 was another much needed vacation. This one for a completely different reason.
With the recent passing of my grandmother still weighing heavily on my heart and soul, I needed something to take my mind off of everything. Something to take me away f
rom the world. And upon taking a trip up north to Edmonds, WA where many of my friends at the time lived, I found my chance to get away.
This chance isn’t one that I normally would have taken. Had I been in a completely sane state of mind, I wouldn’t have gone. But, despite that, I’m still extremely glad I did. My street kid friends were a different sort of crowd than I normally hung out with. I never did hard drugs, lived on the street, or really went wanting for anything. But with them it was completely different.
My best friend Desirae, aka Dez, was planning a huge getaway trip. A bunch of people were going to go to California for two weeks. The catch? No one really had much money, no plans, originally had no idea 
on transportation either. But the night before the trip, I found my self calling my mom and telling her not to expect me home for two weeks. I was going on this trip.
My mom knew how I was taking the passing of my grandmother, and she knew that I needed this. So she bid me good luck, be safe, and have fun.
The next morning we all gathered for a huge breakfast before piling all our stuff into Ryan’s Buick. Now, the Buick was a pretty luxurious car, with seating for six and lots of leg room. Th
e thing was though, we had eight people, and plenty of clothes for two weeks for everyone. But, as with most luxury cars, it also had a huge trunk. So the seating was as follows: three people sitting in the front seat, four people sitting in the back seat, and one person laying in the trunk. We were able to arrange all our bags in such a way that there was a small area for someone to lay down relatively comfortably. As comfortably as you can laying in a trunk with eight or so backpacks and other bags. As for who sat where, that was always rotating. Luckily, we only ever had one instance where someone actually saw one of us climbing into the trunk and almost caused us problems.
The trip went pretty smoothly at firs
t. We did have some money for gas, and a couple people had food stamps. So we were set for like two days. The second night, we ended up stranded at a gas station with no more money for gas and no one around because of how late it was. So we stayed the night. The next morning, about half of us were thinking that maybe it was stupid of us to have come and maybe we should go back. We ended up getting some money and continued farther south for a little while. At our next stop, everyone got out to run around and stretch out.
This is when I talked to Ryan. He and I were only friends during this trip, and we were both thinking that maybe we should go back. But then I remembered how badly I needed to let go of my need to have control, and how much I needed this trip, and I had to stay. And I found myself trying to convince Ryan to stay, too. I told him to just wait it out, that it would get better. It was the first time I had really talked to him since we’d met three days prior. Needless to say, he stayed.
To this day, we’re both so glad that he did 🙂
Eventually, after many times of stopping to panhandle for more gas money, we made it to San Francisco, our destination. The next week was amazing. we always found ways to have enough food, beer, and weed. Sometimes we’d go a little hungry for a couple hours, but we never starved. Every night we drank, most days we smoked pot. Despite everything, I let myself go and just allowed myself to enjoy the time I was there.
We hit the beach at one point. All the Cali
fornia locals were wearing jeans and jackets, and us Washingtonians were stripping down and running for the waves. We got so many crazy looks that day. But we didn’t care. We played in the sand, ran through the waves, and just had a blast.
We played music on the streets, browsed the shops along Haight Street where we were staying. There was one night that it was pouring rain, and we were still running around, not having a care in the world. The locals that we were hanging out with invited us to the laundry mat and we dried out clothes while drinking and hanging out.
Overall, it was a great trip. And it was just what I needed. I learned what it really meant to live on the streets. What it meant to just let go of the wheel and let something else take control for a while. And most importantly, it got me to relax, if only for a little while. It also brought me something else that I’d been needing for a while.
It brought Ryan and I together. ❤ That trip just brought us closer and closer until we had to be together. Now it’s been almost a year since that trip, and neither of us will ever forget it.
Just a simple girl, in a simple life, with extraordinary dreams :3
Rainbow Moon Chylde 