6/17/25

Hello all, and a happy almost-solstice, Fathers’ Day, Pride Month, Juneteenth, and No Kings Day to you all!

I’m back in Portland these days, but there is still more I’m excited to share from my wonderful recent rail journey into California’s central valley.

When I left off telling about my travels, I had been enjoying Fresno and Sequoia National Park. The one part of Fresno I left out—because there was so much else to share in that post—was the lovely Japanese garden, Shinzen, that I visited there. This garden, part of the much larger Woodward Park, even has resident peacocks (which I heard before I saw!) Please enjoy these few photos of the highlights. If you ever find yourself in Fresno, don’t miss this garden.

The last part of my Fresno experience was when my Servas host Carole and her friend Lisa took me out to Sequoia National Park on the morning of my last day. That was a majestic experience. Immediately afterward, they dropped me off at the train station in Fresno, where I caught the train to the end of the Amtrak San Joaquins line, Bakersfield.

Bakersfield was mostly hot and dry during my stay, but that weather showcased the sere beauty of its landscape. (I was glad to not be there during the summer, though, when temps can hit 115F/46C.)

I attended an OsteoStrong session while in Bakersfield, and found the staff at the local franchise to be among the friendliest, and most knowledgeable and supportive, of any of the nine OsteoStrong locations I have visited so far. One never knows what hidden gems—natural and human—may be found in out-of-the-way places…

Speaking of which, the highlight of my Bakersfield time was my stay at a magical place, run by wonderful people, called The Shimmering Void. Julie and Rafael, the couple who own and reside there, have been building this beautiful and heartful impromptu intentional community for the past twenty years. I had some great conversations with each of them, and I also got to meet several other residents and supporters. (One of these was feline. Sadly I have forgotten his name, but this photo of him near my bed in their “outdoor bedroom” gives a feel for his energy.)

The Shimmering Void is built around a weekly meditation practice, open to the local community, complete with vegan organic food offerings. (If you find yourself in Bakersfield, they welcome you to attend at 8:30 on Sunday mornings.) But the property also includes abundant flower and fruit trees—I happened to arrive exactly during the peak week of loquat season, and enjoyed many of these fruits straight from the tree—as well as a geodesic dome with hammocks, several shaded sitting areas, and the aforementioned outdoor bedroom.

The first morning I awakened in this bedroom felt truly enchanting. The sun slowly rose, filtering its light through the tapestries artfully draped as walls. Many different birds sang. The breeze fluttered the walls, as the kitty meandered in and sniffed my feet. The entire experience felt otherworldy, while also perfectly “earthbound.”

If you ever make your way to Bakersfield, definitely make the effort to connect with Julie and Rafael and their magical space.

While in Bakersfield I also had an in-person magical meeting with a really cool woman named Crystal, whom I had met through the local vegan Facebook group. She and I had three friends in common, and it was cool to go to a beautiful local park and have a long conversation with her.

After Bakersfield, I reboarded the train to spend two days in one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country: Davis, California. But on the way, I spent a day in neighboring Sacramento.

One of my favorite meals from my entire year of travels in 2021-2022 was at a vegan Mexican restaurant in Monterey, called El Cantaro. A year or two later, the family who owns the restaurant branched out and opened another location in Sacramento. I had been waiting for an opportunity to visit again, and here it was! I thought it would be cool to meet up with a local vegan or two, so I posted my intentions in the Sacramento Vegans Facebook group.

And magic happened again! A joyful and vivacious woman named Nancy, and her husband Kirk, took me up on the offer to meet at the restaurant. And it turns out that they love walking the Caminos in Europe—Nancy has done multiple Caminos already! They are planning to do one in Italy this fall… and were very interested to have me sit for their five(!) cats in a suburb of Sacramento. This would be a month-long sit, in early fall.

We have not totally worked out whether it will work this time, but we are all holding the vision that it will come together somehow. I love the idea of heading south to California in early fall, following the sun and warmth once again. And after the time and expense of taking the train there, I would love to dream up some possible further places to travel. (New England in the fall? I’ve got several Amtrak rail segments in that area to check off my list. Visiting family in the mid-Atlantic around my birthday in November? Or alternatively, just heading farther south into California and/or Arizona, to follow the weather? Maybe I could make that Culdesac Tempe cat sit happen!)

In order for any of these options to work, I will need to manifest another income stream(s), and I intend that any such income source be fully aligned with my vision for my work in the world, fleshing out and strengthening the rainbow network. I’m very open to fairy godfunding—including Amtrak train miles if I can find anyone who has extra—but also open to various life and travel coaching opportunities, and/or any other income opportunities I may not have dreamed up yet, as long as they align with my vision for my contributions to the collective.

Meanwhile, one of my regular local Portland-area sits may be able to dovetail nicely with the Sacramento sit… the woman contacted me recently about dates that just require a bit of massaging to work out well for all involved. We are all holding a vision that all unfolds beautifully for everyone. (If you’d like to help me hold that vision, I would welcome that!)

After that inspiring (and delicious) meal of El Cantaro fare, I bicycled along a beautiful wooded path back to the Sacramento train station, where I caught a very short train to Davis. There I met up with my wonderful Servas hosts Bill and Vicki. As it turns out, Bill had also walked the Camino, and had also done RAGBRAI, the zany, hardcore hot-weather bike ride in Iowa which Nancy had also done! I enjoyed putting them in touch with each other; I love connecting local like-minded people with each other when I meet them in my travels.

I had visited Davis once before, extremely briefly, back in November of 2019 when my Brompton was brand new. (My first-ever trip to Sacramento—with a two-hour early-morning micro-tour of Davis on the front end—was its maiden voyage on Amtrak.) This time, I could see even more why bicyclists love it. The small city is full of greenways and bike baths, which were a delight to both cycle and walk.

Bill took me on a long bike ride as well as a walk, and one day he and Vicki also took me to a nearby small agricultural town where his sister owns an amazing property full of fruit trees and rescue animals. I got to see—and taste—local olallieberries for the first time!

Finally, late at night Bill and Vicki accompanied me to the Davis Amtrak station to see me off. I had a very pleasant overnight return voyage on the train, thoroughly filled from all the magic of this California rail adventure. I know I’ll be back before long!

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Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a free, no-strings one-hour phone or video call with me!

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Want to support my vision financially? I am in a continual process of manifesting $50,000 per year in lieu of a “salary” for the unconventional work I do in the world. You can make a one-time or monthly contribution, or even become a Fairy Godfunder! (Heartfelt thanks to all my patrons, contributors, and godfunders!)

6/3/25

Wow. Wow, wow, wow.

Disclaimer: From the outside, yes, the world still appears to be heading to Hell in a handbasket, at a breakneck pace. I continue contacting my elected representatives regularly (are y’all also using Resistbot?) and attending in-person protest events; I hope you are too.

That said… below the surface, so much magic is bubbling. And I continue sinking more and more into what I believe is my role in this life: to practice radical self-care to strengthen myself; then, to give from that strength and abundance by strengthening others who care deeply about the larger world; and to facilitate connections amongst those folks. I continue playing my role, to the best of my ability, to strengthen the rainbow network.

My California trip was a big part of this, and after returning to Oregon, it has continued. I’ll share some highlights here, and then illustrate the post with some photos from my time in Sequoia National Park, with my wonderful new friend Carole, a Servas member who hosted me in her home overnight and then took me, along with her other friend, to Sequoia, on my way out of town to Bakersfield. Dream come true to visit this national park! (The General Sherman tree, pictured below, is the largest tree in the world, by volume.)

First, Carole and I had a wonderful in-person magical meeting over dinner at her home in Fresno. One of the highlights of our talk was when she told me about a new friend of hers, a woman in her 70s in San Antonio named Caterina Arends. When Carole showed me the website of the organization this woman founded, The Vision Holders, my jaw nearly hit the floor—the graphic is so similar to my vision of the rainbow network from back in 2019. Geodesic domes have also been on my mind for years, in relation to such—and I was soon to see another of them at The Shimmering Void in Bakersfield. (More on that magical place in an upcoming post.) And so much of the wording on her site mirrored the wording that has been coming to me these past few years. There is a lot on the site—I haven’t explored it all yet—but this one video of hers really resonated with me, although I hadn’t been aware of any of the books she references in it.

I plan to write more about the rest of my California trip in upcoming posts, but the theme that is up for me right now feels like magical connections, so I’ll skip ahead to just a few of the ones I’ve had since returning to Oregon.

The other day, I got a text out of the blue the other day from my friend Rose, the force of nature who—along with her husband and young son and the cat they had just brought home from the shelter hours before my arrival—hosted me for a night in Palo Alto during my year of travels. You may recall that Rose had interviewed me for her podcast, Rose Pedals, at that time—take a listen if you’d like to hear what we discussed about bicycling, traveling, and living car-free.

She texted me the other day to ask if I’d be interested in cat sitting for them in Palo Alto for the month of June. Doh! That would have been so cool if the timing had lined up. But, I’m back in the Northwest for the summer, so I had to decline for now. But out of curiosity, I asked her where they would be traveling.

The answer floored me: Rose had just discovered Culdesac Tempe, and was entirely enamored of the concept. (Me too!) Her family would be spending the month of June down there, living in the complex! I told her about my time meeting with Culdesac staff during my year of travels, and the fact that one of my goals is to do a cat sit in that complex someday! (She said we might be able to work something out, in the cooler months. How cool would that be??)

Since Rose is a fellow Bromptoneer, I asked if she had been in touch with Ryan Guzy, an extreme Brompton enthusiast (he has founded at least two Brompton-related groups, including the Brompton Mafia, and he and his family own at least a half-dozen Bromptons among them.) They had hosted me when I first arrived in Tempe. She said she wasn’t aware of him, so I introduced them! I’m excited for them to connect this month; I’m sure they will dream up cool things. I also connected Rose with my friend RoniSue, who had also hosted me in Tempe, and is very connected with Culdesac, her local neighborhood association, and her local Buy Nothing group. Rose’s enthusiasm about Culdesac and Tempe was inspiring and infectious. I hope she finds exactly what she is hoping for during their stay.

Meanwhile, closer to home, I reconnected with my new friend Johnnie, with whom I have now had several powerful magical meetings. She is a former prison volunteer, a writing teacher and coach who has even led writing workshops on Amtrak trains(!!) and now, for the first time after decades of writing, an author of a novel. I want to amplify her work by sharing the Kickstarter here; take a look if you feel inspired. I also have had several magical meetings with another new local friend, and felt called to introduce those two to each other. It sounds like they had a wonderful magical meeting, too, which inspires me so deeply to continue connecting people if I have an inkling that they would resonate with each other.

These particular magical meetings have had many sparkly ripples in various other directions, too numerous to list here. I am feeling so vibrant in the thick of it all!

Finally, my British friend Steev—who is taking ten years of his life to travel all around the world, also car free—recently reached out to ask my permission to link to my blog on his blog! Of course I happily accepted, and now I’d like to link to his blog as well, if you’d like to follow the travels of someone who is going much farther afield than I am at the moment!

So, so many amazing and inspiring people in my life right now. (If you happen to be reading this and I’ve had a recent magical meeting with you and haven’t mentioned it here, please don’t take it personally! I appreciate you all so much!)

The only downside in my personal life these days is that cat sits have been few and far between since last fall, so my finances are even closer to the wire than usual, and I often don’t know where I’ll be sleeping a few days out. I admit that I find both of these circumstances stressful at times, but I also embrace them as part of the amazing adventure that is my life these days. Having said that, though, if you know of anyone who could use a caring and experienced cat sitter, please feel free to send my link their way! I would like to be in the Northwest (ideally the Portland area) in the summer. In the fall I will be open to warmer and drier locales. (More details on some upcoming possibilities/travel dreams in a future post!)

Sending you all love, joy, inspiration, and transformation during these surreal times! Thank you, as always, for following along on my journey.

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Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a free, no-strings one-hour phone or video call with me!

Want to be notified of future blog posts? Use the green “sign up” button to subscribe!

Want to support my vision financially? I am in a continual process of manifesting $50,000 per year in lieu of a “salary” for the unconventional work I do in the world. You can make a one-time or monthly contribution, or even become a Fairy Godfunder! (Heartfelt thanks to all my patrons, contributors, and godfunders!)

5/20/25

Traveling is so magical. I have met so many wonderful people on this California rail adventure, and seen so many beautiful places. One of the most remarkable was the Forestiere Underground Gardens! I visited there with my new friend Jerri, whom I met via a previous travel friend/host, Janeece, who is based in the LA area but is visiting Croatia at the moment. I enjoyed connecting with Jerri and some of her family members, who came along with us.

I can’t remember all the details about the gardens, but I encourage you to click on the link above and learn more about this amazing place. In a nutshell, a Sicilian American man, Baldassare Forestiere, moved to Fresno in the early 20th century with a dream of planting a citrus grove, like the ones his family had back in Italy. Sadly, he found the soil on his new acreage not very hospitable for citrus growing, and he also found the summer heat (often 115 F/46 C) and chilly, damp winter weather nearly unbearable. Having spent his life savings of $80 for the acreage, though, he was forced to remain in that location.

So, he undertook a staggering project: building an underground house for himself—ultimately up to 63 rooms, on multiple levels—entirely by hand, with the significant help of two mules, Molly and Dolly. Together, over a number of years they excavated all the earth, and he slowly built a beautiful home, with skylights and Roman arches throughout. (He had had only a fourth-grade education, and no formal architectural or construction training. But he did all the design and masonry himself.)

He planted citrus and other trees inside, and eventually had a full home, with a kitchen, a summer bedroom, a winter bedroom, a chapel, and even two fish ponds, one with a skylight above and a glass bottom, and a viewing room underneath(!) for his guests to enjoy.

He never married. He lived in the house until his death from a hernia at age 67 in 1946. His younger brother and the brother’s adult children helped to keep the house intact, and eventually to seek historic-landmark status for it.

These are some of the photos I took. If you find yourself in Fresno, definitely make sure to visit!

Note: You may notice that my photos are becoming a bit blurry these days. Sadly, my ancient iPhone 8 camera seems to be nearing its end. I am looking to manifest a new phone with a better camera (iPhone 13 or newer) for as little cost as possible. If you happen to know of anyone with such a camera sitting around collecting dust, please feel free to put us in touch!

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Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a free, no-strings one-hour phone or video call with me!

Want to be notified of future blog posts? Use the green “sign up” button to subscribe!

Want to support my vision financially? I am in a continual process of manifesting $50,000 per year in lieu of a “salary” for the unconventional work I do in the world. You can make a one-time or monthly contribution, or even become a Fairy Godfunder! (Heartfelt thanks to all my patrons, contributors, and godfunders!)

May 17, 2025

After my last post, which turned out to be much longer than I had intended, I think now I’m going to do more frequent, shorter posts for the remainder of this California rail adventure.

I’ve been having an amazing time so far! The magic has really been flowing, especially since I arrived in Fresno. I’ve seen a lot of beautiful things, so in this post I’ll show you some of it.

First, the train ride from Emeryville was pleasant on the San Joaquins train. We started out with views of the San Francisco Bay, then turned inland.

Most of the scenery along the route was not particularly photogenic, but we passed miles and miles of fruit trees. I learned from one of my hosts that this area supplies 25% of the nation’s produce!

As I mentioned in my last post, our train was delayed by almost two hours. This turned out to be a blessing, because the mercury had hit 100 F (38 C) in Fresno during the day. By the time I arrived, around 7:30 pm, it had dropped to 88 F/31 C, and the full moon peeked out from behind the train as I disembarked.

When I arrived at my cat sit near Woodward Park, I met my two cuties, Cashmere and Magic. They kept me good company for the next four days.

During those next few days, I got out for several excursions, with too many photos to share in one post, so I’ll split them up. The ones here were from the bike path just a few blocks away from the house. The weather was mostly quite pleasant, and I loved the bucolic views.

I also met up for a short visit with my amazing soon-to-be-Servas-host, Carole, who took me on a river walk just north of where I was staying. Despite both of us being plagued by many prickly plant spikes that lodged into our socks, shoes, and clothes, the walk and scenery were very pleasant, with the water nearby especially refreshing since it was a bit hot out.

In my next post, I’ll share photos from the incredible Underground Gardens, a must-see if you visit Fresno!

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Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a free, no-strings one-hour phone or video call with me!

Want to be notified of future blog posts? Use the green “sign up” button to subscribe!

Want to support my vision financially? I am in a continual process of manifesting $50,000 per year in lieu of a “salary” for the unconventional work I do in the world. You can make a one-time or monthly contribution, or even become a Fairy Godfunder! (Heartfelt thanks to all my patrons, contributors, and godfunders!)

5/13/25

Hey there, it’s been a while. I’m sorry I haven’t written anything yet about my California trip so far. The crushing dystopia of living in this era overwhelms me at times, and mingles with my executive dysfunction, and… well… time goes by.

I’m choosing to be gentle with myself (I hope you are with yourself, too) and just pick up when I can.

So, right now I’m writing from Fresno, but I think I’ll include my time here in my next post. For this post, I will just focus on my last bit of time in Portland, the train trip to Emeryville, and my time in the Bay Area.

Many of my posts are sort of a life log/travel log, and my photos of nature parks and cats always lend themselves to that. But during these extra-disturbing times for those of us in the US (and many others around the world, for so many reasons, of course) I also want to ground into my spiritual practice, which is to focus on “rainbow-network” type magic and serendipities. And celebrating little sparks of joy and connection as they appear.

First, though, I will interject some political activism, because it’s really important. I hope you are all resisting our current regime in whatever ways you can, whether it be contacting your representatives, protesting in the streets, and/or any other methods at your disposal. I have been attending the 50501 protests, in various cities, and have found them to be very heartening and moving events. It feels so gratifying and energizing to be in a joyful crowd of people coming together for a purpose, and to also feel the positive energy coming from people witnessing or driving by the protest. The most recent event I attended was in Happy Valley, Oregon on April 19th. Happy Valley is one of Portland’s more conservative suburbs, but several hundred of us were amassed on the freeway overpass above I-205, right next to the Clackamas Town Center mall, and in the hour I spent out there, I witnessed only two negative reactions from people driving past. On the contrary, I estimate that at least 25% of the passing cars honked and/or waved or yelled their support to us. It literally brought me to tears at one point. If you haven’t yet taken part in any of these actions, I heartily enourage you to do so.

Also, contacting our elected representatives is vital. I’ve been using two tools for this. One is Resistbot. You sign up, and then you receive action alerts by text, roughly once a day, on urgent pieces of legislation. You press a few buttons in order to sign petitions to your Congressional representatives. Also, closer to home, my sister has started a simple mailing list called Good News and Good Actions. In each email, there is one link to a feel-good news story and one call to action, usually a petition or call to an elected representative. If you’d like to subscribe, message me and I’ll give you the address.

OK! Now onto my travels:

My last Portland cat sit was for two absolute sweeties, Rocket (black) and Einstein (black & white floof.) You may recall these two from last spring and summer. I was so happy to be able to spend three weeks with them this time, while their human was in Europe. The house contained a room with flickering electronic candles and several ticking antique grandfather clocks. I found that it made a lovely meditation space with the kitties at the end of the day. I would log off from English tutoring on Cambly at about 11 pm, feed the cats a “bedtime snack,” and then go sit on the couch in that room, inviting them to join me. Generally, Rocket would loaf on my lap, and Einstein would sprawl on the back of the sofa next to me. It was a wonderfully calming ritual before bed each night.

The picture I shared above from the protest was down the street from the house.

Also in that neighborhood, I found a true secret gem: Hidden Falls Nature Park. Tucked right into a suburban development, it is a beautiful short nature trail that ends in a surprisingly large waterfall. The day I visited was gently warm and sunny, and I basked on a bench near the falls for a good long while. Nature is so restorative for me as well.

Then, on May 4th, I boarded the Coast Starlight train to Emeryville!

The pic from the train window with the snow was in southern Oregon. I loved the juxtaposition of golden-hour light with the wintry surrounds, seen from the warm comfort of the sightseer lounge car. We actually got stopped for about an hour, behind a disabled freight train, and it was so delightful to just chat with a fellow passenger in the lounge while we waited. No one was in a hurry; we were just all enjoying the ride and the pre-sunset light on the twinkling snow.

At dinner, in the dining car, I was seated with three other interesting passengers, one of whom ended the meal by thanking us all very sincerely for our conversation, saying she had been feeling lonely in her train experience up until that point, but that our conversation at dinner had completely turned her mood around, and now she was feeling socially fulfilled. This is what I love about the train!

Another of the dining companions at our table was an artsy-looking older woman wearing a beret, who introduced herself as Eleanor. She had a charming New York accent, and indicated that she was heading from her home in a small Oregon Coast town to San Francisco for a few days, to revisit the city where she had lived for some years. I wished I could have talked with her more over the meal, but since there were four of us, our interaction was limited. Such is train travel, but I enjoyed the experience of encountering her. I love interesting folks like that!

When I arrived in Emeryville the next morning, I had only a brief bike ride to my cat sit, which was in an apartment building right on the Emeryville Marina. The views of San Francisco across the water were beautiful in the spring sunshine.

I arrived at the apartment to find a stunningly photogenic cat named Nalah. Sadly, Nalah was not as snuggly as I had hoped—it had been so hard to leave that lap cat Rocket in Happy Valley!—and I found her personality rather persnickety at times. But when a kitty lounges so adorably all around the home, it’s easy to forgive.

During my Bay time I met up with several friends. I took a walk on the pier with my friend Nora one day. Another day I took the train to San Jose, where I met up with my friend and former host Vikki, over a delightful meal from one of my favorite vegan Vietnamese restaurants, Tofoo Com Chay.

I also got to go back to Rosicrucian Park, one of my favorite meditative spaces. I sat for a while in front of the fountain, and also in front of the statue of Pythagoras.

Another day, I took a bike ride out around Cesar Chavez Park, on the Bay side of Berkeley. The trees were beautiful, and I even had a nice “conversation” with a squirrel while I rested on a bench.

The other friend I saw was my awesome friend Mimi, whom you may recall from several previous blog posts. It turned out that Nalah’s apartment was right next to the original outpost of the legendary Trader Vic’s! (And, apparently, one of only two locations left in the US—the other is in Atlanta.) Despite their prices being an arguably unjustifiable splurge given my current severe financial constraints, I could not pass up the opportunity for this experience. I knew Mimi would be up for it, so I reached out to her. It was fun to catch up over tropical drinks.

And then the next day—my last in the Bay Area—Mimi was hosting her 16th annual Vegan Waffle Party! Our mutual friend Dave Wheitner—who had initially introduced us when I was heading to the Bay during my year of travels in 2021—had originated the phenomenon that is the Global Vegan Waffle Party when he was living in Pittsburgh, many years ago. He later published a cookbook with numerous sweet and savory waffle recipes from the parties, and Mimi got a mention in the book for having been such a prolific host herself!

I was so excited that I happened to be in the area when she hosted her party. Sadly, the photo we took of the two of us with me holding my waffle on a plate was too blurry to share, but suffice it to say that the mac-and-cheeze waffle was delicious!

After the party, I biked my rig to the Emeryville train station in what I thought was the nick of time to catch my San Joaquins train to Fresno. Believing I had only ten minutes to prep my rig for boarding, I hurriedly began disassembling it, then thought to check the status of the train.

As it turned out, the train was delayed. It kept getting further and further delayed. By the time we departed—on a substitute train—two more hours had passed. (The good news? Amtrak compensated all passengers with a $25 voucher, which I used today on a trip of almost exactly that cost, from Fresno to Bakersfield the day after tomorrow. Magic!) I was very sad to have missed staying at the waffle party longer… but unbeknownst to me, more magic was on its way for me in that moment:

Almost immediately after I sat down in a wooden chair in the warm sunshine at the station, whom should I see walking past me on the platform but Eleanor, from the dining car five days earlier!

What were the odds? We had both disembarked at Emeryville at the same time (though I didn’t see her then) and now here we were, after our respective vacations in different cities in the Bay, arriving to the station at the same time! Even more remarkable was the fact that she was waiting to board the northbound Coast Starlight for her return trip… and it wasn’t due until 9 pm! It was now just after 1:30.

I flagged her down, and she sat and we had a nice long chat for an hour or two! (Unfortunately I’ve got the sunburn to prove it—oof—despite having applied sunscreen beforehand.) Eleanor has lived a very interesting life, and it sounds like she’s on the cusp of another interesting chapter. She lives (car free!) in the same coastal town as a good friend of mine, so I’m hoping I can put those two in touch. Meanwhile, she loved my Brompton, and took down the info about it to consider acquiring one herself!

She also mentioned having a lot of extra time before her train and being uncertain what to do, so I suggested a cocktail at Trader Vic’s! She loved the idea, and set off to catch the local “Emery Go-Round” bus for the short ride over to the pier.

This is the kind of magic I love in my travels. This is the kind of magic I love in my life.

There has been more of it here in Fresno, and I anticipate even more in Bakersfield! I’ll write more soon.

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Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a free, no-strings one-hour phone or video call with me!

Want to be notified of future blog posts? Use the green “sign up” button to subscribe!

Want to support my vision financially? I am in a continual process of manifesting $50,000 per year in lieu of a “salary” for the unconventional work I do in the world. You can make a one-time or monthly contribution, or even become a Fairy Godfunder! (Heartfelt thanks to all my patrons, contributors, and godfunders!)

4/16/25

OK, now that my California trip is official (cat sits lined up so far in Emeryville and Fresno) I need to manifest some money for it! After this California journey is complete in late May, I will turn my sights to fundraising for my travels on the rest of the Amtrak network. But I’m getting a “soft start” now, by reminding folks of the services I offer under the umbrella of Dream Into Change. If any of you might find any of the following services helpful, I am offering them on a sliding-scale basis. (My published rate is $95/hr, but I can definitely go lower if you need, and if you have extra money and align with my vision, please feel free to go higher!) Ideally we’d do this in the next 2-3 weeks, at least to start, but while I’m in California in mid-May I expect to also have time to do phone or online work.

I have recently added a new offering: space-holding for tasks! Many people struggle with executive function, making seemingly simple tasks such as cleaning or organizing the house nearly insurmountable, often for weeks or months at a time. I offer a calm and non-judgmental presence–in person or electronically–to help you stay on task and get the work done. (Sometimes this can also double as an empathetic-listening or life-coaching session! Talking or brainstorming while doing physical tasks can lead to a nice flow state and possible breakthroughs.)

I am also offering life and travel coaching (what is your dream? How do you want to move forward in your life and in this world at this moment in history?) as well as “awkward email” or “awkward conversation” coaching, based in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) principles.

Here is the link with more details. Please feel free to share with friends!

Thanks for your support of my vision!

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Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a free, no-strings one-hour phone or video call with me!

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Want to support my vision financially? I am in a continual process of manifesting $50,000 per year in lieu of a “salary” for the unconventional work I do in the world. You can make a one-time or monthly contribution, or even become a Fairy Godfunder! (Heartfelt thanks to all my patrons, contributors, and godfunders!)

Hey, all! I’m still here with my friend Denise in Olympia, Washington for a couple more days. I’ve spent most of the winter—and spring so far—here, and it’s been lovely, but I’m looking forward to returning to Portland for a sit with some of my regular kitties, Rocket and Einstein.

But today, I was heading downtown on foot, when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a city bus headed to the train station… and look what its readerboard said!

So cool: Dreaming + Amtrak! Perfect for me! (And this on top of the fact that all of Olympia’s city buses are fareless—you can ride for free! I did, on the way back up the steep hill from downtown.)

I am taking this serendipitous transit sighting as one of a constellation of green lights in my life, getting me closer to my dream of riding every mile of track in Amtrak’s network this year.

My first step is the California portion of my journey: riding Amtrak’s San Joaquins line for the first time. I plan to do that next month. The puzzle pieces have started to fall into place, though I still have a few more I need to complete. (Maybe you know people you could connect me with?) Realistically, I also need to raise a bit of money, so that I’m not dipping even deeper into my dwindling savings. But I always like to make bold plans first, and trust that the money will follow as needed! So far, so good on that.

At this point, I plan to depart Portland on the afternoon of Sunday, May 4th (May the Fourth be with me!) arriving in Emeryville, California on the morning of the 5th. I plan to do a cat sit in Emeryville until the 10th, and then attend my friend Mimi’s Global Vegan Waffle Party in Berkeley that afternoon! Then I will board a train to either Bakersfield or Fresno, depending on whether I manage to secure the cat sit I’ve applied for in Fresno. It looks like I have been offered a place to stay in a vegan, NVC-friendly community house in Bakersfield, so I’m looking forward to that!

I also want to visit the Japanese garden I have just learned about in Fresno. Also, while I am in one of those two cities, I am really hoping to find someone to carpool with me to Sequoia National Park, since I have never visited there. (The most massive tree in the world lives there!)

After my time in Fresno, Bakersfield, and/or Sequoia, I will board the train up to Sacramento, arriving late at night. (Not sure of the date yet.) I would like to stay a few days in the Sacramento area as well—though I would need to find either a cat sit or lodging to do so—and then return to Portland by train. (Or possibly, instead, work my way north toward the Avenue of the Giants and then back to Portland via southern Oregon, but that would require some careful carpool planning. But it would be really cool, so if you know anyone who might want to join me and carpool for any part of that journey, please feel free to put us in touch!)

After this trip, I hope to stay in the Portland area—or at least the Northwest—for much of the summer, cat sitting full time. During that time, I will need to find a way to raise significant funds, as well as come up with a logistical travel plan, to hit the rest of the Amtrak network in August and September. This will include places as far-flung as Maine, Michigan, Oklahoma, and South Carolina, to name but a few.

But I’m excited! As our nation and world face seemingly unprecedented threats (photos from my attendance at the Hands Off rally at the Washington State Capitol the other day below) I am still dreaming into the now, and the future, of my intention to connect with people, share healing and inspiration, and empower those dreaming into a better world at this time.

Here are some photos of Angel the Olympia kitty; signs from the rally; and spring blooms in Olympia, including some at the free, public Yashiro Japanese Garden. The last photo is from Sylvester Park, today.

Thanks again for all of your support in my journey!

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Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a free, no-strings one-hour phone or video call with me!

Want to be notified of future blog posts? Use the green “sign up” button to subscribe!

Want to support my vision financially? I am in a continual process of manifesting $50,000 per year in lieu of a “salary” for the unconventional work I do in the world. You can make a one-time or monthly contribution, or even become a Fairy Godfunder! (Heartfelt thanks to all my patrons, contributors, and godfunders!)

Time flies. Last I wrote to you all was in November, right after the election.

Wow.

I won’t go into detail about that; suffice it to say that things have changed in our nation, as so many of us expected and feared they would. I hope you are all taking good care of your mental health at this time.

I’ve spent the winter mostly withdrawn, processing as much as I can. I’ve mostly been up in Washington state—both Olympia and Seattle—cat sitting and staying with friends and family.

With spring now officially sprung in the northern hemisphere, I’m beginning to emerge, and starting to dream up something that might become the next chapter in my life.

Reflecting on my own strengths and weaknesses, I’ve been pondering how I might make the highest and best use of the gifts I have to serve the human collective in the time I have on this earth. I also want to practice good self-care. I’m feeling like about a 50-50 mix of taking good care of myself, and using my self-cared human energy to help the whole, seems like a good ratio.

One of my favorite things to do, as many of you know, is to travel by Amtrak. And now, it’s looking like Amtrak is—once again—in severe peril under this administration. I don’t know when traditional Amtrak travel might become irreparably changed or destroyed, but I’d rather not waste any time.

I estimate that I have covered somewhere between two-thirds and three-quarters of all the miles in the Amtrak system, over the past 30 years since I took my first long-distance train trip (on a route that no longer even exists, from Portland to Salt Lake City).

A few years ago, I read the story of an elderly man who proudly celebrated the completion of his goal of riding every single mile of track in the network.

I’m now thinking I would like to add that to my own list of life achievements. I’d like to cover all the routes, and parts of routes, I have not yet taken, such as the iconic City of New Orleans line. I’d love to see some of the same people and places I visited in my year of travels, and also continue to add new “magical meetings” with new people I might meet along these new routes.

Once again, I would want to make this travel as meaningful as possible. Of course I’d like to see beautiful sights, including cities and national parks and other natural areas. But I’d also like to have a theme for the trip of human joy, connection, and resiliency. Is our nation crumbling, in a way that we cannot prevent? If so, how do we move forward? How can we stay meaningfully connected to each other? How can we dream into new futures that will benefit all of humanity, under—and/or, ideally, after—this new reality?

I know there are people out there asking themselves these questions, and some are coming up with inspiring and creative answers. I want to connect with these people. I want to support them emotionally and/or spiritually. I want to spread the word of their ideas and projects (to the extent they feel comfortable doing so) with others. As always, I want to connect folks with each other, to strengthen their abilities to be successful.

I have already spent the last four years building a life for myself that would allow me to quickly jump into this sort of travel. Weather-wise, since most of my destinations are in the Midwest and Northeast, I’m thinking I’d like for it to happen in late summer. Amtrak is currently fully funded for FY 2025, but that fiscal year ends September 30, so it’s less clear what might be possible for me after that. I’m thinking I’ll plan to stay in Portland this spring and early summer, cat sitting and enjoying the weather we wait all year for in this region, but I might embark earlier if logistics called for it.

For example, one section I still need to do is the track that runs to Bakersfield, California, from both Sacramento and Oakland. Bakersfield is scorching hot in the summer, so I might do that segment as early as this coming week—I’ve got a two-week cat sitting gap, so the timing might work out just right. (Do you know anyone in the East Bay, Bakersfield, and/or Sacramento who might enjoy hosting me for a few nights, between March 30 and April 9? Please feel free to put us in touch!) Alternatively, I might do this segment of the trip in early-mid May.

My main obstacle is money, and unfortunately it is a significant challenge. I’ve been barely scraping by these past few years, with my income from cat sitting and online English tutoring. Despite my meager earnings this past year, I am also now facing a hefty tax bill, which is causing me no small amount of concern. I will need to somehow manifest a large sum of money to make this Amtrak plan a reality. (A year’s “salary” from fairy godfunding would fit the bill nicely, so if anyone reading this knows of people with extra resources who would feel aligned with my vision, please feel free to connect us.)

So, I am putting this out into the collective consciousness, as my current dream and intention. I hope to be able to write more soon as the vision unfolds. In the meantime, I am always open to new magical meetings with anyone anywhere in the world by video chat. So if you know of anyone who aligns with any aspect of this vision and who might want to chat with me to talk about it, please feel free to put us in touch! These one-on-one magical meetings are the “technology” by which I do much of my work in the world.

Thank you all, as always, for witnessing this and following me on my life’s journey. I wish you all safety, peace, and joy as we move forward.

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Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a free, no-strings one-hour phone or video call with me!

Want to be notified of future blog posts? Use the green “sign up” button to subscribe!

Want to support my vision financially? I am in a continual process of manifesting $50,000 per year in lieu of a “salary” for the unconventional work I do in the world. You can make a one-time or monthly contribution, or even become a Fairy Godfunder! (Heartfelt thanks to all my patrons, contributors, and godfunders!)

11/8/2024

Wow. It’s been nearly six months since I wrote my last blog post. My apologies for the delay. The summer felt a bit surreal, and now the fall is even more surreal.

November 8^th is my birthday (52 this year) and we have just been through a major election (oof!) so I thought this would be a good time to check in.

In late May, around the time I wrote my last post, I met a quirky and interesting man on a dating app, and quickly began to fall in love. Our relationship has felt both delightfully magical and at times deeply challenging, and I’m not sure what the future holds for us. I’m taking the relationship—like life itself—a day at a time.

These days, it feels like Life (with a capital L) has many learnings to share with me—about myself and the nature of reality—if I allow myself to be challenged, and to breathe through the difficult parts. Close relationships, as well as times of national and international turmoil, can push us to explore these questions.

On a day-to-day basis, I’ve continued my full-time cat sitting lifestyle, mostly in Portland for the summer, although I recently did a short sit in Hood River, Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge, which was a nice getaway. I have also continued tutoring English to students around the globe on Cambly, which has been a cool way to continually gain different perspectives on life. These two income streams have been keeping the wolf from my door—if just barely—while allowing me the freedom and flexibility to live a relatively unencumbered life, with time for nature and reflection.

A few months ago, I also began studying Japanese on Duolingo. This has been fun, since I studied Japanese for a year back in college in the early 1990s. Since that time, I have visited Japan once (in 1998), have become enamored of Japanese gardens (have visited at least 35 or 40 of them in the US and Canada, over the last couple of decades) and have recently enjoyed watching a handful of Japanese reality shows on Netflix. Many of my Cambly students are Japanese, too, so it’s fun for me to discuss a little bit about their language and culture during our English lessons.

I’ve also continued to enjoy my walks in nature, especially forested areas. This part of the world contains so much natural beauty.

As we collectively enter a new era after this election… and as I experience another birthday, another opportunity to know myself… I find myself growing increasingly clear that my best and strongest gift to the human collective is that of love and empathetic witnessing. I find this to be true even—and especially—during these times of conflict, turmoil, violence, anger, fear, and human division. I am re-committing myself to offering empathetic listening to people who feel drawn to receiving it. Although I do need to sustain myself financially—and therefore continue to offer listening and life coaching to ongoing clients on a paid basis—I also like to simply offer free listening on an ad-hoc basis to folks I may reach out to if I sense that they need it, or to folks who may approach me because they feel drawn to being seen and heard in this way.

And of course I offer this invitation right now, to anyone who may be reading this. If you’re struggling in any area(s) of life, please feel free to reach out and we can schedule a time to talk, where I will listen with empathy, refraining from any judgment or advice, but simply hearing whatever you are going through and offering encouragement and support. Those of you who have experienced this know that it can be a surprisingly powerful practice.

I’m not sure how frequently I will be updating this blog going forward; I am choosing to follow my heart and intuition about when things feel right for me to share.

I do have one intention for the dark and cold months, though, and I’d love your help and support to manifest it: I’d like to take my traditional cold-season train trip to southern California, and to make that happen I will need some paid cat sits in that area. This time I’m aiming for the areas along the Coast Starlight train line, mostly Santa Barbara or Los Angeles. (My beloved San Diego is a place I’m considering as well, but I had so many troubles last year transporting my rig between the two cities, I’m aiming for the low-hanging location fruit this year.) My dates are between about December 18^th and the New Year, though I have some flexibility. If you know of anyone in southern California who might need an experienced holiday cat sitter at reasonable rates, please feel free to share my link with them: www.dreamintochange.com/cat-sitting.

Thank you all for following along and witnessing me in my life. As always, it means a lot to me. I’ve been pulling back from social media in the past year or so, but I’m very open to one-on-one conversations with people, so if you’d like to connect by phone or video chat, please also feel free to reach out for that!

Wishing the best for all of you, all of us.

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Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a free, no-strings one-hour phone or video call with me!

Want to be notified of future blog posts? Use the green “sign up” button to subscribe!

Want to support my vision financially? You can make a one-time or monthly contribution, or even become a Fairy Godfunder! (Heartfelt thanks to all my patrons, contributors, and godfunders!)

5/16/24

It’s been a few weeks, so I wanted to check in here, but I don’t have much news to report. But I’ve been sitting for many cute kitties, and walking in lots of glorious nature and a few gardens, so I wanted to at least share the photos.

First, about three weeks ago I got back to Portland from my Salem sit, and due to a delayed Coast Starlight train, I got a rare double-Superliner sighting at Portland Union Station—cool!

I’ll show you the cats first, then the parks. The cats—in order of appearance—are Magellan & Meiling, Zu (whom you might recall from last summer), Einstein, Rocket, and Felix. Today I will say goodbye to Felix and say hello to two more tuxedo cuties—Abby and Lily, littermate sisters you also might remember from last summer.

As for the scenery, I visited Tryon Creek State Park shortly after returning to Portland. It never disappoints.

Then, during my sit for Einstein and Rocket in Happy Valley, I visited several nearby natural areas. I’ll be sitting for them again next month, and I’m looking forward to visiting several other nearby parks at that time.

One day while there, I took my bike to climb way up into the neighborhood to see amazing views of Mt. Hood. (Then in the Mt. Scott Nature Park 1.1-mile trail loop up there, I was surprised to come upon an overgrown car!)

On one occasion this past week, I visited Johnny in Salem by taking the train from Oregon City rather than Portland, since Happy Valley is within about a 45-minute bike ride from Oregon City. On the way back, I saw some lovely golden-hour views from the bike path.

During these past two days in the southeast Portland neighborhood of Sellwood, I first visited Sellwood Park, then biked a couple miles northeast to reach the iconic Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, which I found in just slightly post-peak splendor.

I’m so happy to be here at this time of the year!

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Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a free, no-strings one-hour phone or video call with me!

Want to be notified of future blog posts? Use the green “sign up” button to subscribe!

Want to support my vision financially? You can make a one-time or monthly contribution, or even become a Fairy Godfunder! (Heartfelt thanks to all my patrons, contributors, and godfunders!)