Home (noun, adjective, verb)

We are "home". Settling back into the bay area. Getting back on the west coast was a sigh of relief. My body recognizes the pacific ocean breeze as home. Seeing faces of loved ones I haven't seen in 3 months. And all of it is in the surreal realm of time - like none has passed but all the time in the world has gone by...like, it feels like we never left, but it feels like forever ago that we were here...that whole thing. As much as I feel overwhelmed by all the transition, I also have overwhelming feelings of gratitude, hope, and connection!

We set out on this journey 3 months ago with the intention of 1. learning about different models for collective rural living, community, and queer land projects 2. visiting national parks 3. getting out of the bubble of the bay area 4. doing political presentations and organizing in different cities around the country 5. working on an interview project on the subject of home 6. seeing people we love 7. having a ton of fun. Check, check, check, check, check, check AND CHECK!!!!!!! It is so amazing to look back over our time and really begin to integrate what I have learned. It was a lot of hard work with struggles along the way and I can already see the ways our dedication and perseverance is allowing for more possibilities.

Another thing this trip required of us was a deep trust and surrender to not knowing what our next step would be after we returned. Along the way we had different musings about what kind of life and home we might be able to create together, in community. And on our very last stop, one of those musings came to life. We had been in conversation with a couple of our friends about moving out to their farm to live, work, play and dream. When we arrived there, after driving in a circle 11,000 miles around the country, just 3 hours north of where we started, we found home. Yes, HOME! I could feel my body settle in as we laughed and talked, my mouth water as I looked out at the peach orchard, and my jaw drop as I realized we had finally landed in a place we can call home.

So, the journey we have been on has come to a close in certain ways, and now we are turning to face a new life in Oroville, California where I hope to create a space that invites learning, encourages healing and builds power.

Thanks to everyone for all your support along the way!

With Love and Care,

Eliana

BTW - we returned just in time to celebrate my birthday...at the beach in Half Moon Bay, CA

And at a BEYONCE show on my B-DAY!!!

Making our way home

Spoiler alert: I am writing this blog entry from Eli's folks house in the North Bay! So, been transitioning out of road trip mode for two days, but I will pick up where Eli left off...

From Olympia we had an easy-breezy drive to arrive in my hometown, Portland. I took Eli on a "high school date" to the roller rink at Oaks Park, which was a total blast. Neither of us learned any tricks, but neither of us wiped out either.

We were in Portland for a few short days, and got to spend some time with most of my family (family of origin and chosen family) who is there, including my dad and stepmother Therese, my mom, my best friend Felecia, and my (third) mother Susan. Somehow I managed to get pictures of mostly the dogs and not of my human family, but it was quality time nonetheless. Eli and I also spent some one-on-one time with other friends, and convened again to eat ice cream at what turned out to be the gayest ice creamery in town, Ruby Jewel Scoops (nothing personal, Salt n Straw). We also got to have a quick breakfast with my sister Anna in Eugene on our way out of Portland. 

sadie & colby (we are all missing my sister elise, who is in london)

my sister anna

susan with rugby, whose howls accompanied susan's husband scott on the cello

felecia, my beloved friend of many years now

With the end of our journey in sight and the thought of our comfy bed in mind, we ended up cutting a few stops out of our journey -- we'll be back for Sisters, Oregon to visit a memorial for my best friend in high school, and faerie sanctuaries Wolf Creek in Southern Oregon and Groundswell in Mendocino county. Our second to last stop was Fancyland, a land project about 20 miles outside of Arcata, California. Oh yeah -- we made it to California!

 

I'll leave much of the the land project sharing to Eli, as that is primarily their area of interest, but I will say it was a peaceful and necessary place for us to slow down, take a breath, and reflect a bit on our coming home to the Bay. We hung out with Sacha, the primary founder and caretaker of the land, and also had significant time to ourselves. We stayed in a sweet cabin called the Parlor and slept deeply in the pitch black night sheltered by trees and tons of greenery.

fog on the hills ( a view from fancyland ) 

Finally, we headed to our very last stop of the trip -- our friends Danny and Drew's newly acquired fruit farm just outside of Oroville, California. They'd purchased the farm in whirlwind in the fall and we'd visited them just a week or two before we left for the trip, and it was amazing to see the orchards fruiting, the greenery lush, and the land slowly but dramatically waking up from a wet California winter. We spent time thinning the pluot trees, hanging out with Trousers the bunny, acclimating Danny & Drew's new feral cats Frog & Toad to their life on the farm (though... it was a bit of a rough start), exploring the land, and even making it to Chico for dinner with some new friends. It's always a treat to spend time with Danny and Drew and it's so exciting to see and hear about the work and care they are putting into this project!

danny and trousers

cherries almost ripe...!

frog and toad... skeptical.

And on Friday, May 6th, in the early afternoon, we made it back to where we began -- Eli's folks' house in Tam Valley. We clocked 11,043 miles and just about 12 weeks on the road, and have almost three weeks to be here before heading to Eli's sister Sadie's wedding in Richmond (via airplane) believe it or not! In that time we will celebrate Eli's birthday, see Beyonce, root for the Warriors, sleep a whole heck of a lot, and prepare for the next steps in June... which are underway and a dream come true and to be announced :)

Thank you for following along on our trip and I can't wait to see many of your faces soon! Also, I loved blogging on the road and plan on starting one of my own when I have time for that creative project... til then!

xoxo freddie