Return from the Northwest

No vacancy my ass.
In actuality the air conditioner was broken so I got a room for $25, and I don't even use the air conditioning. I love this hotel. Brings back memories of firefighting on the Klamath N.F. and driving 100 miles to the Ashland skatepark.

I was stubborn about it too, I mean my whole anti-air-conditioner-attitude, I drove down I-5 with the windows down and temperatures well over 100f. I mean summers almost over so give it to me. If I give into the heat it induces a good feeling, like my body can finally relax. Why else would people sit in saunas?

I picked up two older women hitch-hiking (Pacific Crest Trail through hikers) on my way out of Ashland. After that my car kept popping out of fifth gear, and I had to jury rig the shifter into 5th with a skateboard, shoelace, and water jug, for the whole drive back to San Francisco. I kept thinking what my father would have to say about it: "No good deed goes unpunished."

SLAG SUMMER TOUR: Part V (Vancouver)

We got to Vancouver just before sunrise, and pulled over on the side of the road. It was a haggard moment, and some of us fell asleep next to the sidewalk.

After that, we headed to Main street, and got some good strong coffee. Some of the crew skated the Antisocial ramp while others hit up street spots. It was at Antisocial that we ran into Nugget, who took us to Leeside, a sick DIY spot. After skating there awhile we headed to Hastings. By then it was drizzling. The park is already covered in graffiti and super slick. Most everyone fell really hard within the first few minutes, so we decided to call it quits.

That evening the whole crew sat down for a big dinner at Foundation, an epic vegetarian restaurant down the street from Antisocial.

The next morning we assisted with a girls skate camp at Bonzer skatepark. Kristin elevated a sprained ankle while some of the other girls demoed tricks. By the afternoon we were driving back to Seattle/Portland. We wished we had more time in Vancouver but we had to get back in time to return our rental van. The smokers talked eagerly about how cheap cigarettes are in the US. Not only are the cigarettes a lot more expensive in Canada, but the boxes are basically an ad campaign that remind you what smoking does to your health, or gives you the steps on how to quit. I guess that makes sense in a country where the government pays for your health care. On the drive back Nugget got shotgun and blew out some eardrums with extreme DJing. Thanks for the good times!

SLAG SUMMER TOUR: Part IV

After driving all day and most of the night, we arrived at Calgary in the wee hours of the morning. We were all sleep deprived and grateful to crash at Beth's parents house. Kristina attacked the grand piano filling the house with a sweet melody and said something about only wanting to play music the next day because her scabs were hurting too much to skate. This led us to wonder why her skin was always ripping off in huge chunks. We concluded she must have thin skin. Chrissie went outside to play on a backyard play structure and ate it pretty hard on a saggy zip line.

Driving through the Canadian Rockies (Banff) was a real treat. The mountains represented something you would see in Patagonia and the glacial rivers had that sky blue Gatorade tint never before seen by many of us. We came to a rest-stop with a giant newly paved parking lot and some boulders and jersey blocks propped around the periphery. The place was empty and we spent over two hours sessioning the boulders until the sunset. It was one of the best moments on the trip.

After the rest-stop sess we hit the road for another all night drive. One time we stopped for gas and an identical van pulled up between us and the mini-mart. One by one, as the girls returned from buying snacks and using the bathroom, they kept climbing into the wrong van. Once coming to their senses, they would realized that the mom and her kids were not the right company, and hop out apologetically. The poor family didn't move their vehicle until the fifth person accidentally flung open their doors, unfortunately yelling "What up bitches." Oops.

SLAG SUMMER TOUR: Part III (Winnipeg competition)

During the competition, Kristen silenced the roaring crowds by making some glorious attempts to kickflip the stairs. This resulted in a snapped deck and some battle wounds. Overall she killed it and went home with over a grand in first place prize money. Kristina smacked her melon boardsliding the hand rail, only to pull it off on her next run. Esther and Chrissie pulled off some difficult tricks and Moira managed to film the whole thing before killing the bowl jam. Everyone on the SLAG team who entered placed and we had an epic time skating and chilling with the Canadian shralpers (including some of the notorious Skirtboarders).

The event was the 'chicks flip out' competition put on by the Rugged Riders and held at the Plaza at the Forks. The park is huge, and the street course is the biggest I've seen. Its also got an epic bowl. Rugged Riders hooked us up with free rooms right next to the park at a swanky hotel. Thanks guys! There's a market next door with a large variety food. SLAG put on a couple skate clinics which were a huge success. We had some middle aged women who were so stoked on learning how to skateboard that they started hitting up the plaza early in the morning before work.

Yeah Winnipeg, hope to see you next year!