And then I saw this:
And this:
There was a guy, Mike, showing videos of his trips around the world climbing things. That's what he does for a living--he climbs. It was pretty funny at times, and it was nice to just lean back and watch the show, which I'm not used to doing anywhere, nevermind on the road. There was a huge group of people all around. I sat down next to the lecturer's niece. I thought to myself, these are my people, a climber will give me a place to stay, maybe I'll ask this guy after.
While I was in the bathroom, (there's tampons, shampoo & conditioner, and even a hair dryer in there!), I met L. She's a 20-year-old college kid taking a semester off from school and staying with her parents in Clovis. I told her my story and she said, "Oh, maybe you could stay with me. I'll call my parents." So she did, and then I stayed at her place--after getting Mike's e-mail so we could maybe go climbing the next day.
She was hanging out with guy who made me very uncomfortable. He got in my face and mocked me and my state and everything he could. L said it was because he was mad that she was giving all of her attention to him. By the end of the night he'd thrown her carabiner clear across the gym and took her climbing gear with him. "He was drunk," she told me later. He was the first asshole I'd met my entire trip. How had I avoided them so far? L said she's known him for years, but I still don't think that she should hang out with him, even though I knew her for a day. If a guy treats you like that, it's time to get out.
I gave her cat a box to play with.
L and I hung out pretty much all day. I got to wash some clothes, take a shower, and talk to someone my age for the first time in a while.
Later I went out with Mike. We went to this park and walked around a Japanese garden, which was not nearly as cool as the greenhouse garden we have at UMass Amherst.
Every job that Mike's had has involved climbing. He worked for 5 summers in Yosemite, think it was?, just so he could go climbing all the time. "I only climb previously unclimbed rocks," he told me. I can't really imagine climbing for a living. He writes his own grants too, and writes about his trips. He has an 8-year-old daughter who plays piano and does a sport and some other things too. He lives in Salt Lake City and had come to Fresno only for the lecture. He was staying at his mom's house while here. I have no pictures of him here because I thought I'd left my camera at L's house. later I realized it'd just been hidden under some clothes in my very messy car.
Mike got me dinner at a pizza joint at the mall. The mall is like a cross from beach and mall. It's weird. There was live music outside, a ton of people, and places to walk around between the buildings, like wide alleys. He almost offered me a place to stay for the night, but said something that made me uncomfortable. When I dropped him off at his mom's later he said he'd call me in a while to see what I was up to. "Nothing," I said, "I need to go to sleep." I was getting pretty tired.
He called me two hours after I dropped him off. I had passed out in my car for an hour, but now I was on my way to Yosemite. "I'm going to the bar with a bunch of my high school buddies," he said, "you can come if you're bored or something."
"Will I have a place to stay?" I asked.
"Well, I have to get up at 4 a.m. So I'll be pulling an all-nighter." I asked the question several times and got the same answer. I was confused because he'd seemed so open earlier, but now he wouldn't give me a straight answer.
"I need to sleep," I said.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out. You're a strong, independent woman," he said.
And I thought to myself, why am I waiting around for this guy? I said, "Nevermind, I'm going to Yosemite." And at 10:30 p.m. I drove to one of the most famous national parks in the world.
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