Say less Sam
Our first stop of the day was in Eugene, to drop by the one and only: One Drop Headquarters. I messaged Andrew out of the blue, remembering that during our last conversation, I was embarrassingly trying to convince him to give me one of his Mugen Kendama Tamas in 2013 (iykyk).
As we drove up to the warehouse and factory, both Coleman and I were trying to spot which building it was, jogging our memories of the building from the Summit documentary filmed over a decade ago. Getting a tour of the factory, chatting with Dave and Andrew, and trying out their playable museum (over carpeted floors), we felt like kids again. Getting feedback on the designs from veterans in the industry was also helpful, which we promptly sent back to Reuben.
Before we both knew it, it was 11:30 AM. We had overstayed our welcome in Eugene by an hour and a half, and we had over eight hours of driving in front of us to make it to Oakland. The plan was to spend as much time as we could in the Bay, all of Friday and Saturday filming, because of the vast number of players who live in the area.
Coleman and I had been posting about the trip through our stories. We wanted to log the experience as much as possible, and the night before we got a mysterious message request from the handle psychedelicdelicatessen asking if we’d like to meet him in Arcata to yo-yo and climb. Both Coleman and I were racking our brains trying to figure out where we had met Sam before, but nothing was coming to us. What was even more mysterious was the number of mutual friends we had in common. Before going to sleep, we sent him a quick message to say that we’d try our best to make it out, and how it’d be super convenient since the stop was along the way.
As we were heading out of Eugene, I plotted a course to Arcata, only to realize that, instead of being along the I-5 as I initially thought, it was along the coast on the I-1. It would take us five hours to drive from where we were in Eugene to Arcata, and then another five hours to make it to Oakland. Factoring in stops along the way, we wouldn’t get to the Bay until 12:00 AM.
We lined up a bunch of plans for the following two days with a handful of players, so it was looking unlikely that we’d manage to make it to the coast. And then on top of that, we needed to get in town before my friend Ethan left the city. We needed to grab the keys to his place - where we’d be staying while in the Bay. There were a lot of factors at play, and many elements lay in limbo.
At Grants Pass, a literal fork in the road, we had to make a decision. Time was ticking, with only an hour and a half. We desperately wanted to go to Arcata, with the thought being: “What would a west coast road trip be if we didn't go to the coast?” but knew we could only go if we could find a place to stay and rearrange all existing plans. Something was telling us that we’d regret our decision if we didn’t go to Arcata, especially from a person with the handle psychedelicdelicatessen.
As Coleman was driving, I was frantically trying to coordinate with everyone, sending out messages and making calls. Somehow, everything managed to fall into place, and 30 minutes out from Grants Pass, we made the spontaneous decision.
And it was definitely best decision of the trip. When we arrived at the coast after meandering through the towering old-growth trees of Redwood National Park, we knew we had made the right call. We were exactly where we needed to be. The weather was perfect, with the sun casting a warm, golden hue over everything as we entered golden hour. The tide had receded so far that the wet sand acted like a mirror reflecting our images back to us. The crashing waves provided a soothing backdrop, their crests fading into the light.
Arriving at Moonstone beach (where’d we meet up with Sam and his friends Nick and Kiana) at 5:30PM, was simply breathtaking. We could take off our sweaters after being in near-freezing conditions in Portland. We were smiling the entire time.
When Sam, Nick, and Kiana arrived, it felt like we were meeting up with long-lost friends. Coleman and I were especially surprised to realize that we hadn’t crossed paths with Sam before, despite yo-yoing for nearly the same amount of time and having the same friends. I’m almost certain we did, but something about Sam’s character is oddly nostalgic—like a familiar song you can't quite place.
As we danced and ran along the coast, filming the occasional trick here or there, everything just made sense. Any worries about what we were doing or why we were doing it left us. Any feelings of guilt or shame, of still loving to play with yo-yos despite being in our mid-twenties, faded into the background. We were there, our most authentic version of ourselves, embracing and appreciating the moment.
Our night in Arcata was easily the best night of the trip.
After spending time on the beach, Nick and Kiana invited us over to their place for a homemade spaghetti and (vegetarian) meatball dinner, something that we didn’t realize we were craving until we took our first bite. We played vinylsfrom King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and Alvvays, relishing in the spontaneity of the day. We bonded over good music and yo-yos. It felt like we were all lifelong friends.
As we were picking oat milk popsicles and a couple of bottles of red wine from Grocery Outlet, we realized a line in our windshield. The day before we were driving behind a large pick-up truck to have a pebble hit us, which turned out to be a crack.
Thankfully we bought insurance!
🥲
