Having crossed once into California via the 4300+ ft Siskiyou summit, it was time to make the coastal crossing the second and final crossing into California. I’d make the second crossing into California from Brookings, Oregon– located only about five miles north of the CA border. The Outreach Gospel Mission of Brookings had invited me to stay the night on their floor, so immediately upon arriving Brookings, I proceeded the couple of miles down Highway 101 to the Mission. I showed up to a store + living quarters of about ten guys who were staying there– a full house. Art, the ultra-kind parishioner, showed me to where I’d be sleeping, on the floor of the shop. I was kindly invited by all to help myself to anything I wanted from the kitchen, which was located in a small but cozy living area just behind the second-hand store. Settling into sleep on aisle 1 of the store, I felt very fortunate for the warm hospitality I was receiving here. A night on the carpet of a warm store floor is a very welcome gesture after experiencing multiple nights out in cold, precarious places.
I was treated to a tasty breakfast before hitting the road the next morning. I also had a chance to meet the rest of the guys who were staying at the Mission, a total of about a dozen, as I sat in on their morning meeting. I don’t know all of their stories; I do know that some were formerly inmates. Having spent just an evening and a morning with them, I felt great value and appreciation for the fact that such organizations exist to support people in need, and to help them make the transition into brighter and more promising tomorrows. Hearing about such concepts doesn’t hold a candle to actually going there, meeting the people in transition, hearing their stories, sharing meals with them, and spending a night with them.
It would have been great to spend more time with them and get to know them better– but the morning was moving on, and the 25-mile walk to Crescent City awaited…