Old McDonald is a freaking nutcase!

On Tuesday I took the train north from Los Angeles to Guadalupe, a little south of San Luis Obispo. There at the train station I was picked up by a guy who looked like father time, in running shorts. His name is Bill Denneen . We're driven back to his hostel by another backpacker who's staying at his place. Anyway it's night tie so I can't see what his property looks like but his house reeks! It's not the two big fat black dogs he has, they're not allowed in the house, but their fifty pound bags of dog food are, right in the kitchen. Anyway, my room stinks too, cause the last hosteler who stayed there made a mess and didn't clean up. So I did which counted as a half-hour of work towards the two and half hours I need to work everyday in exchange for staying here and eating bill's food.

Truthfully, I'm not really sure why this guy advertizes his farm via the WWOOF program. Sure he lives a very sustainable life, he has milking goats, and chickens, and fruit trees and heats his home with harvested wood. But the work has nothing to do with most of those things. So far I've swept, vacuumed etc.(hostel work). Sure I brought in firewood, and squeezed lemons, limes, and oranges, but, I don't know, I guess he's got his own way of doing things and the crotchety old man doesnt have any time for new ideas. He's pretty much ready to die whenever. Sure he gets up at the crack of dawn and does the animal chores, and he goes to his senior nutrition meetings, whatever the hell that is, but he's a bitter, angry old man. He snaps at me every now and then when I ask questions he thinks are stupid.

He used to teach natural sciences, biology, stuff like that. But now he's retired, in his eighties, active in protecting the beaches and other places in the area from development and nuclear power plants and off road vehicles. he writes letters to the local papers, which he then cuts out and sends to other people. I asked him who does he send them to, and he just told me that if i helped him stuff the envolopes, i would find out. I think this guy just loves the smell of his own farts.

I'm trying to se if I can make my way to the next farm earlier than scheduled. This place is really unbearable. It's just me and Bill, the other hosteler left the first morning after suffering from bed bugs.

Also, I haven't left bill's place at all except for a short bike ride around his neighborhood. I asked bill if he knew of any interesting places to go in the area, but he just pointed to a pile of maps, none of which were very helpful.

So to sum things up, my first WWOOFING experience truly sucks, but i'm hopeful that the next farm a retreat center will have more people, and will be more fun.