A fair warning: this is going to be an angry blog entry but for those following my travels, here is the explanation of how I am in Ashland and no where near the Coastal Highway.

I left Richard & Carolyn's place around 10am bound for Reedsport to meet my next CS host. We had been in touch for over a month about this trip and what day exactly I would arrive. There was a lot of doubt as to whether or not I would be able to complete the trip after San Francisco due to time and finances but, no worries as my host assured me she would work with me as I got closer. The only thing she requested was an email and phone call to her store 24 hours prior. No problem, in fact, I CS messaged and emailed her 4 days prior. In addition, as soon as I got settled in Fort Bragg, I called and left a detailed message with my contact info, even though that had already been exchanged.

Throughout the drive up, not one word nor one answer to the multiple calls made to her store. I didn't worry too much though; my signal was in and out
As I drove The Avenue of Giants scenic byway.

Everything changed when I finally got a hold of Ed, he described himself as her better half and didn't seem to have any clue that I was supposed to be coming in tonight. Thing is, he thought I was already in the area...um nope, that's why I had been trying to get ahold of you. Due to a serious underestimation of driving time, I was still 4 hours away which put my ETA at 11pm, something Ed did not sound too happy about. To make it short, I canceled my couch request with them then and there: he had no idea his wife was arranging for me to stay, I never got to actually speak with my host due to "health issues," and overall, it sounded like something I needed to avoid altogether.

I made it to Crescent City, pulled over at a hotspot, and spent a couple hours calling every local inn I could find to check pricing and availability, both of which are limited and high due to being on the coast. After sending out an emergency couch request nearby, I tried the last thing I could think of and tapped hostel into my gps; Ashland came up and had a bed available. I was down right away as sleeping in my car would have hurt my neck worse than it already was and I wouldn't get much sleep anyway. So that's how I wound up nearly 100 miles off course. Thank you unreliable CS host...lucky for you, I was raised in the south and taught to keep my mouth shut if I don't have anything nice to say so no reference at all for you...maybe a neutral one though.

On a good note, the emergency couch host did check in with me and offered to host me on my way home if needed; I will get to see that part of the coast afterall...yay!!