Weird Old Hippy

Last night, J and I were sitting around and hanging out, just having us time.  Catching up on life.  Chatting about work.  Planning the next few months with Giftmas approaching, but also what we will need for Shanghai and how to prep for that, America and hitting the States this summer, and just things like that.  J is prone, especially when tired, to speak in non-sequiturs.  Last night was no exception.

She asked me if I knew who Wolverine was.  Yes.  I’m aware of X-Men and that world.  So, I mention the actor, Hugh Jackman, as the last known Wolverine that I knew.  She told me she didn’t know who that was.  So, I pull up a picture.  

“Ewwww, NO!”

She then googles X-Men and shows me a different picture of the same actor in the same roll.  

If you’ve never seen the SNL Mom Translator skit, give it a watch.

That’s J.

Well, as all of this played out and we had a laugh over it, it reminded me of a hiking trip that J took with Kiddo way back in January/February of 2020.  The ladies headed up to Palomar Mountain, as it was a favorite spot of theirs and it was a nice drive - long enough for Kiddo to nap, but not too long that she wouldn’t sleep that night.

I was still post-op from my colostomy, but had also developed a hernia, so I wasn’t hiking.  I was home and chilling and cooking.  It was either an NFL Playoff game or the Super Bowl that day.  So, it was music and football and cooking for me.  That’s a happy place for this guy and I wasn’t complaining.

They got home around dinner time and we ate and Kiddo’d and bath and all that.  While all this was going on, I asked how the day was and was shown some good pics.  I’ve even dug some of them up and will post.  Kiddo was worn out.  J was happy and recharged, as she gets after a day in nature.  There was only one bad thing.  It was at the Fire Watch Look Out with a view of the valley.  There was a “weird hippy” there.  He asked J if she knew which peak or where about some other mountain was.  J pulled out her phone to use an app she had that would find that type stuff and highlight it - see pic.  However, she said that when she pulled out her phone, the guy got kind of weird again, like he was waiting for something.

She got the info and showed the guy, who was super impressed by the app and so J shared the name of it with him and he tried to download it, but had a weak signal atop Palomar.  She said they chatted for a few more minutes and the guy asked about Kiddo, commenting on her name and how unique it was.  He also mentioned that he was “starting a pretty big project soon” and so he came to do Nature Bathing and went on about how it’s cleansing and an Eastern idea of calm and Zen and stuff like that.

Well, worrying about my ladies, I asked for details.  What he look like, how old, did she get a name.  He looked like an old hippy.  About 40 or 60, long hair and beard, but that he must have some kind of trust fund or money or something, because his gear was top of the line.  As for a name, he gave it, but J was distracted feeding Kiddo snacks and couldn’t remember, but it was a “hippy name.”  Rainbow or Kenbeau or Beauchamp… a weird hippy name.

After a few more minutes, the guy said goodbye and J and Kiddo continued to play and then packed up and walked the mile back to the car.  This is done at Kiddo speed, so it could have taken anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to make the walk.  J, as always, hit the restrooms and got Kiddo changed and situated and was ready to leave when the weird hippy pulled up next to her on “this super cool motorcycle” and showed her that the app was downloading and thanked her again and gave Kiddo a wave bye and rode off.  J waited a few minutes to give the guy a head start.  

I felt less anxious at this point.  She had done the smart thing.  Not given too much info, let the guy leave first, gave him time to get ahead, stayed near the ranger booth, in case the guy doubled back.  Just some weird hiker guy, I was thinking.  Some people are just quirky and chatty.  I shrugged it off.

An hour or so later, Kiddo had bathed and was running around doing Kiddo things and playing in her Kiddo world.  J was nice enough to do the dishes, since I’d cooked all day.  As she was doing this and putting a few things away, I was online and scrolling.  I was on reddit.  As I was scrolling, J was walking behind me to put something in it’s place.  She stopped as I was scrolling and asked if I was subscribed to any Hiking Subreddits.  No, why would I be?!?!?!?!

Because, the guy from the mountain, he was just in your feed.  It looked like a close up or selfie or something.  I want to see if I can see where he was when he took the pic.  So, I started scrolling back.  J stopped me when I got to the pic.

THIS?

Yup.

You are 100000000% sure?

On Kiddo’s life.  (That’s code for - 100% certain, with us.  Am I having coffee in the morning?  On Kiddo’s life I’m having coffee.  You get it.)

Here’s the pic.

Now, she did mention that the guy got weird when she pulled out her phone, like he was expecting something.  Top end gear.  “Weird” name.  Cool custom motorcycle.  Zen and Eastern philosophy.

I will never be able to verify this, but I am 1000000% certain, on Kiddo’s life, that J met Keanu Reeves on Palomar mountain and just didn’t recognize him.  Going back to last night’s convo about Wolverine, I’m even more convinced.  If anyone out there is connect to Keanu and can ask him if he was in SD county and on Palomar near the end of Jan/beginning of Feb 2020, please let me know.  Oh, and if you redirect him here and he’s reading… Hi!

Let’s go, Kiddo…. Mumma can remember 300 Thai kids names, family ties, bothers, sisters, parents, and connections, but can’t recognize one of the most famous people on earth standing in front of her.  The cool part is that you probably met Keanu Reeves when you were 2.5 years old, so there’s that.