wmodes

With the punk rafts, we expected police to tell us to get the hell off the river. But the river cops were different than usual street cops and were REALLY INTO IT. They took photos and put them on their website and asked if we needed anything and at one point rescued one of our boats that sank. It was kinda unexpected.

Mostly, I am an artist and college prof.

As an artist, I really only make enough money to support the Secret History project. It more or less pays for itself (and me during summer months) through small grants, exhibition fees, and crowdsourcing.

As a college prof, I teach art and tech at several universities in the Bay Area.

With the shantyboat on bigger rivers, the police were more police-y. These are water cops who are out there issuing tickets to assholes for drunk boating (not that we've ever done that) and for fishing without a license. So they weren't as cool. They occasionally ran our license and checked our paperwork. But some were at times really cool.

We ate super well on the shantyboat with its full galley. As for poop, we have a bucket shitter in the head (with sawdust). When it gets half full, we hike far from the river and burry it's contents in a deep hole.

Total blast. Drunk on the raft -- propelled by paddles -- is not as big a deal as drunk on the shantyboat -- propelled by an outboard. But we do have a great bar on the shantyboat.