Day 1: January 11th: Berkeley to Los Angeles

The alarm rang 4:30 this morning but we couldn't drag ourselves awake after going to sleep at 1:30! So we slept in another hour and then jumped into gear.

Rolling up sleeping bags, deflating camping pads, repacking backpacks, it took 6 womyn one hour and 15 minutes to get ourselves fed, coffee-ed & tea-ed, and into the truck and waiting prius - along with my 6 year old grandchild.

We are all so very excited and ready to hit the road for Marissa! As we roll down the highway through the occupied East Bay cities of Ohlone lands and onto the open land of Highway 5, several cars honk in support, passengers grinning while they wave or throw fists into the air, while drivers bend furiously over steering wheels trying to peer into the truck!

No one gives us the finger or tries to run us off the road!

Our first rest stop, we're still pumped up and sooooo thrilled to be on the road. We grab flyers and one of our most beautiful posters that Molly Jane so fiercely and lovingly created for Marissa, and stand in the path of the bathrooms singing our Marissa-mas carols that Becky brilliantly crafted for us.

It is our first public protest as our caravan group! Our two new compañeras, Davina and Kata, slide right into our piece of street theater, singing, handing out flyers, engaging with fellow travelers, and documenting our presence at this rest stop.

Approaching Los Angeles, a state trooper gleefully pulls the truck over to the shoulder of the highway. Blindingly pale and stocky, the officer towers over me as he points out I don't have my CA business number printed on the side of my truck.

When I tell him I'm not a business vehicle but a motor vehicle, he exclaims he's never seen one of these trucks converted into a camper before. I'm like well I bet you've never seen one painted "Black Womyn's Lives Matter: FREE MARISSA NOW either!

I point out the side door, windows, and vents that clearly indicate this is a camper. He tries to casually engage in conversation asking me where I'm going to, how my day is. I inform him I'm tired and need to get going. He hands me back my license, registration and insurance card while instructing me on how to pull back into traffic. Dah! I tell him I do know how to drive - while I do keep in mind Marissa and getting to Jacksonville without entangling further with this police.

Miraculously, we get to Los Angeles an hour early and the courageous and determined L.A. Black Lives Matters occupiers of the police department wave happily, some rushing down the stairs to greet the truck before we find a park a block away.

Our presentation is delayed until 8 and both drivers, Ann & myself, are too beat to participate so the rest of the Caravan sistahs give an awesome presentation, hand out flyers, and secure a renewed commitment to fight for Marissa's freedom with all eyes on Jacksonville January 27th.