Richard's Travels: March 2015

3-15-15

We celebrated Doris’s birthday today. She is now three quarter century old. Her son and wife invited us for dinner and cake.

I had taken her on her birthday for breakfast to Gill’s by the Bay. We had our second date there. The next day we went to Roy’s Club for an Italian dinner.

3-17-15

The magnolia in the backyard is in full bloom. It is a messy tree but beautiful.

The amarilla plant in the sun room is very beautiful too.

Mr. Big, the cat, is wherever Doris is. He is a very spoiled animal.

3-21-15

Today I went to the fairgrounds where the logging industry had their annual conference and display of hardware.

Vendors, who work with wood, displayed their art and machinery.

Several machines used for cutting boards from big logs were there.

The old timers were very interesting.

There was an old Mack truck.

I had seen the Caterpillar Cat 60 before in a logging museum in Oregon. This tractor changed the logging industry.

There were a lot of big trucks used for hauling the big logs.

Inside the hall were booths where vendors sold wares used in the logging industry.

This salesman for Cummings engines was not very busy.

People took rides on an old car pulled by an old steam powered locomotive. Both are relics from an area of the past.

In the evening we went for a gourmet dinner to the house of a member of Doris’s University Women of America Organization. It was a pot luck dinner and the theme was French. Doris made Chicken Fricassee. Making the sauce took a long time.

Most members of the organization have big beautiful homes with old, expensive furniture. In this house was one room with a big doll collection.

The living room looked like it came from the Victorian area.

Everybody was waiting for the food.

In the kitchen were women setting up the different dishes and preparing coffee.

The waiting was worth it. All the food was tasty.

The two French dolls are from the doll collection. There was also a large Hummel figurine collection in the house.

It was a wonderful evening. I drove Doris’s car home. Doris had gotten happy on the wine and did not want to take a chance.

3-25-15

I had back aches the last few weeks. Now I feel better again and today I walked the coast trail. The flowers along the trail are very beautiful.

Doris is still busy with writing grants for non-profit organizations. Now she is trying to get money for the Heritage Society. They bought one of the old houses in Eureka and are in the process to fix it up.

Doris baked a big basket full of cookies today for the rummage sale the society is having Saturday and Sunday. The cookies are for sale. They are the best chocolate chip cookies I ever tasted.

Besides chocolate chips she put in ground up Hershey’s chocolate bars. I was in charge of grinding the bars.

3-26-15

This evening we went to the Adorni Center for the “Kick Off Dance” for the Redwood Coast Music Festival. It used to be called the Redwood Coast Jazz Festival, but to attract more people the name was changed. Since the music is mostly Jazz we were not on the dance floor for every dance. We have to preserve energy.

3-27-15

Today we listened to music from 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM at the Morris Graves Art Museum. The museum is the old Carnegie Public Library. A large half round room was added and it is used for entertainment.

We enjoyed the music of the Au Brothers Jazz Band, Red Skunk with Brady McKay, Tom Hook and the Terriers, Bob Draga and Friends, and Le Hot Jazz.

The Morris Graves is a venue with good acoustics and a pleasant setting. We really enjoyed the experience.

3-28-15

Today we had to move around a bit.

At 9:00 AM we were at the Adorni Center for dance lessons. At 9:30 AM Stompy Jones and his band was on the Stage. Then came Dave Bennett and Memphis Speed Kings, followed by Tom Rigney and Flambeau.

We left at 12:30 PM and took the shuttle bus to the Eureka Theater and saw The Young Bucs.

After the show we took the bus to the Municipal Auditorium and listened and danced to the music of Machiya Lake and Little Big Horns.

Dancing at the Muni was dangerous. There was a young growth and there were some wild moves on the dance floor. During band change I went upstairs and took a picture.

The venues closed at Midnight but we left at 8:00 PM.

3-29-15

We went to the Morris Graves at 9:00 AM for the High Sierra Jazz Band performance.

Then we went to the Adorni Center to listen and dance to the Navy Band Northwest.

We saw again Dave Bennett and Memphis Speed Kings. Today he played also the clarinet. He is known for his wild moves on the piano.

The Adorni Center is located at the Boardwalk and from the windows one has a good view of the marina.

Dancing shoes are for sale during the event. The price of shoes is between $100.00 and $ 200.00. I am glad I have my fifty seven year old shoes. I bought them in Winnipeg.