Richard's Travels: May 2017

May 13, 2017.

I am back at the Moose Lodge in rainy Eureka. I was lucky, they had one dry campsite left. Half the campground cannot be used because of mud. So far they had already 160 % of normal rainfall, and there is more to come.

I went to Claudia’s house and picked up my mail. Jacob grew about half a foot while I was gone. He is now taller than his father.

I will take it easy for a while.

May 15, 2017.

Nicolette and her best friend belong to a Belly Dance Group. Yesterday I had the pleasure to see them perform at the Morris Graves Museum of Art.

The two are the youngest members and performed their own choreographed dance.

Tonight I went dancing at the lodge. I had to answer several times to the question where I was the last six months.

The dance club has a new member; her name is Erika. She came to the United States in 1956,when she was nineteen years old, she is two years older than I. She moved to Eureka from Monterey to be near her son and family. This sounds familiar.

She will be dancing at the Swiss Club this coming Sunday.

Rhododendrons are in bloom now. Those colorful bushes are all over town. It brightens up a little bit the rainy days.

May 18, 2017

I am trying to keep busy. Sometimes it does not work.

Tuesday it rained all day. I did not feel like to drive in the rain to the mall and walk there. Watching TV and working on the computer gets boring after a while, but I survived.

Yesterday and today we had sunshine and the weather was beautiful. After lunch at the Senior Center I drove to McKinleyville for a visit of the Singing Tree Gardens. It is a nursery, but looks more like a botanical garden. All the plants are marked and customers can see what the bushes or trees look like in a natural setting.

My next stop was the little view point on highway 101. Seals were sunning themselves, in the sand, on the island between the river and the ocean.

In the evening I went to the Redwood Curtain Theater and saw the play: “Third”.

Friday, May 19, I enjoyed Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony at the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts.

I have seen and heard parts of it on television and radio, but I wanted to have the whole experience.

Some of the soloists were guests from the region and from San Francisco.

Judging by the applause at the end of the symphony, the performance was a success.

I had tried to buy tickets on the Internet but it was sold out. So I went to the Arkley and stood near the ticket counter. There was also a sign indicating “Sold out”. I had come early and after forty minutes a lady from the Will Call table came and handed the person at the ticket counter a ticket. A man had come alone because his wife had to help a relative with an emergency. This ticket became mine.

Sunday, May 21, I went to the Swiss Hall in Loleta and danced to the music of the Humboldt Accordionaires.

Monday, May 22, was my regular day for dancing at the Moose Lodge. More people are leaving the Friendship Circle Dance Club and are dancing now with the Moose Dance Club. The Friendship Circle has now low attendance and not enough money to pay for a good band.

May 26, 2017.

After eating lunch at the Senior Center I usually do some walking. This week I did a lot of walking on the Hikshari Trail. The trail goes along the bay, part along the water and part through a wooded area.

A fellow walker made me aware of flowers on the dunes. I followed her advice and took a side trail and found those colorful flowers.

This evening I went to the North Coast Repertory Theater and enjoyed Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore. I have seen it several times and it is always funny. I also love the music.

May 27, 2017.

The Kinetic Grand Championship, the Triathalon of the Art World, is a big deal in Humboldt County.

The event starts at the Plaza in Arcata. The announcers are stationed on a flat bed truck and let visitors know what is going on.

The human powered sculptures are inspected and categorized, and then have to pass the brake test.

The Kinetic Kootie’s team captain is a thirty five year veteran. She and her co-pilot work the tail, the mouth and wings with ropes while pedaling the big sculpture.
The team, to get this piece of art on the road, consists of twenty six people and it is a one year effort.

Today was the street race and the test whether the team was strong enough to go over the sand dunes.

After the inspection the teams race around the plaza and then head for the sand dunes.

May 28, 2017.

Today the Kinetic Sculptures had to go into Humboldt Bay.

I went to the boat ramp where they entered last year. It was the wrong place. Because of the low tide the entrance location was changed to the Wharfinger Building, at the other end of the city. The program said so but I had paid no attention.

Since I was early I did not miss anything. I drove to the Wharfinger Building and mingled with members of the Family Motorhome Association. They are staying at the Fairgrounds in Ferndale. Not to miss anything they had set up their chairs at 7:30 AM. The program was to start at 10:01 AM.

The first machine entering the water got stuck in the mud. The person tried for thirty minutes and finally moved to the side.

The next machine came down and made it. But they did not get very far and had to be pulled into a boat slip.

Several other sculptures came down and made it to the open water.

The Volkswagen Bus was leaning to one side but straightened out after a while.

I was getting stiff from the cold wind and standing at one spot for over an hour. I walked to the Boardwalk and watched the goings on from there.

The Madaket came up and down the Bay with the Queen and officials of the Kinetic Organization on Board.

The Kinetic Kootie was waving its wings and the two pilots had a good time.

The tide had come in and it was now easier for machines with big wheels. They did not get stuck in the mud.

June 2, 2017

Wednesday was a beautiful sunny day. I wish we had more like that.

After lunch at the Senior Center I felt like cleaning the top of the vent covers of the motorhome. They had accumulated dirt.

Last week I had fixed a rusty ladder to clean the windows and windshield. The ladder has three hinged areas. It can be used as a straight ladder and a step ladder. The ladder is high enough to go safely on top of the motorhome. Rich, the administrator of the lodge, does not know where the ladder came from. He had in mind to take it home and fix it. I saved him a job.

This morning I went to the Headwater Forest Reserve and hiked the Salmon Pass Trail with a volunteer ranger. To get to the trailhead one has to pass private land, that is the reason nobody can enter the reserve without somebody from the Bureau of Land Management.

The hike lasted four hours and there were several changes of elevation.

A woman and her two adult sons were also on the hike. The trail goes to one of the few remaining groves of old growth redwood trees.

The ranger was very knowledgeable. We saw fungi, which looked like flowers, growing on a log. It was an enjoyable walk in the woods.

In the evening I went to the Elks Lodge for dancing. On my table were four men and one woman. Usually it is the other way around.

Doris came with a friend and I danced several times with her. I did not stay very long. Sitting around and only listening to the music is no fun.

June 5, 2017.

Friday I walked in Sequoia Park. When I came near Wind Storm Meadow I saw two red wood trees leaning on other trees.

The meadow was created when a strong storm toppled over many trees. Red wood trees have a shallow root system. 85 per cent of the trees are cloned from the roots. Only 15 per cent are grown from seeds.

I would not walk in the park during a wind storm.

Saturday was First Saturday. On the first Saturday of the month are all galleries and museums open from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM.

On a lot of street corners in Old Town are bands playing. The Latin Peppers were playing at the Morris Graves Art Museum.

Ken and his partner were playing at the Old Town Coffee House.

The Pentercoastal Church Choir was performing at the Boardwalk.

Half the town seems to be walking up and down the streets and visiting the galleries and enjoying the finger food offered there.

This little cute guy gets a lot of tips.

Sunday I walked in the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I did not see many birds but a lot of flowers.

Monday I walked in the Arcata Community Forest. The forest was clear cut and the rest was burned. All the trees are new growth. There are many large stumps, a reminder how large those trees were.

June 12, 2017.

This week had its ups and downs.

I received two different letters from the Internal Revenue. They want more money. I did not click on the question whether I had health insurance in 2016. This means they want $ 2,234.00 as penalty payment.

Everybody at my age has health insurance. This morning I amended my income tax return and sent it in.

I also sent a letter and asked why they want over $ 700.00 without explaining it. I sent the money and I am waiting for an answer.

We have now good and bad weather on the same day. One minute it looks like rain and shortly after that the sun comes out for a while.

Today I drove to Trinidad and walked up the Trinidad Head.

On top of the hill is a cross. I am still working on what the inscription means.

At the Memorial Lighthouse are stone plates with the names of people lost at sea.

When I came down the hill I had a cup of clam chowder at the Seascape Restaurant. The restaurant is located on the bottom of Trinidad Head, next to the pier. One has a fantastic view of the bay, pier and hill from the restaurant and they serve the best chowder.

June 16, 2017.

Yesterday evening I went to the Bear River Casino in Loleta. Jacob graduated from middle school and his school had the ceremony there at the Recreation Center.

When I arrived there I was wondering why it was held in such a large facility for thirty five students. Then I realized it was more for the parents, relatives and friends who filled up the bleachers.

Jacob has a difficult time smiling.