5-4-13
I took Nicolette and Jacob to the Humboldt Botanical Garden this morning.
Since it was a free Saturday and they had a plant sale, a lot of people showed up. We walked all the trails and enjoyed the flowers and bushes which were in bloom.
From the Botanical Garden we went to the Boardwalk, which has gotten longer in the last two years.
Nicolette and Jacob tried to speed up the moveable metal art statue.
Old Town borders the Boardwalk.
After all that walking we needed some nourishment. We went to their favorite pizza restaurant and had pizza. This was another fun day and the weather is just perfect. The kids think it is hot. Everything above 70 degrees F. is hot for them. The other night Scott went out to a meeting in shorts and he had removed the sides and top of the Jeep. As soon as the sun goes down it gets cool. I run the electric heater in the motorhome in the morning and in the evening.
5-5-13
In the morning I went to the bar, in the lodge, to pay rent for the next five days. I smelled the bacon and sausages from the breakfast line and checked it out. The Moose Lodge serves a $ 6.00 buffet breakfast and I liked what I saw. I helped myself and sat with my neighbors. The couple comes from Half Moon Bay and they are heading north to Oregon and the State of Washington.
When I got back to the motorhome I washed the driver side of the motorhome. The gel coat on this side is really peeling off. A rough dry towel helped remove most of the loose material. The weather changed, the sun disappeared and it cooled off. Instead of waiting until tomorrow to wax the side, I did it today. It looks like it is going to rain tomorrow.
Late afternoon I went to Claudia’s house for dinner. Claudia and Nicolette had gone to buy a sewing machine for Nicolette. Nicolette has been sewing at Scott’s mother’s house. Laura picks up the children Friday after school and they stay with her the night.
Sebastian, the poor dog, had another adventure. Scott lets him out in the morning, and when he is ready to come in he barks. Scott read his newspaper and there was no sign of Sebastian. Scott called him and there was no dog.
Scott went to the neighbors and ask them. They told him that they heard a dog bark in the gully between their properties. Scott climbed down and there was Sebastian. He had fallen down the hill and ended up in the mud. Scott had to carry that big dog up to the backyard. Sebastian could not get into the house until he had a bath.
Scott had to change his clothing before he went to work. Sebastian will not be around much longer. He is not in pain but pretty weak.
5-6-13
The weather was pretty good in the morning. I washed and waxed the driver side and back of the motorhome. It started to rain at about 3:00 PM. Because of the rain only 65 people showed up for the Senior Dance Club dance at the Moose Lodge.
5-7-13
While in Borrego Springs I saw a small indention in the windshield of the Saturn slowly turn into a 10 inch crack. A stone hit the windshield of the motorhome now and chipped it. Today I called Joe’s Auto Glass and had it fixed. It is cheaper than having that big windshield replaced. I noticed that some of the dancers from last night were at the Senior Center for lunch. Today’s lunch was exceptionally good. They served hot beef sandwich with gray, mash potatoes, and broccoli salad. The broccoli salad was different than mine, it was shredded, but had the same ingredients. I suppose it is easier for older people when the salad come in small pieces.
The rest of the day I took it easy. When Nicolette and Jacob come home from school I spend an hour with them.
5-8-13
It looks like it is going to rain again. We will not see the sun for a while. Forty miles from here they have blue skies and it is warm. I do not like this coastal weather. This was a good day to visit the Clarke Historical Museum. The museum is dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of Humboldt County. The museum is located in Old Town in the former Bank of Eureka Building. The building was bought in 1960 by Cecile Clarke, a Eureka high school teacher. She moved in her intensive local history collection. Nealis Hall, the Native American Annex, was added in 1979. Unfortunately no pictures can be taken in the annex. Here is one of the largest basket collections of the country. I am familiar with the basketry of the Indian Tribes in Arizona and New Mexico. It came as a surprise that the Wiyot, Yurok, Hoopa and other tribes on the California and Oregon coast made such delicate and beautiful baskets too.
Humboldt County was named after Baron Friedrich Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt, the German scientist, explorer and writer. Another interesting fact I learned at the museum was that the 45th Infantry Division had a swastika patch on the arm of their uniforms. The swastika is a Native American symbol and the patch was used as a tribute to the Indians of the Southwest until 1938.
A large display shows the decommissioning of the nuclear power plant in Humboldt County.
Eureka was the gateway to the gold rush in the Trinity Alps. Displays show equipment used during that time. Also harvesting “Red Gold”, logging those giant redwood trees is featured in displays and tools.
People in Victorian times showed off their wealth by building fancy homes and had expensive furniture. The lumber barons built giant mansions.
In the afternoon I did two loads of laundry. This was the most expensive laundry I ever did. They charged $ 3.00 for using a small washing machine. Everything is expensive up here. Gasoline is almost a dollar more than sixty miles south of Eureka.
5-9-13
Without sun I do not feel like doing much. In the evening I went to the Redwood Curtain Theater to see “ Skin Deep “. The play is about a large, lovable, lonely-hearted woman named Maureen Mulligan giving romance one last shot on a blind date. It was very funny. The theater is very small; it seats about 80 people. I was sitting in the front row, about eight feet away from the actors.
Near the end of the show Maureen was waiting for delivery of Chinese food.
When we left the theater we were handed a fortune cookie. Mine said: “An enjoyable vacation is awaiting you near the mountains“. I hope this is true when I am with the WINs, in the next few months, traveling in the Black Hills of South Dakota, in Wyoming and Montana.
5-10-13
I will not punch another hole in the belt for my trousers. Losing weight is the only solution. Since I am on my own I have gained weight. We have not seen the sun for a few days now. It does not bother the locals.
This morning I took a picture of the motorhome in the forest. The Moose Lodge has a large property with many giant redwood trees. They are all second growth.
A few stumps from the first growth are still here. New trees and bushes grow out of the stumps.
Across the street somebody has a log house.
At the Senior Center they had Mothers Day lunch. The women got little presents and candy and cookies. The piano player found something wrong with the piano and left. The lady in charge put on a CD. There was no empty seat in the lunch room. One elderly man tried to get some of the goodies from the table for the mothers. He was told that he is not a mother. He told the lady who was protecting the table that he has daughters and granddaughters. She told him that does not make him a mother. It was funny to watch this. I hope I do not get that old.
After lunch I visited Claudia. Jacob was home too. He is sick. So I watched Scooby Doo with him.
5-11-13
The sun surprised us and peeked through the clouds occasionally. It turned out to be a wonderful day. In the morning I walked around town and took pictures of the murals. In the afternoon I picked up Nicolette and Jacob and we went to Sequoia Park. I think Jacob had gotten well since it was Saturday and there was no school. He scared me when he went too far ahead on the trail and I could not see him anymore.
On an island on the pond was a duck with her little ducklings. The kids enjoyed this.
They climbed down the gully and swung on the rope somebody had attached to the limb of a tree.
When we came to the playground they used all the equipment.
Back at the house we had chili for dinner. This was a fun day. In the evening I went to The Women’s Club to dance. I arrived early for the dancing lessons. The instructor taught the waltz. After an hour being embarrassed I was tired. When the dance started there were about ten couples and I. There was no band. A lady played CD,s and only waltzes and cha chas. I sneaked out and went home. A couple had left before me.
