She was born a water baby. Even at just a crawl she sought out water. Puddles, then streams, rivers, lakes and finally the ocean. Her heart nearly broke from excitement at her first sight of waves. She sat down among them, knowing she had found home and peace.
After that she never lived far from an ocean. She couldn’t always see it but she knew it was there. She could taste it on the breeze.
When it was her time she went to it. Waved goodbye to life and walked in. The waves accepted her and fed her to forever.
Turns out that there is no such thing as Crescent City Rolls. How can you have a city called Crescent City and not have rolls named after it. And they call themselves Californians! They do have big trees though.
Overheard two women at WalMart talking about schools reopening. One said to the other, “I rather have my kid stupid than dead.”
7/17/20 – Closed?
Tonya had a 10AM appointment to get her bloodwork done today. Turns out the lab is closed this week. Huh? The website let us make an appointment and even check in online, but when we arrived there was a closed sign on the door. Hopefully our new appointment on Monday is more happening.
7/18/20 – Bike Ride
Climbed a big steep hill today. I’ve found that I’m able to climb steep hills if I stand when I pedal, which I don’t like doing. Wears me out. Though going back down was fun. I hit 37 miles per hour, which is cool because 37 is my favorite number.
Then I wandered around the city, county and state park. Yes, one park, three jurisdictions. I don’t know why it’s not also a national park. Maybe it’s too small.
7/19/20 – Another Ride
Avoided the big steep hills today, but still managed to climb over 300 feet. I’m getting used to the steeper gears. My legs are going to be huge.
I found the replacement gears I want but they are out of stock till August.
7/20/20 – North of Eureka
We are at a run-down RV park with a very fancy name. It used to be a KOA, but exists way below those standards now. When I hooked up the water supply I got soaked by water pouring out of every part of the spigot. Fortunately, I have TOOLS. I swapped spigots with an unoccupied spot. I even added some plumbers tape for a better seal.
On the other hand, the neighbors all around us a really nice. Makes you feel at home.
7/21/20 – Sticker Burr Park
This park is Abigail’s worst nightmare. After every walk we have to hold her down and pull a couple dozen sticker burrs out of her feet. They are everywhere. I tried sweeping a clear path on the road but they seem to jump onto her from nowhere. We leave tomorrow.
7/22/20 – The Fiberglass Menagerie
We are parked next to the park’s miniature golf course which features several large fiberglass animals with surprisingly accurate genitalia.
She dreams of a small farm with horses, baby goats and exotic birds. He dreams of driving a pickup truck and welding tractor parts. They would be a match made in heaven if they didn’t hate each other.
They met on a rural dating website. They were surprised that they had several mutual friends who all blessed their meeting. Both felt the pressure to make it work.
It started well. The difficult topics of politics and religion were breached without any roadblocks. Both wanted children. Then they hit the wall. She liked the Mud Hens. He was a RubberDucks fan.
It took a while but I figured out how to hook Irving’s “shopping” bags onto Mr. Ed. The problem with shopping trips on a bike is that there is no room for impulse buys. I forgot that and bought and 8-pack of Gatorade. I did manage to pack everything on the bike except for the loaf of bread. I had to carry that as I rode. People stared.
7/10/20 – Bike ride With The Nazz
Eleven miles today. Still getting used to the differences. Still need to make some adjustments to the brakes and the front shifter, but nothing that will stop me from riding.
Spending a lot of time learning Blender. It’s an animation program. Wonderfully complicated.
7/11/20 – The internet lies
Just because something is on the internet, doesn’t mean it’s true. I followed two different videos on how to adjust disc brakes on a bike, with no luck. The I found one with an entirely different approach. It worked on the real wheel. Took less than 5 minutes. The front wheel took longer because I had to undo the bad adjustments from the first two attempts.
So now the wheels spin with no friction from the brakes, and the brakes still work great. Yeah! The bike is still a pain, literally, to climb hills with. I need much smaller front chain rings. Fortunately that’s not a major, or expensive, operation.
This is a great park. I realize I haven’t said that in a while. Lots of happy families.
7/12/20 – Under the Bridge
We are parked in the shadow of the Albion River Bridge. A scary tall trestle bridge that is still mostly wood. According to Wikipedia, it is the last wooden bridge left on California Highway 1. Despite large sections of concrete and steel it reminds me of the wooden roller coaster at Whalom Park. I was never brave enough to ride it.
7/13/20 – On the Beach
The beach is 50 yards away. It’s an amazing collection of rocks and shells. It’s at the end of a cove with layers of rocks. Far out the huge waves crash. Then each row of rocks slows the waves a bit more, till the gentle lapping hits the sand.
The mailman was apparently afraid to come down the steep hill, so we have to go the post office to pick up Pat’s package. The weird thing is that the post office is just 0.2 miles away, as the crows flies. To get there though, we have to go a quarter mile in the wrong direction, climb 250 feet, then cross the rickety wooden bridge with no sidewalk. We’re going to wait till we leave.
7/14/20 – Doom Fog
The longer we sit here the creepier it gets. There is nothing obvious, but it is pervasive. The other campers don’t seem to notice. Maybe it’s me. Maybe I’ve read too many Lovecraft stories. Surrounded by steep cliffs under an old wooden bridge. The fog has a menacing energy. I love it.
7/15/20 – Welcome to Albion
I went to the Albion post office to pick up Pat’s package. The woman there confirmed that they don’t have any drivers brave enough to go down the hill to the campground. I sense there is some dislike for motorhomes in this town. On the wall of the post office was a poster of a burnt out Fleetwood with a sign, “Welcome to Albion” attached.
PIX
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