Day: August 22, 2019

Sara & Shawn in Northern California!

We had planned to visit northern California before Sara got a job at Humboldt State University, but it was a happy happenstance that she did, because we got to meet up.

We first visited McKinleyville, where Sara and Shawn are living temporarily while they get settled. It is a house full of boxes at this point because the moving company absconded with their stuff for many weeks before finally delivering it.

After picking up Shawn, we met up with Sara in Arcata, had dinner and walked to campus so we could see her new working environment including her office.

Sara told us that HSU, Humboldt’s initials are sometimes translated as, “hills, stairs and umbrellas.” While we had clear skies, we did climb a lot of stairs on those hills while walking around.

Including all the stairs to get to this building, the oldest on campus.

It was great to catch up with Sara and Shawn!

A walk on the beach.

We visited Redwood Park, but did not stay. However, in our brief time there, we marveled at the tableaus carved into trees. Here is one we took a picture of.

The fog was still hanging out as we got to the beach.

The purpose of this photo was to mark where we left our shoes, in case we couldn’t find them on our way back.

The tide was coming in, but there was still some good low-tide stuff.

So much fog!

It was windy, and this crow is looking ruffled.

By the time we made it to one end of this section of beach, the sun had appeared.

But the other end of the beach still had some clouds.

Sunny self portrait.

Driftwood shelter

We recovered our shoes without needing the photo. And then we needed to sit down to wipe the sand off.

There were a lot of these types of flowers in bloom. I liked their color and their upright nature.

I’m always a fan of a weathered beach house. Especially ones with round windows.

Arcata’s Charms

Post-beach walk, we headed into Arcata’s downtown area. First we stopped for a cupcake.

Downtown is bustling and includes enough bookstores that I could take a picture of two at once. The one on the left, (Northtown Books) plus the light blue building with the red awnings in the middle of the picture. (Tin Can Mailman)

I hung out in the square while Matt job spotted.

Then we took a walk and found a head in a hole.

We used Google Maps for directions on this trip and every time we entered our hotel address in Eureka, Maps always first suggested the same address, but in Arcadia. So we went to find it. It turned out to not actually exist, so I’m not sure what Google Maps was thinking. The closest thing to it was this barber shop.

And then it was time for the Finnish Country Spas and Tubs which was a thing Sara had alerted us about and which I was looking forward to.

Here’s the front entrance. Inside is a small coffee shop.

Through the back door of the coffee shop is this lovely oasis which leads to little cabins with hot tubs or saunas.

Here was our changing room and tub.

The design is very efficient. At your appointment time, you change in the changing room, then soak. When you are done, you go into a different changing room which allows you to change while the tub is being cleaned and reset for the next guest.

It was very relaxing and if I lived in Arcata, I would probably make time for this spa often.

Escape Eureka and Other Eureka Downtown Things

It turns out Eureka has an escape room and you can go there at nine in the morning. We did so!

The owner said that for the early morning slots, he mostly got tourists doing one last thing before they got out of town.

It was just the two of us, which was nice, as doing escape rooms with strangers is awkward. We escaped, and I enjoyed the variety of puzzles. The clues given came at just the right time.

We also happened upon the Wooden Sculpture Garden of Romano Gabriel, which is kept safe inside in a building downtown.

There was a lot to look at.

And I got my fortune told!

Dispatch from six months later: I do not believe I have yet received a letter that has changed the course of my life. Also, I think I’m hardwired already to avoid the flatterers. And I do wonder if I had played again, as the fortune teller commands me to do, would the next fortune have contradicted this one?