Thanks to work paying for our tickets, we got to see Mr. Coates talk about his new book the Water Dancer. There was also supposedly a copy of the book we could all read, but I never saw it.
I’ll track it down, though. I enjoy his writing.
I last wrote about this broken locker in April and you can see that the sign has been upgraded and caution tape has been added.
Will the locker ever be fixed? It remains to be seen.
Little Free Libraries abound in Portland. But this was a unique find!
My walking companion and I decided the “you’re on camera” sticker wasn’t really a real thing. We saw no cameras.
The note says:
Hi! Take a minifigure and leave a minifigure that someone else would like. [Illegible] a note in the little log if you want. Have fun!
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.
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?
One of my favorite things to do when on vacation is to have a walk around the town. Here’s what I saw in Eureka.
I was interested in this bricked off area in front of this house. It would be kind of front-porch-like, if it had any furniture.
The Carson House is a gem. You can read about it in the picture of the plaque below.
It’s too bad this Map of the Movies didn’t turn up in our pre-trip research. Then again, we didn’t realize we were staying in Eureka.
I checked around to see if we could watch this 100-year-old film and the answer is no. In fact, it was thought to be lost until 2010, when Russia donated 10 silent films to the Library of Congress. Cool!
And there she is! The Carson Mansion, now home to the Ingomar Club. You can see it by googling Eureka California, or just go to Eureka and see it in person. Though only from the street. The Ingomar Club is a private club.
I looked for information about this private club and there wasn’t much. Here is a link to a 1995 newspaper story in which the articles lists a $3,500 initiation fee and $130/month dues (which includes $50 worth of food). The club at the time was males only and required formal wear.
The view from this side shows some additions, cleverly hidden from the front view.
A detail of the house.
Leaving the Carson House, here is another mural, this one giving us a view of the house it blocks.
I enjoyed the name of this shop.
Los Bagels was my favorite Eureka find. Their bagels and cream cheese were delicious!
Here’s a handy Eureka plaque.
Having purchased bagels and cream cheese for our breakfast, I headed back to the room.
I love starting a hike when we are the only car in the parking lot.
Our map. We didn’t make it terribly far on this trail. There was so much to do today!
Red Alders on the trail.
This sign is the reason I know the above are red alders. I really appreciated the signage on this trail.
Here’s a picture of an interpretive sign with a banana slug adding something extra to observe.
No salmon spawning today.
Matt on the trail.
Investigating in a big tree.
Disappearing into a big tree.
Climbing up into a big tree.
While my anemic lens cover retraction is mostly annoying, I kind of like how it all lined up here for this photo. (Also, am I even looking at the screen before I take the picture anymore? I really need to concentrate on taking a good photo.)
Our turnaround point.
This trail winds through a ghost town. This sign leads you off the trail to the site of the caretaker’s cottage. There’s a foundation, and the yew trees, but not much else.
I love this photo!
What a great hike! I’m glad there was a general hue and cry in the past and this site was preserved.
After our kayak trip, we ate and then started the 90-minute drive back to Eureka. We got tired at the halfway point, so pulled off to have a nap on the beach.
Here’s the building where we are staying. I love the mural on the side. Much more than I loved our room.
The building is partially artist’s studios and there are also four rooms to stay in. I had fun wandering through the halls and I think at least one artist lived in her studio full time.
Due to the fact we were staying 90 minutes away from the place we thought we were staying, we cancelled one other planned activity, but we decided to still do the half-day kayak trip.
This meant getting out the door at six a.m. and retracing our tracks from where we had been. But we did it.
We were picked up at a gas station and taken to our launch point. First, we picked out jackets and life jackets. Matt is excited.
We kayaked for a spell. It was the first time either of us had done so. Aside from our guide, our group consisted of a father and daughter who had experience kayaking in bays. The woman was from Portland.
The day was nice and the river was low, so it was a leisurely trip. Halfway in, we got out to do a short walk through the redwoods.
Our guide grew up on the Smith River, which is the only free-flowing river in California. He showed us the rock where he got married that summer, and the house he grew up in, which overlooked the river. The next day, he was starting back as an eighth grade English teacher.
He was a great guide and gave us lots of good information about the trees.
It was very cool how the redwoods loomed.
This platform was built to protect the tree’s root structure. It’s fairly shallow.
Since Redwoods don’t have a tap root, they can keep growing even when their center rots out. Hence the ability to drive through trees.
Or stand inside a still-growing tree.
After that, it was back in the water. I enjoyed kayaking and would like to do it again someday.
I’m doing all the summer things in one week this year. Yesterday: concert. Today: baseball game with Eddie from work and his partner P.
The Hops won, and I got to see this tiny ballpark.
