October 2nd - Outdorrsy

Wonderful day. We left in the morning going north to Arcata. There was a wonderful fog rolled

We stopped in town and ate at Mazotti's Italian Restaurant. It was certainly different to see the town square without the fair.  We drove around town a bit and then headed north a bit more towards Mckinleyville.  We passed a "scenic outlook", so we turned around and visited it.  This is the place where the Mad River spills into the Pacific.  Down, below the ridge, is an incredible sight of where river and ocean meet.  There was also a big group of sea lions.  You always ask, "I wonder if there's a geocache here?"

Of course there is. I never found it, but it makes you see such incredible things.  I found out why the Mad River is called such, and following the GPS, I went into some woods and found an incredibly huge ant hill like you think of in African stories.  Not to mention a 4 inch long slug.

After a bit of hiking, we went home.  We met a cool couple from Canada (Eh?) and had some good conversation and walked for a bit around town before going home to our RV park. 

Arcata Square

California sealions

Ant hill

Sluggo

Back in Eureka

September 17th - North County Fair

North of us, there is another town called Arcata.  They had their annual street fair.  In the town is a block-square park.  Vendors and artisans lined both sides of the surrounding streets with booths.  Some food, lots of great handcrafted items and clothing.  This looked like a real hippie-artist thing.

There was the annual Samba parade around the square.

We walked around and looked at a lot of cool stuff.  Of course, we had to buy some hot sauce and jelly.  We stopped in a tavern that had a lot of old items around the bar and a couple of surprises.  A couple of the buildings have ancient neon lights which was cool. 

On our way out was a girl band which played music from the 40s.  Guitar, double bass, and woodwinds/brass.  They were pretty good.  Arcata is an interesting town.

http://www.northcountryfair.org/

We had lunch at a combination cider and meat pie place.  We even brought home a couple of empanadas and pot pies.

By the way, completely unassociated, Baseball postseason started today.  I'm excited.  Just sayin'.

This was painted into the street up where I parked the beast

Lots of people

Town square

Amazing art masks

The parade

Everett's

no, wait, what???

Awesome band

Booty

Empanadas!!

Cider bar

September 9th to 16th - Our First Week in Eureka

Okay, this is going to be a longish post.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Our RV park is right off Hwy 101.  We are surrounded by city, a slough that opens to the bay, and forest.  We got into our spot at night, and got the paperwork done the next morning..  The office here seems a bit unorganized.  We have talked to a number of different people between the actual meeting and earlier phone calls.  Some of the people we talked to aren't here since we left ND.  My only complaint about the site is that it's only 30 amp rather than 50.  Eureka seems to be a pretty area.  Being right on the ocean, the fog comes in at night or even late evening, and rolls out in the morning most days.

It didn't take us long to start exploring.  We went to the downtown area which has a wonderful "old town" section along the waterfront.  There are buildings here from every decade going back to the 1880s gold rush era.  Up here there is farming, a prosperous fishing trade, and lumber processing.  This area is called the Emerald Triangle for the three counties of Humbolt, Mendocino, and Trinity. I was told it was mostly due to the lumber and farming in the area, but wikipedia says it's because of the marijuana framing.  This area has all the charm and culture of San Francisco set in a small town rural environment. Very laid back and arty as well as very liberal. You know, hippies. lol.

We had our first breakfast out in a small restaurant called the Green Lily.  Great food and dragon fruit mimosas.  The next day, we found Lost Coast Brewing.  The place looked marvelous inside though the beers, which are a huge local brand, were a bit lacking.  I'm constantly amazed at all the buildings which are still in use despite their age.  Also, many, many buildings have huge murals and artwork painted on them.

Later, Laurie had to go in for training and orientation.  One of the days, she wasn't going to be there long, so I just parked and waited for her.  There is a large wooded area next to the hospital, and on this side, they have a small garden for reflection or whatever.  Really cool.

We drove up to Arcata to look around. We found a trendy, and overpriced brewery called Six Rivers.  We also drove over to Blue Lake to Mad River brewing for lunch.  Their brews were pretty good.  We had lunch and the ribs I had were huge and meaty.  I love great ribs.  She also loved her tri-tips.

There in downtown Eureka is a cidery with some great blends. such as blueberry and passion fruit.  Across the street is a pizza place with an art-deco motif.  They make fresh NY style pizza that was pretty good.  There's a lot to see and explore, not just here in town, but all around in the country and surrounding towns and coastline.

We have arrived...

Dragon fruit mimosas

This shop is used by the Green Lily but the sign from 1885 stays

Inside Lost Coast Brewing

Murals

A peaceful reflection garden at St. Joseph's Hospital

Humbolt Cider Company

The artwork reminds us of Shel Silverstein or Peter Max

Six Rivers Brewing in Arcata, Ca

On the Mad River in Blue Lake, Ca

At Paul's Live From New York Pizzaria