And a bubble wall which changes colors.
On the plus side, there's a wide selection and the price is surprising - $8.69 for lunch with 10% discount for seniors and $15.99 for dinner with added selections, mostly seafood. There's a senior happy hour on Tuesday from 3:30 to 6:00 when the price is 50% off.
On the downside, the food doesn't get high ratings for taste, but with the wide selection, I'm sure you can find some things you like.
Tidbits: When I left my subdivision on Saturday, this caravan had stopped right at our entrance.
My guess is that one broke down, so they all stopped.
Thrifting: We wanted to go to the dollar store and there's a thrift shop right next door, so we stopped in. and I found the four glasses for my niece's tea at 50 cents each.
And three of these to add to my collection in the garage at $1 each. They're just the right size for individual tarts, side salads, whatever.
And a smaller-sized pitcher for $2.50.
Candles for $1 total.
And earrings for $1.
And when we got to the dollar store, I found some perfect organizers for $1 each. I bought two and they work so well, I'm going to go back and get enough for all my earrings. They're supposed to be for hardware.
Things that Grow: My peonies looked so pretty, I just had to cut some for the house. My cousin is probably up there frowning down on me, because she thought flowers should be left in the yard.
Tips: Avocados are not just for guacamole. Try them for breakfast. I did and it worked. Try adding them to your omelet. Thank you again, Darling Children, for the avocados. Made short work of the grapefruit.
Travel: We'll finish the Northern California National Parks Trip this week. I took this trip in 2006, but I suspect that not much has changed.
Monday,
October 2 (Shasta Dam and Weaverville)
The
Red Lion is a very nice hotel and we had breakfast from the menu in the
pleasant open coffee shop. I had a ham
and cheese omelet with an English muffin.
Off
at 8:00 to Shasta Dam. Amazing how the
landscape can change within a matter of twenty miles. Everything is still mountainous, but oaks
instead of evergreens and very green and lush looking.
I
took pictures of the dam from the visitor center, picked up some brochures,
walked around outside a little and returned to the bus to work on my
journal. I’ve seen enough damn dam tours
– I didn’t need another. I found out
later that the tour guide pointed out Mt. Shasta (which looks just like the one
on the Shasta soft drink cans), but it was veiled in fog and scarcely visible. Wonder if they still have Shasta soft drinks in California?
We
went back to the Sun Dial Bridge so we could see in the daylight how it works
and take pictures. It’s an amazing
structure and in quite pleasant surroundings, with a garden, a restaurant, a
gift shop and an aquarium, in addition to the facilities I’d seen the night
before.
We
stopped in Weaverville for lunch at a sweet little place called The Garden
Café. It’s an old small house, with
steps up to a deck on the right with umbrella tables; a stairway to a small
porch with only one table and surrounded by flower boxes of colorful petunias
and a small diningroom inside. Mickey
and I sat on the porch at the only table.
We had a cup of delicious clam chowder and a so-so veggie quiche. Being outside was nice, but out-of-sight,
out-of-mind. By the time they brought
dessert, we were already inside to use the bathroom and be off. I asked the waitress if she knew of a used
bookstore – she did. We only had to walk
a long block. I picked up two more books
on Joey’s list, and Mickey bought four books (some new). She told me about an author by the name of
Jodi Picoult and told me the beginning of the book she was reading on the trip
called, “The Pact”. Now I’m intrigued
and will have to read it. We had a long,
long drive to Eureka, through trees and rippling streams and mostly junky
little houses.
Eureka
is a weird place. It seems like a
two-class town – money or broke.
Humboldt Bay is really big and spreads out all over. We went over a bridge to a place called
“Samoa Cookhouse” on Samoa Island for dinner.
It’s where the lumberjacks ate in the old days, boardinghouse style. We sat at long oilcloth-covered tables and
paper napkins with coffee cans for napkin holders. We ate boardinghouse style with one extremely
organized waiter handling all of us. We
had a green salad with bean salad and croutons to go on top, Swiss steak soup
(more soup, less steak), pork roast and gravy, chicken cacciatore, baked
potatoes, peas and onions, homemade bread and apple pie. Everything tasted home cooked except the
pie. I believe they bought frozen pies,
sprinkled the tops with cinnamon and sugar and baked them.
The
Samoa Cookhouse has lots of memorabilia pertaining to the lumber industry plus
things from bygone restaurants. I saw a
huge kettle for steaming vegetables, which was as big as my washing
machine. There were lots of saw blades,
round and crosscut types; also, lots of old business machines. The best part was the collection of old
photos with redwoods as the focus. Sorry I can't show you the photos from dinner because they're full of people (which I never post). I can show this one - my favorite. Yes, that's a log they're sitting on.
We
were back at our hotel by 8:15 and the traffic noise was deafening, as we were
right on the main street. A dirty,
ragged homeless man was walking around the parking lot trying to sell jewelry.
I’ve
called my kids off and on during the trip but always got cut off and no service
most places. Mike called and we had a
good connection, so we talked for an hour.
A nice treat.
The
noise subsided a little and I went to sleep.
I was up at 2:15 and the traffic was terrible – probably people leaving
the bars. I slept in bits and pieces
until 5:00 a.m.
Tuesday,
October 3 (Redwood National Park)
I
didn’t want cold cereal and yucky coffee (which was served in the lobby and I
was to take back to my room on a tray), so I walked over to a restaurant and
had wonderful eggs, scrambled with hashbrowns, ham, pepper, mushrooms and fresh
tomatoes, along with rye toast and great coffee. Cost me $10 and worth it. I could only eat half, but no one to share it
with. It was a lot of food.
I
walked around and took pictures of The Humboldt Mansion, now a businessmen’s
club, and other “painted ladies”. One
little section is beautifully kept with big houses and a lovely small hotel. Walk a few blocks and you’re practically on
Skid Row. I saw broken, taped-up windows
at a run-down motel, trash on the streets, a beer bottle sticking out from the
top of a bush, vacant stores, motels which look like the “by the week” type.
We
were off to Redwood National Park. I
didn’t realize there are two state redwood parks which run into the national
park. They’re more or less operated
jointly. We had some short walks into
the trees, stops at two different visitor centers (one with a movie) and a
picnic lunch by a beach covered with driftwood.
On
our return trip, we stopped at a harbor and pier where we saw seals and
seagulls and a fisherman’s catch. The
harbor is surrounded by picturesque houses, restaurants and Bed and Breakfasts. There was a very cold wind blowing, so I
didn’t stay out long.
Our
next stop was a recreated Indian village.
I passed and read my book instead.
Everyone told me that I didn’t miss anything worthwhile. Then we stopped at a wetlands with a visitor
center. I’d had enough nature for one
trip. I passed again. Still didn’t miss anything. I got the feeling that we were scraping the
bottom of the barrel to find ways to pass the time. We got back to the motel with twenty minutes
to freshen up before going to dinner.
Dinner
was at a Chinese buffet, typical and good.
We got fortune cookies with weird fortunes and lucky numbers. When we got back, I walked over to the gas
station to get lotto tickets for myself and Bob the Busdriver.
Thankfully,
this is our last night in the Motel from Hell.
Maybe I’ll get some sleep tomorrow night.
Wednesday, October 4 (En route to
Mendocino)
I
had a cup of tea in my room and walked over to the little drive-through
espresso-bakery shop and got a turkey-jack cheese croissant sandwich. The girl heated it for me so that it was toasty
outside and melted inside – really good.
At
8:00 we were on the road, leaving Eureka (thank you very much). The rain started in the early morning (I
heard it about 3:30 a.m.), and it was still with us.
We
had a nice drive down to Ferndale and a short stop to walk around the business
area. I’d always heard about Ferndale,
but didn’t know why it was popular. Now
I know. It’s a town caught in time. The houses are mostly Victorian – well-kept
with lots of flowers in the yards. The
business area is old, but well maintained, with quaint shops and
restaurants. I ran over to the post
office and sent the accumulated brochures of Northern California to my kids and
had time to pick up a cup of very good coffee.
Our
next stop was Scotia, a company town for Scotia Lumber. Most of the lumbering activity has been moved
to a new facility and no longer has tours.
The employee housing is being sold to the occupants. The museum is in the old bank building and
centers around the lumber industry with a few relics from the hospital thrown
in. The two began in the 1930’s but all
houses still look fresh and are in use.
The businesses are still open, but the hotel is used only for groups and
special occasions.
We
had a brief stop at a fish hatchery exhibit and then off to the redwoods once
more – this time at Humboldt State Park.
We saw the visitor center and then a short nature walk with a lady
ranger. Some of the rangers were in bright
yellow fire gear, walking single file through the woods. Each was carrying a little shovel, and I had
the greatest urge to start singing, “Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work we go”.
The
Humboldt redwoods are so majestic and for some reason, there’s not as much
underbrush here – just tall stately columns of dark rust and green, with a
carpet of lighter rust pine needles covering the floor of the forest. Because of the light rain, the needles were
damp and created a feeling of walking over a nice soft carpet. The trail was mostly level with a few shallow
dips. My most enjoyable walk on this
trip.
Because
of the rain, we had our last picnic on the bus.
My sandwich was turkey and Swiss on a roll with Mayo, lettuce and
tomato. Pete slipped me the last bag of
chips, left over from our last picnic, because I’d been enjoying them so much. I could only eat half my sandwich and also
saved my banana.
When
we left the park, the bus refused to quit kneeling. After many phone calls and many different
maneuvers, Bob got the bus up and going but now it’s no longer a “Catholic bus”
because it can’t kneel, and the last step is a killer if you forget about the
change.
We
drove all afternoon to reach Ft. Bragg.
Part of the time we left Highway 101 and drove on Highway 1 along the
ocean. The gray day made a gray ocean;
even the sand looked gray, but still a striking picture with the waves hitting
the tall cliffs and the little rock islands sticking their heads above the
water.
Many
houses along the route have been abandoned and many more should be. There’s lots of junk and old vehicles surrounding
some of the houses and almost all need a paint job. As we neared Ft. Bragg, things improved and
there’s actually a new housing (or condo – couldn’t tell) development going up.
We
arrived at our dark, dark brown hotel a little after 5:00 and had to leave for
dinner at 5:50. We were right next to
the highway, but I was told the sidewalks get rolled up by 9:00 and everything
would be quiet.
Dinner
was at Silver’s on the Wharf. And it was
a real working wharf – weather-beaten structures, fishing boats and
restaurants. A little garden sitting
area led to the canopied stairway up to Silver’s. Mickey found us a seat at a corner
table. We could see out two sides right
out the mouth of the harbor into the ocean.
Seals were swimming around, joined by seagulls and other waterfowl
(grebes?). The waiter said that the
fishermen throw the seals the fish trimmings, so they never leave – they don’t
have to work for a living.
The
food was very good. The catch of the day
turned out to be rock cod, very mild but kicked up by a tartar sauce, which was
filled with chopped dill pickles. I had
rice and steamed vegetables with it and sourdough bread. Dessert was cheesecake with raspberry sauce,
and I got the smallest piece at our table of six – thank you, waiter.
A
lady was talking about Pomo Indians in the hotel meeting room when we
returned. I didn’t think she had a
casino, so I wasn’t interested. Besides,
I felt chilled. I went to my room and
jumped in bed and watched lousy TV with lousy reception and, miracle of
miracles, it was quiet. I turned out my
light at 9:30 and went right to sleep.
Thursday,
October 5 (Mendocino)
For
breakfast, I ate the other half of my sandwich from lunch the day before. The hotel was only serving
carbohydrates.
I
had time to go for a walk around the area in the ocean air. The rain fell all night but stopped before
dawn and everything looked clean and fresh.
We had a late start – 9:45 – so I didn’t get up until 7:00 and washed my
hair and took my time.
Our
first stop was Cabrillo Lighthouse. It’s
been modernized so no need for a lighthouse keeper. It’s in a state park and a few people have
been trained to do the maintenance on the light, which looks like a giant
old-fashioned Christmas bulb. The old
structures are being restored. One is
partially furnished and on tour. The big
house has already been restored and houses the manager and another restored
home is a Bed and Breakfast. There’s
also the ever-present gift shop to give people the opportunity to rid
themselves of some of their money.
We
continued on to Mendocino, where we had a little time before lunch. I went to the cute little library (no
purchases) and met the nice ladies who were staffing it. It’s a private facility and costs about $30
annually to join. There’s no librarian;
volunteers run it.
We
met for lunch at the Mendocino Hotel.
It’s very old and very charming in a Victorian sort of way. We had a cup of clam chowder, half a turkey
and Swiss sandwich (I’m going to start gobbling before this trip is over), a
bag of chips and a chocolate chip cookie.
Does everyone think that seniors are crazy about cookies?
We
had four hours to look around – way too much time. The place isn’t very big. I went to the visitor center and found a
magnetic bookmark. I was thrilled. I lost mine ages ago and haven’t been able to
find another. I walked and walked,
looked and looked, spent some time in a used book store and paid $3 for a
one-dip ice cream cone. As I was leaving
the ice cream store, I saw four kids lined up on a bench, licking their
cones. They looked so cute, I asked the
parents if I could take a picture. The
mom said, “I was just looking at them and wishing I had my camera”. I got her e-mail address and promised to send
her a copy. I did.
I
headed back to the hotel. I had a
picture of the church where “Johnny Belinda” was filmed and a picture of
Jessica Fletcher’s house from “Murder, She Wrote”, complete with a bicycle
leaning against the tree in the front yard. Who knew that Jessica's Cape Cod is actually Mendocino, California?
Dinner
was also at the hotel. Seemed a repeat
of the night before; rock cod and rice with chopped red bell and pasillo chile
peppers in a sauce with a mound of rice, garnished with cilantro. First we had a green salad with baby figs and
for dessert, a little scoop of mango sorbet, one of raspberry sorbet and fresh
blackberries and red raspberries.
After
dinner, everyone went to another building to hear a jazz guitarist. I sat in the hotel lobby by the fireplace and
worked on my journal and read my book.
When
we boarded the bus, there was a full moon overhead. As we left Mendocino, someone started
singing, “Blue Moon”. We all joined in
and then it was “Harvest Moon”, “America, the Beautiful”, “My Country ‘tis of
Thee”, “God Bless America”; then “Off We Go into the Wild Blue Yonder”, then
the Navy song, then the Marines. Next we
sang “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” for Bob the Busdriver, and on and on, all
the way back to Ft. Bragg to our hotel.
Who has more fun than old people?
Bathed
and bed by 9:30. Back to San Francisco
tomorrow. Boo-hoo.
Friday,
October 6 (Return to San Francisco)
I
had the banana from one of my lunches, so I cut that up in a bowl of Cheerios
and had some orange juice and coffee.
I’d forgotten how much I dislike Cheerios.
We
were on the road at 8:00, back to Highway 101 on the winding road through the
trees and fog. Everyone was a little
quiet. We had such a good group. I think we hated to part. I read some, looked at the scenery, started
thinking about where to go next – that is, after the Elderhostel in Arkansas
and St. Louis to see the Chihuly Exhibit at the Botanical Gardens.
We
had a bathroom break and I ran into the market and picked up some cheese, some
tomato soup and an apple. Then Darlene
gave us packages of crackers, so I have dinner.
Our
lunch break was at Mary’s Pizza Shack. I
had a cup of minestrone and a slice of pepperoni pizza. I wrapped the giant brownie in a paper napkin
and took it along.
We
got on the freeway, where we saw trucks loaded with grapes headed for the
wineries. The traffic was heavy and the
day was drizzly and gloomy, very appropriate for a trip we didn’t want to end.
We
dropped the airport people first, then started the hotel drop-offs. I was checked in by 3:30, sorted my dirty
laundry, went through my papers to see what I could discard, repacked my
luggage, charged my phone and camera batteries, then made a cup of cinnamon tea
to have with my other half of the giant chocolate chip cookie from our lunch
the day before.
Mickey
finished “The Pact” and gave it to me, and I was almost finished with
“Traveller”, so I could start it on the plane.
I
had my soup, cheese and crackers and snuggled in for TV and reading. This was the start of a busy weekend in San
Francisco (Fleet Week, air show, etc.), so I expected noise. I was correct. I finally called the front desk to quiet the
party on the next floor above me and was thankful I’d be in my own bed the next
night.
Saturday,
October 7 (There’s No Place Like Home)
I
took the hotel shuttle to the airport in plenty of time for breakfast. Oh, wow!
The Mexican place had breakfast burritos. A big disappointment. It was bland, even though I packed it with
cilantro and more salsa. Can’t believe I
have to go to Nixa, Missouri, to get some decent Mexican food.
My
plane was on time and I started “The Pact”.
What a page-turner. My connection
in Denver was on time, also. I put down
my book to open my coke, and the guy next to me started talking and that was
the end of my reading. Luggage came out
on time. I was on a roll. The shuttle came right away and I was on the
road for home by 6:30. I stopped at KFC
and picked up dinner for Effie and myself and ate at her apartment. I was home in time to do two loads of a
laundry before I went to bed. So good to be home.
Teaching and Learning: I'm taking two online classes right now, and I'm behind in my lessons. I'm also trying to learn how to upload Everyday Afternoon Teas so that it can be purchased as an ebook. I know my blog postings haven't been that exciting lately, but I must finish what I've started, so skimpy posting next week. Sorry.
HOW ABOUT A SPRING TEA BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE?
PLANT SOMETHING - ANYTHING
GET SOME SUN
POOLS WILL BE OPENING
GET READY FOR SUMMER
THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE
