Day 06: Eureka, CA

the room at Mountain Home was small but excellent.
the view was forever, over the tops of redwoods,
and quiet as a church, big deck off the room,
huge door opens to the deck,
which i kept wide open all night
to breathe deeply of the freshest of air.
it was cold, but with no wind whatsoever.
and wonderfully, absolutely, quiet.

the very thoughtfully designed shower looks out
through a shuttered window to the endless view
and fresh air. i really enjoyed the showers!

another round with Susie and Janet, for breakfast
in Stinson Beach, a surf village at the bottom
of Tamalpais mountain.
It's a place I could live,
except the the abundance of fog might be too depressing.
There is such a thing as too much fog.

After the hyperactivity of the previous evening,
and the encore performance this morning,
I was ready to get back on the road for some peace and quiet.
Ah, the sweet serenity of solitude!

I don't know why, but I turned on to 101 North, instead of Highway 1.
Maybe I sensed that Sunday drivers would aggravate the beach road,
and I could make better time on the inland route.
Maybe it was that motorhome on the exit ramp for 101.
But whatever it was, I headed for 101,
and was rewarded with a drive through the redwoods.
(That's what we need in SoCal, more trees like redwoods.)

It was almost certainly all the partying the night before,
because I was really getting sleepy at the wheel.
Not a good thing at high speed and curvy roads,
so I skipped eating lunch and hoped hunger would keep me awake.
All it did was make me hungry AND sleepy.
So I stopped for a very tasty "Hippie Burger" in Legget.
But that didn't help with the sleepy,
so I decided to call it a day after about 240 miles,
and pull in at Eureka.
OnStar got me booked at the only 4-star place in town, the Hotel Carter.


the local pool hall is Ragg's Rack Room.
13 empty tables.
it was totally dead except for two guys playing one-pocket, poorly.

eureka was hosting a blues concert,
very near to the hotel,
so i just followed the noise and walked
to an excellent vantage point to catch a few numbers,
but it was to cold and fog-wet to endure for long.

some very gingerbread architecture in this town.
check out the imolen (?) club.

first room very noisy,
so changed to another.
jesse the belman is very helpful,
and inquired into the fun house t-shirt.

The Carter House restaurant is the best so far.
Fresh, wild Oregon salmon, goat cheese mashed potatoes,
spinach, great wine, desert...
I won't need to eat again for a week.

No comments: