Arcata (Blue Lake) 2007

Nov 22, Thanksgiving.  The morning was frosty but the sun came out and we found our way to Jeremy's grandparents house in Eureka for a great dinner.  The house started out as a one room school and as it was added on to it became the home of Clint Eastwood for awhile.  It was a full house and even the dog got fed.  Tisha had to show off her ring and they looked over a book about Hawaii to make honeymoon plans.  Grandpa had stories about his time in the Navy as a pilot and of being an airport manager in later years.  The wedding will be at this house and it looks like it will be May 10th.

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Nov 17:  Snow came to Arcata this week, well they had to truck it in!  There was a snow boarding contest in the plaza where the boarders had to go down a ramp.  There was a lot of falling going on.  I got a couple of pictures of the crowds and their headwear and then went by a truck with an Arcata alarm on the way to Julia's basketball practice.

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Nov 14:  I took a short drive around Arcata this morning to get some pictures of the area.  First was up a hill to a nice house, meadows and trees then past the lumber mill and university to downtown and some of the buildings and people that caught my eye.  Last was a development on top of a hill with spectacular views of the area.  Well, I like them!

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Nov 11:  A nice quiet week or so.  The fog came in then we went to Julia's first basketball game then back to the house for cream puffs! then the rain returned.  This morning Tisha, Jeremy and Julia joined me for breakfast and the Veterans Day extravaganza in Eureka.  Good music and an interesting speaker who was with the Red Cross and went to Viet Nam to help with "troop moral".  She had some good stories.

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Nov 1:  We made it through Halloween.  There are some pictures from the "Pumpkin Fest" (see Oct 29), "Trick or Treating" and Tisha after her play at Del'Arti last night.  Note her "bloody knee", she was knifed by a delusional meth cooker.

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Oct 29:  It was a pretty calm week in the "big tree" country.  Last Wednesday I joined Tisha and the kids for a spaghetti dinner at the Grange in Blue lake.  The next morning I got new tires put on the truck then pulled the hitch out of the truck so that I could move a set to Arcata for a show that Tisha directed.  While taking the hitch out I noticed that it was beginning to rust so got out the wire brush and put some paint on it.  On Sunday I went to a pumpkin fest in Blue Lake, a band, apple press and pumpkin pie.  This morning I took the truck to the "panel beater", that's Australian for body shop.  It should be good as new by the end of the week.  The body shop made arraignments for a rental car and they picked me up and took me to their office.  The reservation had been made for a rental, IN TEXAS!  Because that is my permanent address!

This mornings local paper was interesting.  You might expect the front page to cover the war, the fires in Southern California, the World Series or perhaps election news, well you don't know Eureka.  The front page was devoted to three stories complete with pictures.  The first story was about the Co-Op Controversy.  This is a co-op market that has mostly local products.  One of the main items of contention was made by a local "vegan" that wanted a fan put by the meat department so that the store wouldn't smell like a slaughter house.  The next story was about  local man that makes guitar picks out of rocks and finally, the last story about the protest at the zoo about keeping animals confined.  You have to love it.  You can find out more at the Times-Standard web page.

Oct 21:  After almost a week of rain the sun came out just in time for the trip to the pumpkin patch.  You can see the mud that I almost got stuck in on the way in and needed help on the way out!  We found the pumpkins and found our way through the corn maze (as the Indians would say the maze-maze).  Then back to the house for the emptying of the pumpkin brains and the carving.

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Oct 12:  I took a drive through the Arcata dairy area this morning and ran across a neat farm house with an interesting garden.  Then along the Mad River to the dunes and windblown trees.  On the way back to town I couldn't resist the cattle, pumpkins and the "calf motel".

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Oct 7:  A peaceful week in paradise.  I got caught up on some chores and made it to the dentist for the temporary cap on the broken tooth on Wednesday.  Thursday Tisha invited me to a show at the theater in Blue Lake.  It was kind of strange.  A man from Argentina spent an hour moving around the stage very slowly in paper pajamas to a sound track of an eclectic mixture of noises.  I'm sure glad that it was free!

On Friday we all went to the Blue Lake Casino to see the arrival of a bunch of motorcycles that were part of "Bikes by the Bay".  We put the flags on the truck and talked our way into a prime parking spot to watch the activities.  About 50 bikes came in, mostly in twos and threes.

Sunday we made the traditional trip to Trinidad for breakfast.  Just had to get my fix of sour dough pancakes.

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Sep 30:  We went to "Paddle fest", a harbor festival in Eureka this weekend.  The girls and I took the ferry to Woodley Island and checked out the displays and boats.  We even went aboard the Coral Sea!  This one is a research vessel operated by HSU but they did have a brass plaque from the "real" Coral Sea.  Julia and I went back on Sunday for the "rubber duck race" but it started early and we missed it.  We did make the "cardboard boat race" though.  The teams had 50 minutes to build a boat out of cardboard and tape then race it into the bay, around a big rubber duck, and back.  Great fun to watch!  The last picture is my favorite barber shop in the area.  Can you guess why?

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Sep 22:  We went to the North County Fair in Arcata today and all had a good time.  I paid particular attention to the electric VW!

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Sep 20:  I took a couple of pictures yesterday of the old barn across from the RV Park, note the foliage growing on the roof.  There was a great sunset last night so I was looking forward to today.  Did you ever have one of these?

With nothing planned I went out for breakfast.  I was sitting inside, reading the paper and drinking coffee, when a stranger walked up and wanted to know if I was the owner of the "Patriot Guard Truck" parked outside.  I said, "yes I am" expecting the usual "Thank you for what you are doing", instead I got "I hit your truck in the parking lot"!  I had parked at the end of a row next to a planter that was bordered by a curb and couldn't see the left side as I walked out.  "It must just be a scratch" I thought.  The man and his son led me around to the drivers side and the drivers door is smashed in!  He drove through the flower bed to get to my car!  I got his information and took some pictures then went in and had breakfast.

After breakfast I went to the Arcata Police Station to fill out a report.  They didn't want one but did give me the address of the State Farm agent which is my insurance company so I drove over there.  The agent started putting information into her computer than said, "you can pay the deductible and we will take care of it or file a claim with the other drivers insurance.  Hmmm, pay the deductible or not?

I drove to McKinleyville to the Chevrolet dealer to get an estimate for the other drivers insurance.  Naturally the dealer doesn't do body work at the dealership.  Back to Arcata to the body shop and an estimate for $3,110 for a new door, patching up and painting.  It will take about a week to get the new door and trim and three days in the shop.

Armed with the estimate I drove to Eureka and the other drivers insurance broker.  The broker gave me the phone number of the claim department for his insurance and I called them.  They gave me a claim number and the phone number of the claim reprehensive who will call me within 24 hours, maybe!

Oh, I almost forgot, during breakfast I broke a tooth!

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Sep 18:  I arrived in Arcata on the 15th and set up camp for a few months.  Tisha invited me over for dinner and then we all, Tisha, Jeremy, Julia, Elisabeth and I, went to the stock car races at the fairgrounds.  The next morning I went to the beach at Samoa and took a few pictures after breakfast.  I was remembered at "The Pantry", my breakfast spot in Arcata.  Tuesday while fighting with my computer, Tisha invited me back for dinner.  I could get used to this!  The girls played marbles and Elisabeth went bike riding with Jeremy.

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