Eureka!

When I left Grants Pass, Oregon, yesterday around 12:30 pm, the temp was heading toward 100 degrees. As I traveled southeast on Route 199, Redwood Highway, toward the coast, I hoped it might be cooler near the water. It was so hot Sunday night (parked at Walmart with no A/C) that I had to see a movie I wasn't really interested in just to be able to spend a couple hours in an air conditioned building before trying to sleep. ("G Force," an animated feature starring guinea pigs and a star-nosed mole voiced by Nicholas Cage would have been a good choice for my grandson and me but not solo.)

When I climbed down from the motorhome at Crescent City, California (elevation 29 feet: quite a change), I had to go back and add another layer of clothing, the foggy breeze being a good 30-35 degrees cooler than my starting point. What a relief!

My first view of the Pacific Ocean was rather anticlimactic because of the fog, but I was pretty psyched nonetheless. I stopped at the visitor center, got directions to a good restaurant that had a place to recharge the laptop, and enjoyed my first "California cuisine," turkey pannini with feta, pesto and spinach. You will note that they put garbanzo beans in the salad and tied the setup with a piece of green rattan, neither of which I've ever seen in any restaurant I've frequented: yes, I am in another world now.

I decided to head south to Eureka to spend the night at Walmart. One problem: there ain't no stinkin' Walmart in Eureka, or anywhere close by. Yikes! It was about 8 pm and I didn't have a place to park! I got out my trusty Lesbian Connection directory and found several listings in Eureka. My third phone call was a charm and a lovely couple with their 19-month-old daughter and three dogs welcomed me for the night. Whew! That was a close call. I've never been in a town of 40,000+ that didn't have a Walmart. What's that about? These Californians are a strange breed, indeed.