JULY 17 - 18, 2010 EUREKA OR BUST!

Ferndale is only 20 miles to our next destination, Eureka; but first we had to stop in at the Loleta Cheese Factory just one more time for more of their great cheese. Then on it didn’t take long to reach our destination at the Redwood Acres Fairground RV Campground which turned out to be an excellent, though basic, campground close to town and a very convenient place to stay on a visit to Eureka.

Our visit was primarily to visit with our financial planner’s assistant, Linda Moot. If it seems strange for her to be 500+ miles from her boss in Walnut Creek, CA, it is a sign of our times with people working on the other end of a computer terminal. Several years ago when we learned that Linda was leaving the Bay Area for a simpler life in Eureka we hardly noticed the difference in service; actually it improved with almost instant responses from her by email. We arranged to meet with Linda and her husband Jeff at a very nice sushi restaurant on the waterfront in the Old City of Eureka where we were able to chat and learn about life in a small town as we watched fishing and tourist boats sail by.

Eureka was once a major hub of shipping for the lumber industry but in today’s world there is little lumber business left in the Northwest and tourism has become the major business. Old Town now features quaint shops, art galleries and antiques as well as coffee houses and restaurants.

We managed to find a few huge murals covering the walls of some of the buildings in town; one had a beautiful musical mural featuring Louis Armstrong while another had a mural of a theater proscenium for the

“Arkley Center for the Performing Arts,” showing a lovely ballerina with a few musicians looking on.

On our return to the campground we noticed two unusual tree houses (It pays to look up!). Two houses were built quite high in two large adjacent trees with spiral steps leading up to them, quite an interesting construction job.

On Monday we will be off to Grant’s Pass in Oregon but for now that’s all. See ya!