I enjoyed spending a couple days in Crescent City, even if I did sleep in a storage room at the bar! Rick is really nice and easy going, and he does some excellent grilling! After that I headed for Crescent City.
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Rick Lelo at Rowdy Creek Yacht Club, in Smith River, CA.
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When I got there, my Mom offered to pay for a couple nights motel, so I happily agreed and she made reservations. Then a couple hrs later, my cousin Michelle offered to pay for a couple nights at a motel, too, but I told her Mom already had paid for this stay. I was so amazed at both of their generosity! Staying at a motel is such a luxury for me! So I settled in for the weekend and took it easy. I totally enjoyed going to Ocean World, and I wanted to see the lighthouse, but it was too foggy to see it.
| Me at Ocean World, in Crescent City, CA. |
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| Riding the Skunk Train, in Fort Bragg, CA |
Then on monday I headed out of Crescent City, and that's where the adventure began! Quite a few locals told me that I should take a shuttle bus to Arcata, because up ahead the road was windy and curvy and went over a mountain pass, and that there was no shoulder on the road and no room for me. So that was a fairly easy decision for me -- I don't like mountain passes or shoulder-less roads, so I opted for the shuttle to Arcata. I was at the bus stop at 7am and forked out my $25, and was on my merry way, heading to Arcata about 70 miles away. The shuttle bus dropped us off at the main bus terminal in Arcata, where you can connect with several other busses, including Greyhound. During the drive to Arcata, I noticed the highway turned into a 4 lane, divided highway, and I also spotted several signs that said "Pedestrians Prohibited". So when I got to the bus stop, I asked if it was ok for me to walk on the highway, and they said absolutely not. The lady said that I needed to get on the bus right out the door and do it now, because it was ready to leave. She asked the driver to wait, and in a rushed blur, took my credit card, handed me a ticket, and said "go now!" I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going, but I went! My cart got shoved in the luggage area under the bus, and I was on my way to I-don't-know-where. After a few miles when my heart quit pounding, I checked out my ticket and found out that I had just paid $50 to get to Ukiah and that I'd be there at 2:45pm. Well. When I arrived there, it was a blistering 104 degrees out, and I called the ph# taped on the side of the bus stop to find out how I could get to Hwy 1 on the coast. The lady told me to catch the #20 bus at 4:00. I asked her if it was right here at this stop, and she said no, that I needed to get to the Pear Tree Center by 4. Having no idea where that was, I went into the grocery store to cool off and get some directions. That lady said it was 2 miles away, and told me how to get there. Two miles in 104 degrees! I wasn't sure if I'd make it or not. The walk was right downtown, and I stopped for several seconds in every piece of shaded ground that I crossed. Frantic that I might not find this place, and after asking several more people, I finally found it with 10 minutes to spare. There were several other people waiting around, and they didn't think there would be any problem loading my cart on the bus. I was sure hoping the bus driver would let me. Generally, as long as the bus is handicap accessable, then there's room for my cart. The bus finally pulled up, and the driver was pretty skeptical at first, but he went ahead and let me load the cart. The mini-size shuttle bus was cram packed with people and it was stifling hot inside the bus, and my cart and I were squished in like sardines in the very back seat of the bus, while the radio was blaring mexican music and I wondered if this moment was really happening. We pulled away from the parking lot and I was on my way. The drive across the windy, curvy, mountain range was rather wild, and quite exciting. Eventually we hit cooler weather and all the windows were soon open. Finally I felt like I could breathe again. By the time I got into Fort Bragg at 6pm, I was about 250 miles farther than I was this morning, and I was stressed and exhausted! I didn't care what a motel would cost me for that night, I just knew I needed to calm down and unwind!
The next day I took the luxury of going on a 4 hr long train ride into the beautiful California Redwoods. The day turned out perfect with clear blue sky and 65 degrees, and the ride on the Skunk Train was very enjoyable. According to the locals, I'm in for the best part of my trip, walking along Hwy 1 on the California Coast, so I'm really looking forward to that.
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Then on monday I headed out of Crescent City, and that's where the adventure began! Quite a few locals told me that I should take a shuttle bus to Arcata, because up ahead the road was windy and curvy and went over a mountain pass, and that there was no shoulder on the road and no room for me. So that was a fairly easy decision for me -- I don't like mountain passes or shoulder-less roads, so I opted for the shuttle to Arcata. I was at the bus stop at 7am and forked out my $25, and was on my merry way, heading to Arcata about 70 miles away. The shuttle bus dropped us off at the main bus terminal in Arcata, where you can connect with several other busses, including Greyhound. During the drive to Arcata, I noticed the highway turned into a 4 lane, divided highway, and I also spotted several signs that said "Pedestrians Prohibited". So when I got to the bus stop, I asked if it was ok for me to walk on the highway, and they said absolutely not. The lady said that I needed to get on the bus right out the door and do it now, because it was ready to leave. She asked the driver to wait, and in a rushed blur, took my credit card, handed me a ticket, and said "go now!" I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going, but I went! My cart got shoved in the luggage area under the bus, and I was on my way to I-don't-know-where. After a few miles when my heart quit pounding, I checked out my ticket and found out that I had just paid $50 to get to Ukiah and that I'd be there at 2:45pm. Well. When I arrived there, it was a blistering 104 degrees out, and I called the ph# taped on the side of the bus stop to find out how I could get to Hwy 1 on the coast. The lady told me to catch the #20 bus at 4:00. I asked her if it was right here at this stop, and she said no, that I needed to get to the Pear Tree Center by 4. Having no idea where that was, I went into the grocery store to cool off and get some directions. That lady said it was 2 miles away, and told me how to get there. Two miles in 104 degrees! I wasn't sure if I'd make it or not. The walk was right downtown, and I stopped for several seconds in every piece of shaded ground that I crossed. Frantic that I might not find this place, and after asking several more people, I finally found it with 10 minutes to spare. There were several other people waiting around, and they didn't think there would be any problem loading my cart on the bus. I was sure hoping the bus driver would let me. Generally, as long as the bus is handicap accessable, then there's room for my cart. The bus finally pulled up, and the driver was pretty skeptical at first, but he went ahead and let me load the cart. The mini-size shuttle bus was cram packed with people and it was stifling hot inside the bus, and my cart and I were squished in like sardines in the very back seat of the bus, while the radio was blaring mexican music and I wondered if this moment was really happening. We pulled away from the parking lot and I was on my way. The drive across the windy, curvy, mountain range was rather wild, and quite exciting. Eventually we hit cooler weather and all the windows were soon open. Finally I felt like I could breathe again. By the time I got into Fort Bragg at 6pm, I was about 250 miles farther than I was this morning, and I was stressed and exhausted! I didn't care what a motel would cost me for that night, I just knew I needed to calm down and unwind! 
The next day I took the luxury of going on a 4 hr long train ride into the beautiful California Redwoods. The day turned out perfect with clear blue sky and 65 degrees, and the ride on the Skunk Train was very enjoyable. According to the locals, I'm in for the best part of my trip, walking along Hwy 1 on the California Coast, so I'm really looking forward to that.
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