Like We Didn't Know This???

Your Quirk Factor: 77%

You're so quirky, it's hard for you to tell the difference between quirky and normal. No doubt about it, there's little about you that's "normal" or "average."

How Quirky Are You?

I read theshriek's blog and took the quirky test...

is ANYONE surprised?

Conundrum...

The fires, which have been so deadly and destructive have an unfortunate beauty.

This was taken (not by me) the first night, before the smoke got so thick that you could stare at the sun without blinking...

Daniel Sofer pictures

It's been a horrible week in Southern California. So many people have lost everything. I remember how my friend felt after the Bel Air fire in 1961. We had to evacuate, but she lost everything except for the clothes she was wearing. She always joked that it was her least favorite outfit.

Some people are still not able to go back to their houses, even to see if the house is still standing. There is a whole contingent of them camping in a parking lot, keeping spirits up and hope alive... it's not a fun job.


A sunset several days later... remember, I'm many miles from any of the fires... you could taste, smell , see and feel it...



and the winds are supposed to pick up again this week...

Burning Up...

Y'all know that I have tried to give you whatever you need in the way of weather. And, while I admit to failing the south miserably and wreaking havoc in the midwest occasionally... I need who ever is in charge of my weather to take notice.

We're burning up..

Both physically and physically.. .

There are now a dozen fires circling Southern California...

and a couple of them are destroying homes as we speak...



This picture was taken several years ago when much the same thing happened... Hell, it happens all the time...

I need someone out there to STOP THE WIND and the dryness...

mmmkay?

And I'll try harder for all of y'all , too...

oh..

and there's more on the kitty... next time...

you won't believe it...

Serendipitous...

Ok.. now THIS is wonderfully bizarre...

When I returned from the trip, there was..

THE KITTY.

Still hanging around looking lost and hungry...

I thought I might try to take it in, even though I don't want a long haired cat, but today, after holding it and petting it, my throat began to close and I knew it wasn't going to work...

Soo.. I called the Queen of Cats.

She was busy tonight, but told me she would be available tomorrow...

10 minutes later a woman walked up my stairs and picked up the cat...

I walked out and said.. "want a kitty?"


She said "it's my kitty!"

OMG.

I'm sure it was spending more time at her house while I was gone, as she lives right up the street, but it came back to my house when I returned...

I'm so HAPPY!.

She was talking to a neighbor who just had to call the Queen of Cats for another stray, and the neighbor said to her " you'd better go get it now!"

So it's OK!! I don't have to worry about it anymore!

oboyoboyoboy!

(does the mizmarilyn dance!!)

dance...

dance...

dance...

twirl...
spin...
*plop*!

To Hibernate or Not to Hibernate....

It's taken a while for me to settle...

And then I remembered!

It's OCTOBER!

There is only one activity that is to be undertaken in October.

Mirror Mirror on the wall,

We are but Mammals, after all

We are supposed to find a warm spot in the corner, in whatever sun is left, get a supply of good books (DVD's will do) and stuff our little selves (Cookies is a really good stuffer)

and HIBERNATE!!

True story..

Anything we do that is contrary to this brings about an uncomfortable feeling... we get cranky, tired.. and out of sorts quickly and easily.

So, of course, this is the time of year we all try to lose weight. work hard and PARTY..

sigh...



hibernating squirrel...

And Again... to Home!

Me... resting up after the trip...

just a little nap unti...

hey...

waaiiit a minute!

I resemble that remark!!

Anderson's Split Pea Soup...

I love the look of the long, silveryellow stalks against the dark rocks... on the way down from Big Sur.


For as long as I can remember, the Anderson Split Pea Soup signs have littered the 101 highway for, used to be, 100 miles in every direction. The little soup kitchen has grown to a very nice restaurant, gift shop, and motel.

All because of a pea...

Short post.

I'm in Buellton, just north of Santa Barbara...

I'm liking these slow driving days. No more 450 mile days for me...

nope...

not this kid..

well....

Some friends along the way.



awww..



it's a rock squirrel... I know.. it's small, but cute!


and a fire. This was outside of San Luis Obispo. It wasn't very big (but larger than it looks) and they had planes and helicopters throwing water on it in a frenzy. The smoke went from black to white almost before my eyes. I tried to get a video of the planes and stuff, but it was too far away.




It's always fire season in California.

For Bonho...

With my admiration ...




Because she loves the strange and unusual...





That's because she, herself, IS strange and unusual ..

One of My Favorite Places... unless...

Yesterday was some kind of madness. I have never seen so many people gathered in this little place. Ever. Some of the regulars must just Hate Henry Miller...

They were clustered.. in little groups that seemed to move together, much like tiny herds of something. They filled the River Inn, inundated the galleries, badly negotiated the treacherous drive, and perched on every outlook, staring at ..

The ocean...

I suppose




Some pictures from Big Sur, where we have our OWN redwood trees..




and swimming holes (the dog was having a blast, the people were in wetsuits.. the pussies)




The entrance to my little campground..




and, of course,, the deck dining area at the River Inn, where I am sitting, talking to you.

mmmm.... Pumpkin Pie!

One of my favorite pumpkin patches... on highway 1 between Santa Cruz and Big Sur. It's been here for years.

Short blog.

I'm in Big Sur. It's warm, but nice. I'm in one of my favorite campgrounds in my favorite spot...

and I got another present..

for me! (yes, it IS all about me!)

Blogging here is not easy, but I'll try again tomorrow..

I'm gonna have lunch now..

More pumpkins.


I just met two too cute Australians ... do you know that paper money in Australia is plastic??

Learn something every day...

Deja View...

This is what much of California looks like between SF and the giant redwoods. This and grapes. Not unpleasant, but also not my cup of java.

Ok..

So I'm sitting in my van, all cozy and wise, eating a turkey sandwi.....

Oh.. Never Mind...

I'm in Petaluma again. I need to get up early tomorrow to get through San Francisco before the Fit hits the Shan...

Tomorrow in San Francisco there will be:

A FREE bluegrass concert in Golden Gate Park (the road I'm taking runs right through the park)

An Air show over the bay.. with the Blue Angels (did I ever tell you about the really cool time I saw them fly... from ABOVE?)

A Chinese parade in Chinatown

A Columbus (politically incorrect at that) Day parade...

dang..

I hate it when that happens. The good news is that it's a Sunday, so if I get a good start, I should be able to beat any real traffic..

Unless there are as many accidents as last time!



This is the town of Willits, GATEWAY TO THE GIANT REDWOODS!!! (what's left of them) looks like. It's a typical little town that has managed to make the 4 lane highway narrow just for it, unlike many others who were left behind. Seabiscuit is buried somewhere around here...

I'm sure I've talked about this before.. In December, 1964, there was a combination of High tide, heavy rain and snow melt that caused havoc up and down the northern California coast and parts of Oregon... Until I saw a video of news coverage, I thought it was only the Eel river that had the problems. Northern California and Southern California were cut off from each other completely. Roads, houses, towns, railroad tracks... the rivers still show signs of the 'silt' (for lack of a better word) left over 40 years ago..

a quote

"But in 1964, the entire Pacific Coastline of California, Oregon and Washington were smacked by tropical storms. The high water marks from the racing huge waters can still be seen in gulches and gorges like the Rogue River in Oregon, which is 100 miles to the north of the South Fork of the Scott River.

Many cities along the Oregon and California coasts were flooded and towns were wiped out. The deluge took out bridges, homes, highways and farms. Humboldt County was stunned, when it discovered that it was completely cut off from the rest of the world. The Eel River was expected to top-out at 25 feet, but it crested at 29 feet.

A helicopter attempting to evacuate Ferndale residents crashed on Dec. 22, killing all seven on board added to the misery. "

As you drive through the redwoods on Highway 101, you see this sign.. sorry if it's a bit blurry, but I was taking it on the run.




Here is the sign up close...




It says HIGH WATER MARK DECEMBER 1964

You will notice it is above the highway.. the river is waaaaay down on the left hand side of this picture... waaaay down..

My friend says she remembers driving through that area sometime later (and it must have been, because things had to be repaired) and seeing mattresses and beds and parts of things in trees...

It was the same year as the Alaskan Earthquake that devastated Crescent bay...

quote

"The Alaskan earthquake occurred on Good Friday, March 27, 1964, at 5:36 PM local time. It was the largest earthquake ever recorded in North America.

Duration estimates range from 3 to 5 minutes." !!

Someone must have pissed off Mama Nature...

bad..

Deja Vu... All Over Again

So...

I’m sitting in my cozy van, eating a turkey sandwich and reading the...

Hey... waaaiit a minute.....

DEJA VU!

I’m in Eureka again, on my way down the California coast. I won another 250$ today, but had about a hundred in... Good thing I’m running out of Casinos! I do have a boatload of hundreds in my wallet... (well, not THAT many, but certainly a lot more than I would have!)

I’ve got to do this now, because I just remembered they turn off the wifi when they leave...

I drove down through Crescent city.




Interesting story in Crescent city. Years ago I stopped to go visit the lighthouse there. You can only get to it at low tide, and it was very impressive, with the 3 foot think walls and big light and all. There are still keepers there, and I THINK the lighthouse is still used.. maybe not.



Anyways, as I was driving to the lighthouse, I noticed that there was this HUGE park (you can see the trees in this picture). I thought., this is where the sleazy docks and old boats and stuff would be in another city.. how forward thinking they were to not let that happen.

See.. there was this earthquake in Alaska in 1964. The resulting tidal wave wiped out a great deal of Crescent city as it moved down the coast. The people in the lighthouse watched, horrified, as three gigantic waves washed over the docks and low lying houses and dragged everything out to sea..

They never built the waterfront back, opting for a park instead.

They have also added SEVERAL breakwater arrangements and walls just in case.



As I sit and watched the lighthouse and shore, I noticed a large seagull in the parking lot. It was just the two of us. I had one of those little “snack packs’ of turkey and cheese, so I opened it and tossed a piece ot turkey to him. He caught the second one before it hit the ground, and then caught most of them (when I threw them correctly) thereafter. He also ran off every other bird who attempted to cash in on the good stuff! I tried like hell to get a picture of him catching the booty, but it's not easy to throw and take a picture at the same time.

Back in Eureka...




The truck stop where I met the trucker.. remember? I told you about him on he way up..




Across 101, up on the hill is this Motel.. the Bayview Motel. When Joe and I went through Eureka in the early 70’s, it was just a bunch of those ever popular bungalow type buildings with a car port. The price was $10 a night. We checked in and then.... the wind changed...

Eureka was (and still is I’m sure) a logging town. Back then the factories were on the waterfront. They used salt water to soak and whatever with the trees...

When the wind changed, it smelled like salty old socks.... or worse.

We got up about 4 AM and then drove about 5 miles an hour (the fog was so thick!) until we got far enough away from the smell..

I can still smell it...

The Streak Continues... As Does the Rain....

An old boat... (just in case you didn’t know)

So.. I’m back at Harris State Park, in Brookings, Oregon. It’s right on the border of (shudder) California.

This is the neatest park, rain and all. I showered (sigh) and then did my laundry, as they have a laundromat in the campground. I haven’t ever seen another State park that has one. It’s my last laundry on the road, but I was gonna run out of underwear!

So... Just before I started this, I was sitting in my little cozy house, eating a turkey sandwich I purchased before I arrived (I get smarter every trip) and reading the National Enquirer... doesn’t get much better than that (except for the Enquirer... it sucks!).. oh well, a gal’s gotta do what a gal’s gotta... well, you know.

I’m ready to be home. It will be a month by the time I get home, and that should suffice for a while. It’s been a super trip, as I’ve said before. Beautiful scenery, neat places and people and some great weather (all that rain).



Another beautiful place....

Oh...

and I walked out of the Casino in Coos Bay with something like $800...

HA!




This picture has an interesting story. When I worked at a bank in Manhattan Beach, I met a fascinating woman named Mabs O’Cain. She was in her 80’s, but you’d never know it. She moved to the mouth of the Rogue River because she was afraid of earthquakes. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that any major quake in California would probably wipe out her “very close to the ocean’ house.

She lived in that little gray house in the sort of middle of the picture, up above the longish white building.

I stopped to visit her while on a trip, and actually stayed with her, in an antique bed with my first down comforter... very necessary around here. She lived in Wedderburn (?), across the river from Gold Beach. While I was there, she took me out to see some artist she met who lived in a trailer somewhere in the woods. It was raining. She drove (which may account for my absolute determination to never let someone else do the driving!).

I noticed a noise coming from the right front of the car. I asked her what it was, and she said she didn’t know. She said, “I’m a narcoleptic, you know”.. seems she had been driving in Arizona (she used to sleep in market parking lots in her car with the dogs... all that money and no good sense... sigh...). Where were we... oh yes.. Arizona, and she had one of her auras (which predict a sleeping attack) and ignored it and ran off the road into the median strip..

I told her quite calmly, that she needed to get it checked out the next day, as Mercedes weren’t supposed to make that kind of noise..

and I’m thinking..

I’m going to die, right here, right now on this backwoods road in Oregon...

But I loved that house...

The view was breathtaking...

(added the next morning)

oh... and last night, as I was taking my toothbrushing run, I saw one of those HUGE banana slugs... (6--8 inches... I'm a gurl, and I've been lied about size). I pointed it out to a neighbor, and he told me he had just seen a SKUNK... eep! I wonder if they like banana slugs???

Oh Deer!

I missed a deer by no more than 6 feet this morning. I always watch for them morning and evening, but this one just ran out between me and the oncoming car. We both got lucky! That’s the third time I’ve seen deer cross my path. My favorite was just outside of Florence, Oregon, years ago. A mother and babe crossed. I had been paying attention to the “dancing deer” signs (as my friend, Treasure, calls them). Good thing. The mom crossed as she should, but the baby just stood there, back and forth, trying to figure out what to do. When she finally joined her mom, you could almost hear the “didn’t I tell you to always stay with me!” conversation.

I’m back in Florence. I’m on my way down, which is not nearly as fun as heading up.. I’ve had a wonderful trip, tho’, even with the knee thing.

I won 376$ at the casino in Lincoln City today. I still don’t know what made that happen, but I wasn’t going to complain...




The casino... can' you imagine why the locals don't like it... ('cept for the gambling part (grin)).

This is a short blog... I’m going to get something to eat and try to post this.




Oregon coast..



Cape Foulweather.. first landing in Oregon.. by Captain (who else?) Cook.



Cape Foulweather north.





My campground!

Rain, Rain, All the Day...

IF you look closely, you can see not one, but two rainbows...

Abe would have been... well... shocked.

I’m in Lincoln City, Oregon. It’s not one of my favorite cities on the coast, as it’s grown too large for itself too quickly. There has been some improvement since last I was here, but there are too many NEW bits and then too many SHABBY bits. The nice bits are scattered around.

I think part of this is the Casino (which, of course, I had to visit and then had to lose ... well... let’s just say I paid my part for the mistreatment of the indigenous people.. and leave it at that). The casino has brought more business and more traffic and tourists. There is one small section of the road that has remained two lane (one each way) for EVER. All the rest of the long city is 4 lanes, which handles most of the visitors in a handy way. Then, in the middle of the city, is this section. I don’t know how or why it hasn’t been converted, but there must be SOMETHING that keeps it narrow. I’m sure businesses had to move or lose some frontage as a result of the wider street, all except for this piece...

I’m going to try to find out why...

The casino, combined with some antique looking has made my knee unhappy. It will get better, but right now it’s complaining. I stopped to mail a package and pick up a sandwich for later, and just as I came into the campground (a KOA, which is really pretty and away from town) it started to really rain.. and the wind picked up.

It’s been raining since I returned, but I’m all snugly in my little house with my little chair and a pillow under my knees and a pillow under my computer ‘board’ and everything is within reach; water, food, phone, computer, light, heater, you name it, I’m ready for it!



I didn’t take many pictures today, it was too gray and windy. I did get one of the Air Museum in Tillamook. I am always amazed at how large the hanger. There used to be two of them during the war, but one burned in the last .. oh.. 20 years or so. I’m including a ‘stock’ photo of how big it is inside! Now they have a BUNCH of old planes there, and a history of it and all that stuff.



Those are blimps!

My campground, taken from the door of my cozy house...



I hope I can post this.. I seem to get internet in bursts and fits...