We've successfully crossed the Atlantic and are now cooling our heels in Sciphol airport. I decided to try out the massage pods they have all along the gateways. I decided it must be effective since there was a fellow dead asleep in one of the pods. Verdict: a little firmer than the ones I've tried in the US and not a bad wakeup before the last leg of the journey from Amsterdam to Marseille.
Hello all. This is mostly a test post. We're about to leave for our Southern France trip - 2 nights in Marseille, 8 days on a Viking River Cruise on the Rhone and Saone rivers and 2 nights in Lyon.
I know the Northern California coast is beautiful, but it hits me anew every time
Jo's friend John and his mom, Claribel
The trio of old friends
Yesterday was another laid back day. Jo had some business to do so we wandered around the square in Arcata. Lunch at Cafe Brio was very good. Their food is all locally sourced and the bread is baked fresh. Linda had a kicked up grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough with jalapeño corn chowder. I had a tuna salad platter that was way above the usual with lemon cucmbers, heirloom tomatos and pickled onions as well as fresh microgreens and a really tasty tuna salad with huge chunks of tuna. The pastries in the case looked fabulous, but we had no room left by then.
Dinner was an adventure of a different sort. We had dinner with Jo, her friend John, and John's 96 year old mother. We ended up at The Alibi, described by Jo as a "dive bar with good kitchen". The atmosphere lived up to the description and so did the food. Dogs playing cards (and other games) on the walls, loud juke box, but surprisingly good pork and lamb chops with fresh vegetable sides. Jo said all their meat is all from local farms as are the vegetables. John's mother, Claribel, a graduate of Swarthmore '40 was quite a character and told stories of her youth at Swarthmore and growing up in a Chicago suburb. Four of the five of us had lived around Chicago, as had our waiter so that was one shared theme for the evening.
After being shorn, the sheep wear a variety of fashionable wraps. Who knew?
I wondered if this one felt left out
After shearing a shower before donning a snappy paisley number
This morning's adventure in the north country involved a trip to the Humboldt County Fair in Ferndale. Pretty exciting stuff for these city gals. Cows, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, and PIE. Also a chain saw juggler(!?!?!?), live music, and a food court with some scary huge corndogs and baskets of curly fries bigger than your head (for those who are old fans of B. Kliban). Here are a few of the sights:
After the Farmer's Market, we drove over to Eureka (not Trinidad as previously reported). Jo had some business to attend to so Linda and I wandered around the town and stopped for coffee and a little something sweet.
