"Look, Palm Trees on the Farm" (Wednesday, May 2)

Today, I have emailed several people regarding work/job interview-related things. I have an interview with a non-profit oranization next Monday. I called State Farm and made an appointment with them to get my insurance coverage transferred. I made an appointment to get my car smog certified. Mike took a break from work and went with me (I was fine with going by myself but he offered and didn't mind). I balanced a checking account (I now have one out here in addition to my Wisconsin account) and paid my cell phone bill.

Exciting, right? Well, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Not everyday can be thrilling, unfortunately. Or maybe that's a good thing.

I hung out with Mike while he worked for a little while. Listened to music. We have been trying to pool our resources, including using one car (and only when necessary). So that sometimes means I take him to work and then keep myself busy running errands and exploring Arcata, instead of Eureka. It's fine with me. Arcata is charming. :-)

What else did I do today? Oh, well, I online chatted with Hayley for a bit. I sat on the back patio with Mike and drank coffee while watching the sun come out - this is something we try to do everyday.

Mike and I went to Glass House and got some clear glass rods and 24K gold wire for him to work with. Next door is the Country Store; they have the BEST food, all made from scratch, some vegan, many things organic. They had Thai chicken curry soup on special so I had them fill my fat pink travel mug with it. We also got organic dried whole bananas (they are soooooo yummy), chocolate covered raisins, sesame garlic sticks, chocolate peanut butter brownie (still hot from the pan - this is Mike's favorite), pineapple carrot cake with cream cheese frosting... we didn't eat it all at once! Some of it was for later. All of it was $13.99, not bad for two people for the whole day, in my opinion. The soup was creamy but not heavy, spicy and sweet at the same time - peanut thai sauce and coconut curry I'm guessing - chock full of green squash, chicken, potatoes, onion, carrots, rice. YUMMY. Big chunks, well made. Mike's "not a soup guy" but he ate about 1/3 of it after tasting it.

After smog check we stopped at Sacred Grounds for coffee refills. $3.22 after tax for my pink mug plus Mike's big thermos. More than three refills worth, most definitely, but you get rewarded for bringing your own containers in Arcata. If you count having tons of coffee to drink a reward. I guess I do. (Oh yeah, and it was driving by a farm on the way to the smog place that Mike made the comment that I chose as this entry's title: "Look! Palm trees on the farm...have that in Wisconsin?" Smarty Pants.)

Mike has made nearly 20 pieces already, and it's only 4PM. Plus he stopped twice - for Glass House/Country Store plus Smog Check/Sacred Grounds. We got here around 10:45AM, which is sort of late. So not bad for a day's work, Mike.

So, Mike put my bike on his rack, which just fit over my spoiler, so that I could have my bike in Arcata. Now I'm going to ride my bike to the bank to cash a check. It's really nice and sunny out there.

Oh yeah, and also today I talked to Grandma on the phone. I miss her. She is always glad to hear from me. I just said to Mike: "Grandma is my favorite. She just thinks I'm wonderful." Mike said, "You ARE wonderful!" (Oh yeah, did I mention he put my bike on my car all of his own volition and didn't say anything so I'd be surprised when I came out of the house? "I thought you might want to ride it around after you get bored hanging out with me.") It's 4:06PM - Bicycle Time!

9:37PM

I rode my bike from 4:00 to 5:00. Went to the bank and cashed my check. Explored a few streets of Arcata.

At 5:15 we went up to Orick (past Trinidad) to Lady Bird Johnson Trail - one mile hike, so a good one to start with - in "Bears and Lion Country." There were signs explaining how to deflect/avoid bears ("make lots of noise") and what to do if one approaches ("stay calm," make noise? - or stay quiet - can't remember now. Probably this is an important detail...? Oh yeah, and "DON'T RUN!" If attacked, "Fight Back Aggressively." Great.)

It started to rain after we got back into the car (good timing!) and we saw two big beautiful rainbows. Of course I didn't have my camera. It's OK though. I enjoyed them with my two eyes.

Then we stopped at a beach north of Trinidad, south of Orick, and walked through the sand in our sandals (typically we travel with hiking boots and sandals so as to be prepared). Climbed a big rock. Watched the waves.

Came back to Arcata. Mike and I counted 27 pieces and I think he's made 7 more. I'm going to walk somewhere to use the bathroom and grab something to drink (there is a bathroom at his rented studio space, but it is so gross I can't bring myself to go in there).

Oh yeah, also I noticed the instructions for "what to do" were only if you see/meet a bear. It did not tell what to do in the unfortunate event you cross paths with a mountain lion. Though it did say we were in "mountain lion AND bear country". So I asked Mike what we would/should do. He said, "Take a picture!"

Yeah. Thanks, Mike. That is very helpful information. NOT.

11:18PM

I walked from South G St, Mike's Work, to Sacred Grounds on 7th and F. It was closed. The walk was only about five blocks up and one block over. I'm glad I did it but South G was very very dark and the shadows scared me. I called Mike to let him know I was going into Safeway (grocery store) to shop and was he done soon because I was too scared? No, I didn't like to do that, but better safe than sorry. He was just about done and more than happy to come and get me.