We had prepared for the trip on the night of Thursday March 23 and I had gone to bed late after packing. The next morning, March 24, I got the boys up at 6:45 and my brother let me know he would meet me at the Ferry Building so we were leaving with plenty of time. The boys and I took the bus on Mission and we met my brother at the coffee shop. The boys were enthusiastic. They had all their stuff in their backpacks.
We boarded the Larkspur Ferry with no problem and I got a photo of the bridge. One of the boys was enthusiastic about the photographs. When we got off the boat we walked to the SMART train. The trip to Petaluma was unremarkable but fun – in fact the train was kind of empty. At Petaluma we went to the plaza, which is next to Starbucks but my brother insisted we go to the playground.
Later we went to the Amtrak Thruway Bus Stop and waited a bit extra because the bus was late. Then we settled in for a long ride. We had selected a spot in the middle of the bus until the boys discovered the front seat. Unfortunately, one of the boys fell asleep there. So, I moved him to a safer spot and sat in the front with the other boy.
We stopped in Ukiah. I went and got us some quesadillas and some smoothies. When we returned, we found that my brother had not purchased anything. My tweets about The Laughlin Range and pictures garnered a lot of interest. Willits and Laytonville were similarly interesting but for the rest of the ride we were nervous about connecting to the Crescent City bus.
I continued to sit in the front with the one boy until the other boy returned and we rode to Fortuna and Eureka that way. When it was clear that we would miss the 20 bus north to Crescent City, I had to make plans for when we arrived in Arcata–my old college town. I booked us a room at the hotel.
When we arrived at the stop and caught a glimpse of the Crescent City bus leaving we checked in. Then we went to the Japanese restaurant downstairs and had a delicious meal. I got us mochi and later my brother did bedtime. That was when I visited the bars on the square outside and relived a little of my youth. I went to bed at 11:30 and the boys were asleep.
The next morning, Saturday March 25, the boys got up early and I got up a bit later. My brother was with the kids for a bit and I met him at a cafe across the street for hot cocoa and a bagel. We headed to the bus station a short while later and caught the bus to Crescent City.
I barely noticed the ride to Crescent City and that made it really nice. The McKinleyville stop and Trinidad passed fast because I was setting the boys up in their seats but by the time we got to Orick, I was trying to get photos. I got Klamath River, Klamath, Glenn, and Del Norte redwoods. While on the road, we discovered that the 20 actually goes to Gasquet but we got off in Crescent City.
At the cultural museum in Crescent city I let the boys go to the playground. I went shopping and got coffee. When I was done, my brother showed up with his neighbor, who was giving us a ride. We packed everything up, got on the 199 and headed into Smith Redwoods. We stopped near the Park Visitor Center, but the rest of the drive was quiet.
The boys were drawing, which I thought was fantastic but fell asleep after that so missed when the snow was falling. When we got to my brother’s little town, we unpacked and I got the boys their warm clothes and then I went to see the neighbors who set me up in their extra room - my brother’s house only had enough to accommodate him and the boys.
The neighbors told the boys that they would find their radio controlled trucks and the boys immediately started making tracks in the dirt for them. My brother made them hotdogs and veggies. We enjoyed a meal. The boys settled in for bedtime, so I went back to the neighbors’ house for a drink and good conversation.
On March 26 I woke at 7:15 and drank the coffee my hosts offered me. I missed pancakes at my brother’s house but was able to make my own pancakes. We made plans and visited Cave Junction. The four of us went to the propane place, hardware store and I got some coffee on my own. Later we stopped at his office, where my brother had stuff to do.
When we returned to his place, he set up his propane and I sat with the neighbor fixing the spare bike. The boys came over and brought me back. The barrel adjuster on the bike was cracked but I made it work. I rode it around and my brother told me the story about losing the chain.
We had dinner then and my brother and I shared some beer. Later I found them playing dominoes. One of my boys was good, but wasn’t happy about losing. My other boy, after a few attempts, actually won one round.
When the boys went to bed, I went back to my room at the neighbor’s. We made some cocktails. One was called a “scofflaw,” and the other was the white creamy type of absinthe.
In the morning of March 27, I slept until 9:30 and texted with my old classmate in Crescent City about traveling to visit him. My hosts had made some coffee. I went to my brother’s house and had pancakes again. They were out collecting stones down by the river. I found them with a wheelbarrow on the trail north of the house. I was really impressed and noted that there are so many different types of rock in the Illinois River.
I got a scratch from sprouting blackberry and I gouged myself on a willow branch. We returned to the house and I made coffee and Cheerios. I did a few things later. My brother had the boys over at the neighbor’s house but later he made them a hotdog lunch.
I packed up and said bye to my host. Then I put the extra bike in my brother’s car and he took the boys and I to Cave Junction where they waved at me from the car until my bus left for Crescent City. I waved goodbye.
I noted my acquaintance in Crescent City had texted.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
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