Along the Mendocino Coast

Last weekend Justine and I headed south to the Mendocino County coastline for little camping and relaxation. We needed a little break from the fog and bums which seem so prevalent in Eureka. I understand why we have so much fog, but I just don't understand why we have so many damn homeless people around here. We live a couple blocks from the bay which just happens to be where the fog lingers and the bums languish, so needless to say...By the time the weekend rolls around, we're ready for a change of scenery.

The Mendocino County coast is an absolute gem. The defining feature of the coastline is the rocky headlands and coves that string along the coast. Driving south along Highway 1, you cruise along the edge of a cliff a couple hundred feet above the pounding surf. Most of the road lacks safety rails, but it's a fun road to drive in our little Honda. Anytime I'm driving along the ocean, I'm on the lookout for a wave to surf. There was a 4-7 foot South swell filling in along the coast, which is pretty much a perfect set up for Mendocino's rocky points. I saw plenty of good, solid waves with nobody out...so I did what any sane Hoosier turned surf bum and waited until I found a spot with a couple people out. I didn't want to be the first guy from Indiana to get nibbled on by the 'GrayMan'.

The area around Fort Bragg and the town of Mendocino is a collection of state parks and national seashore. We had visited the area a couple times before for quick hit and run type visits. Fort Bragg is a sleepy, dying logging town attempting to transform into a vacation town. It's on the way to being somewhat of a mecca for cold-water free-divers.  Mendocino (the town) is a quarky, artsy town that sits on the Mendocino Headlands. It's definitely a great place to visit and have a walk around town, step into some shops, and have a pint of locally brewed ale. 

Justine and I made a quick pass through the towns and headed out along the coast to find a decent campsite away from the weekend crowds. State Park campsites are packed on Saturday nights with RV's and families, so we opted for a campground off the beaten path. We found a sweet campsite nestled amongst pine trees and within earshot of the crashing waves and the odd barking sea lion. After we secured a good campsite and set up our tent, we headed into the town of Mendocino for a pint of brew and to wait for the marine layer to burn off. There is a little pub called Dirty Dick's, which pours only local microbrew and offers sweeping views of Mendocino Bay and the Big River estuary from the bar stools. After a couple pints, the fog burned off and we had an afternoon of sunshine. We headed down to the beach at Big River. I walked out to the beach, took one look at the waves, and then headed back to the car to pull my wetsuit on. Justine opted for a good book and a soak in the sun.

The waves were decent and I had the lineup to myself. After my surf, we headed back to camp and lit up a bonfire. One of our favorite parts of camping is always cooking over an open fire. Justine had picked out some delicious ribeye steaks, sweet potatoes, and french bread for dinner. After stuffing ourselves, we retired to our lawn-chairs and basked in the fire. We took in the sound of the fire crackling, sea-lions barking, and the smell of the cool salt air mingling with the smell of a cedar fire.

We woke up early Sunday morning, packed up camp, and headed out to look for a little breakfast joint we'd heard good things about. We ended up finding the cafe, but it was closed for remodeling. Plan B turned out to be a typical greasy spoon diner. After breakfast we needed to walk off our biscuits, gravy and french toast. We headed to Jug Handle State Park and took a trail that followed the headlands around and offered views of more coves and more sea-life. I know it sounds like all we did was look at ocean stuff, but it really never gets old. The ocean is always different and the views are never quite the same. There is something awe inspiring about looking out into that vastness. We ended up finding this little cove that didn't have footprints in it and scrambled down a gully onto the white sand. We spent the morning poking around the seaweed and taking it all in. 

After Jug Handle State Park we headed down the road and I talked Justine into pulling over at the Point Cabrillo Light Station to have a look around. We've been to enough historical sites to be weary of them, they are usually filled with loud bitching kids, beleagured parents, and crusty octagenarians. We braved the parking lot and took the half mile stroll out to the Light. It was cool, it had all of the historical stuff that you'd want in a restored lighthouse. The original buildings were restored and filled with artifacts. The Light Station itself was decent, it's definitely no Cape Hatteras, but it does sit on a cliff a couple hundred feet above the surf.

After the stroll through the Light Station, we headed out to find a new campsite to stash the tent. I'll let you in on a little secret about scoring prime camp sites. Go claim a site around 12:30 in the afternoon, most campgrounds make people leave around noon if they aren't spending the next night and most people don't start looking for a spot until late afternoon, so that means there is a plethora of open sites for the taking. Go find the best spot, drop your tent, claim the site and then head out for your afternoon of fun. When you get done with your afternoon of fun, your prime spot will be waiting for you and you can spark up your bonfire and watch the suckers that waited until the end of the day drive past and look upon your site with envy.

We camped out at Russian Gulch State Park, which is known for it's prime diving, ocean bluffs, and hiking. We spent the waning hours of Sunday afternoon lounging on the beach and playing fetch with a dog that belonged to the other couple on the beach. I was seriously tempted to pull on my wetsuit and spear a fish, but the wind picked up and the water clarity died. We opted for a hike out along the bluffs and through the forest. 

Sunday night brought another campfire and a fire cooked meal. Justine grilled a stuffed chicken breast and I had a slab of lamb. Another great camping trip was coming to a close. Justine and I swilled beers around the fire and thought back on all of the great times we'd had along the way. 

I'll be the first to say that I'm so thankful for my marriage. Working at a bar, I hear all kinds of shit talked about marriage and whatnot. It goes in one ear and out the other, because marriage is such a team effort. Justine and I always joke about having a 'team building exercise' on our trips. It's a polite way of saying we need to figure out a way to work together and make something happen when an adverse situation comes our way. Our team building exercise this trip was only having one headlamp. For some reason we only had brought one flashlight with us. Now next time you are out camping, try cooking a somewhat gourmet dinner in the dark with a single light. It takes some teamwork and it'll work your communication skills. We made it work and had a blast doing it. 

It's funny because we've been on this strange adventure referred to as marriage for a couple years now and we still feel like we're honeymooning. Maybe it's because we're living out here in California with only a couple friends and we're traveling around all the time, but I also think it's because we have this mindset about life-like we're not going to fall into that trap of everyday life. We're not buying into the crap you see everyday on TV that boils down to keeping up with the Joneses. I feel like we have this great hybrid of Hoosier upbringing combined with this Tom Sawyer-esque romanticized idea of what an adventure life can be. 

The noble author and his wife, posing above the cove at Russian Gulch

Justine trying to get a peak over the edge at Jug Handle State Park

Can you see me out there?

Point Cabrillo Light Station

The parting shot

.231

Well, last night I watched a lady get arrested for a DUI outside of my house. It's ironic because last week I watched a similar lady go to trial and kind of fight a DUI charge. The situation was interesting, I had just gotten home after spending almost 8 hours at our neighborhood bar. Now before anybody starts to 'TSKK TSKK' from afar, let me clarify...I tend bar until 7p.m. or so and then I'll usually BS for a bit with my boss (think Jimmy Buffet-but a commercial crab fisherman and not quite so charming), but I digress. I had just gotten home, unloaded some CO-OP produce and cracked a beer when I noticed police lights flashing outside of my house. I felt it was my civic duty to put down my beer (I didn't need any trouble) and sit outside on my porch and observe the whole situation from afar. I would want somebody to watch out for my rights and whatnot if I were ever to find myself in a similarly miserable situation.

The whole thing took maybe 20-30 minutes. I watched the lady do all of those tests you hear about. She stood there and played twenty questions, while getting flash-lighted in the eyes by a big 20 year old jock with a gun. She touched her nose, while closing her eyes. She walked heel to toe along a cracked sidewalk. She even did some weird balance type exercise that I'm thinking about incorporating into my half marathon training regimen. She stood there for long time and I thought she looked sober as a freaking bird, but then after all of that song and dance...The cop pulled out the 'Breathilizor' and she blew twice. I heard that cop tell her that she blew three times the legal limit! She blew a .231! I know legally that is way, way boozed up (in the 'legal' sense of boozed up). Let's just say that each drink an hour is worth a .03 or.04 and your body metabolizes one of those cocktails every hour.  That would mean that after 3 drinks in an hour, you would be in the ballpark of .09 or above...which is technically above the limit. That means this lady had 6 stiff drinks in an hour and then set out to head home. Or maybe she had 10 drinks in 2 hours and then decided to mosey on home via automobile. Anyway you shake it, she would have had to have tons to drink. Now, as a bartender, I am around a ton of people who drink  lots of drinks and are basically fine, save their gratuity skills, but that is neither here nor there and I really thought she looked good to go. When I heard the cop tell her that she blew 3 times the legal limit, I was blown away. I don't want to sound doubtful of the cop, because he did seem reasonably professional, but if that lady was 8 drinks deep-then I am deeply ashamed of my bartender-esque ability to pick a drunk out of a crowd. A quick search of the subject spits out tons of information about Blood Alcohol Level and the corresponding affects on the body. According to the University of Rochester, a BAC level of .21-.29 will result in 'stupor, loss of understanding, impaired sensations, severe motor impairment, loss of consciousness, and memory blackout'. Now as an observer to the whole situation, I find it extremely hard to believe that the lady was that boozed up...but in the words of W.C. Fields, "I've never been drunk, but I've often been over served".

Just to clarify my opinion, I think it's a real jackass move to drink and drive...but I also think that cops can be a bit overzealous about things from time to time. Everyday I see people come into the bar and have a drink, socialize with friends, and unwind a bit before getting on with their day. Almost everyone of those people are responsible about the whole situation, but it only takes one idiot to have a few too many and ruin their day or someone else's life. In the end, I can't feel too sorry for that lady...If she had money for cocktails, then she should have had money for a cab.

A Few Pictures, Some Thoughts, and A Ramble or Two

Early fall temperatures and relatively calm seas bring tuna within 30 miles of our coastline. Fishermen will go out for a week or two and fill up their boats with tuna. Tons of tuna equal great prices for us. We bought fresh albacore tuna for about $2 per pound straight from the dude who reeled it in. We grilled a couple pounds of it after soaking it in a secret soy/teriyaki sauce of my own creation, wrapping it in bacon, and skewering the tuna and pineapple chunks together. 

A couple of weeks ago, Justine and I made the drive down the coast to the little village of Mendocino. The first half of the drive weaves through the redwoods and the second half of the drive is along the coast. The drive is pretty amazing. Vistas like this are pretty much the norm. We're getting spoiled with all of the scenery around here.

Last week we made the drive up to Eugene to catch an Xavier Rudd show. We stayed at a little hostel and enjoyed some great food and beer. Eugene is a great mid-size town. It's the home of University of Oregon and the Eugene City Brewery. The town is clean and people were on bikes everywhere. The show was spectacular, we were front and center. Xavier Rudd was rocking out a couple of feet in front of us. 

Here's a random picture from the Humboldt County Fair. Justine talked me into riding some crazy Ferris wheel type ride that spun you around and upside down. I almost lost my corn dog.

Thoughts and Rambles

I was forced to spend the past few mornings at the courthouse performing my civic duty of serving on a jury. I would guess that I'm allowed to talk about it now, since I am no longer on the jury or rather I never even made it into the jury box. The past three mornings (almost 12 hours total) I sat in a courtroom along with 60 other citizens and watched a jury get chosen for a DUI case. It was interesting to see the system working, but disheartening to see how dysfunctional/wasteful the system is. It took 3 mornings to pick a jury for something as minor as a DUI case, I'm pretty sure the whole process shouldn't have taken longer than one morning and needed to include maybe 30 people at maximum. It seems like courtrooms and DMV offices attract a similar ilk of people, meaning scruffy weirdos come out of the woodworks. The first morning I got there 20 minutes early, wearing my Sunday best. Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb and calling myself out as a rookie jurist. During the first break I snuck across the street at picked up a couple surfing magazines to keep myself occupied for the remainder of the mornings.

I never made it into the jury box and I'm pretty sure that the District Attorney would have used a 'peremptory challenge' on me. I don't think a bartender is the type of juror a prosecutor would want in the box on a DUI case. Especially a bartender who thinks that our Fourth Amendment rights are being eroded away at an alarmingly high rate. I get the feeling that the defendant was taking the case to trial because she was contesting the results of the Blood Alcohol Level analysis tests. The defense kept asking prospective jurors about their opinions/experiences with computer testing equipment. I gather from the questions that the lady took several different blood alcohol tests and they all came back with different responses. A quick Google search of 'BAC testing' will spit out tons of websites dedicated to espousing the problems with most BAC tests. I don't want to get conspiratorial about the whole issue because people do die in drunk driving accidents, but it does seem like certain people profit from stricter enforcement and whatnot. In the NY Times a few days ago there was an article about how the law enforcement union (31,000 members in CA alone) was trying to recall Arnold the 'Governator'. A quick Google search of them will also yield reams of information about how they are trying to increase the penalties for all kinds of crimes...I mean doesn't that seem a little fishy, the people that profit from the prison system are lobbying for harsher penalties for all kinds of crimes, most of them victimless. But I digress...

Have you guys been following Presidential Election? Silly question...If the GOP wants my vote, they are going to have to tell Sarah Palin to come up with some new material. I mean, I get it-You got rid of the governor's chef and your kids were pissed, you gave yourself a pay-cut and your husband was pissed, and you sold the jet on EBAY (it really sold at a private auction for a loss). She just doesn't seem like someone I would want representing our country. I mean look where electing a good ol' boy got us...Do we really want a good ol' girl stepping in the office next?

Purdue lost this weekend. Two overtimes and they still couldn't get things done. It's ironic because a week prior to the game I was up in Eugene and I was thinking that the University of Oregon looked like a pretty nice college. If I would have known they were going to pay back my kindness and tourist dollars with such an insult, I would have littered more and maybe left a steaming dump on the steps of their stadium.

That's all for now. Keep on keeping on.