A mellow time at the Plaza

Day 16, Patrick’s Point to Redwood Coast RV Park, 25 miles

I decide to take another leisurely day, just short ride into Arcata. I’m meeting a friend for lunch, so I pack up my gear and start the ride. I follow Patrick’s Point Drive to Trinidad, a chilly morning. Then frittata and coffee at the Beachcomber Cafe.

Then I’m back on the Redwood Highway. 101 is a freeway at this point, wide shoulders, lots of traffic, and fast. Really fast! I’m supposed to take the Hammond Trail, a nice bucolic spin through pastures and a railroad bridge crossing over the Madd River. But I stay on the 101, enjoying how rapid my pace is. I arrive in town in no time flat.

Lunch is sushi at Tomo’s. Interesting conversation about the local scene, including the antics of bongo players on the Plaza. I bid my friend goodbye and wander over the Cafe Brio, where I spend most of the afternoon lingering over coffee and my blog. I call over to the Finnish Tubs and alas, they are all booked for the day. I make an appointment for tomorrow, thinking a layover day is in order.

I ride the remaining few miles to the RV park. I’ve stayed here before, just off the freeway. $20 for a solo bicyclist, expensive. But there are hot showers, I can do my laundry, and I’m tired. I laugh when I see the sign, “Don’t put synthetics in these dryers” I remember Lawrence drying his polypropylene shirt and finding it had disintegrated, leaving blue spots on the dryer drum and other clothes.

I retire to my tent, waving at the other tent campers nearby, a group of young hippies, probably “trimmigrants” looking for word in the harvest that is at hand. This is weed country, filled with hopefuls and vagrants and new bohemians, all looking for sustenance and purpose and a good time. I shudder at my memories of Garberville. We’ll see what it’s like this time.

The full moon is out, a Harvest Moon, a rare event, visible from sunset to sunrise. Doesn’t keep me up, nor the noise of the music from one camp over, or the din of the freeway. I’m dog tired, sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.