4/13/13
Today we got up really early – me for the bathroom and Diane so she could move to the couch. We only have a queen bed so my ‘wiggling’ around is more pronounced, causing severe irritation that deters from the ability to obtain a decent nights sleep. I regret that aspect of getting older, though Diane would say I’ve always had this problem. I think the extra wiggly part of last night was the result of a glass of wine with which I took my nightly ration of Zolpidem. The wine was Barefoot Pink Moscato, Screwtop, Wednesday Last Week. It’s very good, and very easy to open.
When I returned from relieving myself, Diane got up and moved. She said that was about 0530. So, that’s officially when we first got up. I then slept until almost 0900, as did she. She may have slept a little longer, but I stood at her feet, staring into her face, projecting my desire that she wake up all by herself. It’s better if I don’t touch her to wake her up. I practice staring at her, commanding her to turn and look at me, all the time. She’s used to it now, though, and normally just tells me to quit staring at her … like she knew it was me all along. I suppose that’s logical since it’s normally just the two of us. But, she always acknowledges the stare. This morning, however, when she opened her eyes she jumped when she saw me, not knowing that I was the reason she woke up. I only had to stand there for about 30 minutes, too. I’m getting better all the time.

After a cup of coffee, and a yogurt, we walked up to the office where a staff member was giving information about what there is to do in the area. After that we returned to our assigned trailer and had a proper breakfast of Cheerios, toast and coffee. Then, with our new found knowledge of what’s going on locally, we headed south on Highway 1 at a leisurely pace, relying on memory about things to do because we left the information in our trailer.

First, Point Arena isn’t a large place. I believe there are 449 residents, all of whom either work at the trailer park here, or spend their time fishing down by the Coast Guard Bed & Breakfast by the pier where the albatross live.

For those of you who really, really like California Highway 1, I apologize. It truly is a beautiful drive when time isn’t a factor. We only drove as far south as Gualala. I saw a custom license plate with GWALALA so know that’s how it’s pronounced. Before that I was guessing. I’m guessing, still, that it’s pronounced in a manner that would make it fit right in the song “Deck The Halls” … you know, “fa la la la la, la la la la.” Or, “falalalal, lalalal,” if you prefer.

Gualala is a quaint little village. In the year 2000 the population was 1,912. Last year they did a recount, because of an influx of folks from Florida, and came up with 2,132. On average, there are 25 people per square mile. By comparison, Point Arena lost 25 people between the 2000 and 2010 census, down from 474. Diane concurs with me that those 25 people secured one square mile of property in Gualala and are part of that 2,132.

On the way to Gualala (kinda rolls off your tongue, now, doesn’t it?) we stopped at a craft fair at the Veteran’s Hall in Point Arena where we both bought stuff. Can’t share what because they are surprises for some folks. Friendly people and fun to talk with. One of the vendors was an eighth grader who was my vendor of choice. She was stuck at the end of a long table full of laser crafted, overpriced, wood boxes, and her little card table was almost totally blocked by a small shoji screen covered with dangly “stuff”.

From there we continued down a few streets and turned right on Port Avenue which ends at the Coast Guard Bed & Breakfast, and the fishing & boat launch pier. There isn’t a boat ramp like normal – it’s got a crane that picks up boats and drops them in the water. The wind was blowing so hard that we didn’t spend much time on the pier. Plus there were big birds flying around doing bomb runs on people in the parking lot. Fun to watch, but chilly.

Moving on down the road, we didn’t stop until we got to Gualala where we found a supermarket Diane wanted so we could get something for supper. I got a New York steak, but I think we’re going to have tuna salad instead. We’ll eat the steak tomorrow.

Attached to the supermarket is a Mexican Food & Pizza joint so we each had a piece of pepperoni pizza, which was really good. Then we walked across the parking lot to Jack’s Pharmacy And All Around Emporium. That’s not really the name. It’s just Jack’s Pharmacy. Inside, however, it’s a little bit of everything, even old motorcycles. It really did have a pharmacy, but it was closed. Outside the closed wire cage, near the Depends and Kotex isle, were sitting six guys with guitars pickin’ and singin’. Pickin’ good, singin’ bad, but they were having a lot of fun.

In this store Diane found a little chandelier type thing, but the lady wanted too much. So, the lady knocked $25 off which met with Diane’s approval. She took us to the cashier and told her we were paying cash, so it didn’t get rung up. Diane also bought some cards which were rung up. So, figuring this was definitely a tax type dodge, I told the First Lady that I worked for the IRS and needed to talk to her. She flexed a bit, said, and I quote, “shit, I’m really in trouble now…” Seeing the impact of this lie caused me to immediately let her know I was lying and that I wasn’t going to tell anyone. For my honesty, she breathed a sigh of relief and gave me a rice krispy square for free.

That made my day, which pleased Diane, so we mosied back to our assigned trailer.

One of the things we learned at the morning meeting is a film crew is lurking around the area shooting the movie “The Need For Speed”, I think. Apparently they used Lighthouse Road, outside our trailer park, a few days ago. A local paper reported that the chain link fence was removed from the Point Arena Lighthouse for the movie so it’s a good time to go take pictures. So, we’ll be doing that tomorrow, in the morning, after another nourishing breakfast of Cheerios, toast, and coffee.

Did I mention that it’s windy here?

This park is for the birds …

The beach near the Point Arena Pier.