Hotel California

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Yes, I have used this song before.  Possibly several times, but I really have no more craps to give.

Last night we stayed in Arcata, a nasty little town whose population mostly seems to live out of grocery carts in the shopping mall parking lot.  Our hotel, the Ramada, is one of a cluster around an intersection on US101 and lays enviable claim to the title 'worst Google ratings of the whole trip'.  I have stayed there before and can verify that the rating is well-deserved.  The actual hotel is fine- clean and functional - but they have an afternoon receptionist who is spectacularly awful...probably the worst I have ever met, and I have met some real turds.  We stay there because at least the hotel lacks the drug dealers and hookers that loiter in the lobbies of some of the others.  So, as you may imagine, my hopes weren't high as I entered reception.

In fact the manager was on duty and he was polite, helpful, efficient.  My gast could not have been more flabbered.   This is pretty much as good as it ever gets...Gold standard.  I was just starting to think I had been a little hard on the place when the 4pm shift change delivered the little charmer I know from old.  One of my group asked her for some help finding a local physiotherapist...a mistake he is unlikely to repeat.

Almost all of us went to the Chinese Buffet; some were a little sceptical but I think everyone was a convert once they staggered home with 5000 calories on board.

Today is a day I have been preparing for with mixed emotions.  We are staying in cabins in the heart of the Redwood forest...which is great.  We have to feed ourselves there and the lion's share of that burden falls to me...much less great.

I have been to the supermarket and purchased some magnificent (but hellishly expensive) ribeyes, partially figured out the logic behind what lives in which aisle (it turns out there is no logic, it's completely random), bugged a worker who was trying to stack shelves about 10 times and bugged another man who I thought was a worker and turned out not to be...but only after he spent 5 minutes helping me look for stuff.

We are currently having a lunch stop in Fernadale, which has a charming main street with some well-preserved old buildings.  I hope they are getting a good meal as it may be their only decent one today!

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