Seagulls Like Pita Bread...

Months... it's been months.

And what do you get as my first entry in months? Why, another trip report, of course.

It's been an odd and unpleasant summer. Low-lights were a very stressful parental visit, job (lack-therof)- related financial angst, and some scary health crap that hasn't been fully sorted out (and may never be without insurance). Luke started a part-time assignment in early October, I haven't worked since July. I started a new assignment on the same day he did, but my back couldn't handle it and I left after just two days. Things have kinda been sucking lately.

Luke and I planned to go to Artcon long before the summer got to be so weird. A real road trip, our first in a while. Art Widner makes the 1580-odd mile round-trip drive to Seattle several times a year for fannish and family activities. He turned 90 years old this September, and it was decided that for once, the party would come to him! We took Carbata, my 1998 Civic, to the mechanic for a once-over and she was cleared for the long trip. We packed up and hit the road just after 8am last Thursday. We got to Grant's Pass around 4, and pushed on through the redwoods to Crecent City, arriving at sunset.

Around 9am we hit the road, taking 101 to a town called Legget, where we picked up highway 1 and began the REALLY twisty part of the journey! Traffic was light and the scenery was incredible. I get really carsick on these type of roads, unless I'm the one driving. Luckily, I was the one driving! As we head out of the woods and down onto the coast, I realize that I'm finally back in California after seven years, and I loved a lot of things about it. There is some truly beautiful country here. We get into Gualala about 5pm, right around when we thought we would. We pull into the parking lot of the Breakers Inn, and I praise my trusty Carbata for being such a good, reliable girl. Getting out, who do we see first but the man of honor himself- Art!

We check into our room. All rooms have a theme, ours is "Pennsylvania". The furniture and artwork are all very country colonial. SO not our style, but we didn't care, it had a huge comfy bed, fridge, wet bar, fireplace, spectacular spa tub, and of course, all the rooms had a wonderful view of the ocean. This was easily the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in. We go out on the deck to drink it all in for a bit, then we take a shower and wash off the travel grime.

De-grimed and refreshed, we see vgqn and magscanner, who are looking for dinner companions. They pick us- yay! Dinner was lovely! Afterwards, we all head for the consuite. Luke and I started playing cards with an ever-revolving group of people. Now, I swear I've never played poker before. I don't like cards, I don't know anything about cards beyond what a full house means. I think watching people play cards on TV is a form of torture. But there I was playing something called "Texas hold-em" and winning! I had quite a pile of chips in front of me. It was beginner's luck, and I'm sure if we'd been playing for actual money, I'd never have won a dime.

The rest of the weekend was delightful, walking along high bluffs and beautiful beaches. Getting reaquainted with fans we don't see often enough anymore. We got to visit Art's amazing octagonal house in the woods. The weather was perfect. I saw the Milky Way for the first time in many, many years. And we saw plenty of birds and wildlife. Saturday morning, I discovered that seagulls like pita bread. We brought snacks for the trip, and I wondered how close the birds would come if I left some bread out on the railing. Turns out- very close! Before I could even back up, they landed on the rail and were fighting over the scraps. One bird was particularly bold, and I'm sure he would have eaten out of my hand if I'd allowed it, but these guys eat rotten things and his beak looked rather sharp! He hung around for a long time and returned each day, hoping for more treats. By the third day, I was tossing pieces and he'd catch them in mid-air. Very impressive! No-one said anything, but I suspect the hotel folks discourage feeding the birds because when they flew away, the deck was covered in droppings! Still, I love birds, even seagulls, and I like to be as close to them as possible.

We left the dead dog early Sunday night, and took a final soak in our wonderful spa tub. Loved that tub....


So anyway, we had a fantastic time, got back fine, and hope to take more road-trips in the future.






There ya go, I posted!