May 21, day 18 Patricks point to Arcata

May 21, day 18 Patricks point to Arcata

Starting odo 6990

Today is the end of the world we have been told - at 6pm!

It starts out innocently enough...  We get going with the promise of
breakfast just as soon as we get to something.  This turns out to be
in Trinidad, "The Eatery". I have eggs and ham, but the ham turns out
to be a huge 3/4" thick slice that I cannot finish and that sits in my
stomach like a rock for a few hours.

We move on to Arcata at a leisurely pace because we are tired and also
my left knee is aching a bit.

Arcata turns out to be a university town, and it's very nice there. We
stop at a bike shop to try to get Shyam's light working again, and a
block down there is a supermarket that is very much like whole foods,
and across the street is a nice laundromat that has wifi!

Shyam goes to the hardware store for some parts, and I go across the
street to do wash. As I get there, I see two familiar bikes, Ben and
Liz are there! We are really happy to see each other, and I get a big
hug from Liz!

After laundry is done we decide to camp at the KOA between Arcata and
Eureka, splitting the cost which turns out to be $6 per person.

As we are standing around at the KOA, we are wondering what the
industry or economic base is for Arcata. Ben says that it's marijuana!
He was talking to a police officer earlier who said that their hands
were tied when it came to MJ. People might be growing in their homes,
etc. but they could always produce a 512 (not sure about the #)
document for it.
The officer said he wouldn't live there, so he commuted from 20 miles
away. Our observation was that everybody we met there was happy.  Ben
says that Arcada was so notorious for MJ that he knew of a guy who
hitchhiked from NY to live there.

Other people had told us that the lost coast region was a big MJ
cultivation area, and not safe to go into during the harvest season.

In the evening, I get to use the hot tub, which I am usually too late
to do! There is an advantage to camping early!

I ponder icing my knee, but I would have to buy a whole bag of ice at
the KOA store.