Dippolds Drugstore Mural

I grew up in Gillespie, IL and moved away when I was 18; however, I visit back there almost every year.  Dippolds Drugstore was on a corner and had an old fashion soda fountain many years ago.  When I could scrape up a few pennies for a cherry soda, I made a beeline for there.  It was also a good place to read comic books, newspapers and loiter around until they asked you to leave.  It was a game to see how long you could stay under the radar from Mr. Dippold, the owner and pharmacist.

The drugstore was taken over by his son Edward who ran it for many years.  He finally sold it to the present day owners.  Now they have a mural painted on the side of the building showing some of the history of Gillespie.

 The statue on the right was a WWI soldier and used to be located on the street next to the drugstore.  US 66 ran through Gillespie from 1926-1930 and then was rerouted further east.  Now Rt 4 runs through Gillespie and heads south on the "Hardroad".  Yep, it is a concrete highway and has always been called the Hardroad as far back as I can remember.

There was a parking meter in front of the mural and I photo shopped it so the mural can be fully appreciated.  My thanks go out to my niece Jeanie and her husband Curt for thinking of me and sending the photo.

When I was in school the main street of Gillespie was a busy place.  The Illinois Terminal System (ITS) ran down the middle of main street and the Big 4 railroad crossed over the ITS about a block from my home.  All the stores were open and it was possible to take care of most of your needs and never leave town.  With the advent of cars being so popular the ITS closed down and the Big 4 also disappeared.  The closing of 13-14 coal mines in the area also had a big impact on the town. 

Now the main street has vacant buildings, some missing buildings and a few good stores.  There were also about 8-10 bars on main street including Monky's Corner, Russells, and others whose names I don't remember.  Most of them also have bitten the dust and only a few bars remain.  Times sure have changed back there and I'm not sure it was for the better.

We've seen this all over the US in our travels where the downtown areas are dead and everyone shops at Walmart.  To each his own.

Gerry and I are both fighting a bad cough and have decided to hang around Eureka for one more day and see if we feel up to heading down the road.  I hear the sun is shining in Florence, OR and we may check it out on Thursday.

It looks like our friends Linda & Sherwin have had enough of spending the cold winters in Maine and have sold their home there.  They are are moving to Tucson sometime in July.  Wow, what a change that will be as they sure will be warm in AZ in July-September.  We are happy for them that they can fulfill their dream of moving and it is just around the corner. 

That's all from cloudy, damp and cool Eureka, CA.  

Kinetic Grand Championship - Day 2

Gerry is still under the weather and didn't feel up to checking out the bikes in the kinetic race.   She asked if I would go out and take some photos.  

I drove down to the waterfront where I last saw the group and found many of the crafts/bikes lined up in a narrow parking lot.  The cars were lined up on both sides of the road for 3-4 blocks and I kept driving and found a space right at the starting line.  What luck!

It was an interesting group of people congregating around the start line.  Many were in wild costumes and matching gear for the bikes.  They all looked like they were having a great time and more than a few looked like they were nursing hangovers.  Ah, to be young again.

This time I brought my Canon digital Rebel camera with a fast speed and managed to get some nice photos.  At least I think they are nice.  It was a very overcast day so no sunlight to help with the photos.  So without further adieu, here are the results of my day.

Giddy up!

This unit shot flames out of the exhaust.

Most hippy float of them all.

A sign on the side said "bite me".

Great bulldog and nice bike.

Butterflies are free.

We saw this one yesterday on the road.

Clam shell and "Shell's Angels" crew.

Not sure what this one represented

We saw the undercarriage on a trailer the 1st day we arrived.

Terrapin float

No guts know Glory bike

It was interesting seeing all the bikes/floats and the party like atmosphere surrounding the group.  It took a couple hours for everyone to reenter the water to start on the next leg of the race.  One or two floats had problems and had to be pulled from this segment.  I don't think anyone took anything too seriously and everything was in good fun.

I stopped and picked up a late lunch from Taco Bell on the way back and we had a couple gorditas and dessert.  It hit the spot and we took it easy the rest of the day.

We did get some good news from our grandson Jared announcing his engagement to Hannah Wilson with an October 2016 wedding date.  They are a great couple and we are more than happy to welcome Hannah to the extended family. 

That was it for us, how have you observed the Memorial Day weekend so far?

Kinetic Grand Championship - Eureka, CA

 We decided to get out and about today and check out the town a bit more.  Gerry needed some cough medicine so we stopped by CVS and picked it up and then stopped for lunch at the Humboldt Soup Company.  The soup hit the spot on this cloudy and damp day.

The Kinetic race is being held this weekend and we went out searching for some of the participants.  Many were arriving in Eureka and we managed to get a few photos of the unique vehicles.  I've included a writeup about the race below since they explain it much better than I can.

 

The Kinetic Grand Championship is a 3-day, 42-mile bicycle race over land, sand, mud and water. Many refer to the Kinetic Grand Championship as the "Triathlon of the Art World."

Day 1 of the Kinetic Grand Championship starts on the Plaza in Arcata, California at the noon whistle every Memorial Day weekend. The racers take off to the Manila dunes, where they race through miles of sand to the great and inevitable "Deadman's Drop". Then on to Eureka's downtown gazebo.

Day 2 starts in Eureka at the waterfront on the Humboldt Bay, where brave Kinetic Pilots race their crafts through the water (most float). Then back on land where kinetic sculptures go up Hookton Hill, a 1 mile-7% incline and decline. Day 2 ends with a private campout for racers and volunteers only.

Day 3 starts from the private party at Crab Park where they will head over land to cross the Eel River just outside of Fernbridge. Watch the Racers cross the finish line on Ferndale's historic Mainstreet, where they will park for a while before heading up to the Final Awards Dinner.

What is a Kinetic Sculpture?

Kinetic Sculptures are all-terrain human-powered art sculptures that are engineered to race over road, water, mud and sand. Kinetic sculptures are amazing works of art; many are animated with moving parts like blinking eyes, opening mouths, heads that move side to side and up and down.

Kinetic Sculptures are usually made from what some people consider "junk". But one man's junk is another racer's raw material. Each Kinetic Sculpture is a work of art and each racing team has its own theme.

The teams consist of pilots, pit crew and pee-ons. Kinetic Pilots pedal the sculpture and steer, the pit crew assists the pilots in transforming the vehicle for the various elements and fixing mechanical issues, and pee-ons, well, they do whatever is needed for the team to get glory. The teams give out "bribes" to their adoring spectators, judges and Rutabaga Royalty.

Spectators are encouraged to follow the race on their bikes (obeying all traffic laws that apply please). Seeing these marvels of art and engineering turns many people on to bike culture and reminds people how much fun riding your bike can be!

Partial view of this one since it was tooling down the road.

 

Another head on view of the above.

 

This one needs a little push up the hill.

 

Sail power worked today with all the wind.

Family following along with the race.

Two person powered bike.

 

Not sure why this one was on the trailer.

 Hopefully we can get out on Sunday to see them going by on the road near where we are parked in the motor home.  If not, we will search them out and get some more pictures.

This 1955 Oldsmobile convertible was parked near the finish line for tonight and since it is one of my favorite all time cars I had to take this photo.  If I had unlimited funds this would be the first car I would buy for my collection.  I wouldn't even have to change it's color.  They just don't make classic cars like this now days.  Every car maker follows what the others sell and they are all the same.  Sad that the kids of today won't enjoy the cars of the era when we grew up.

That was our day, how was yours?

BBQ Ribs At The Elks Lodge

We've heard great things about the BBQ at the Elks Lodge here in Eureka where we are parked in the motor home.  They also have a steak special on Friday, but since it is Memorial Day weekend, they changed it to BBQ.  I went up and made a reservation for tonight's dinner and it's a good thing I did since the place was full.

We walked up there early about 6pm and paid for the tickets.  There was standing room only available.  The bar was full, all the tables around the bar and the sitting room were as well.  It reminded me of airports in Africa with everyone waiting for the door to open so you could run out to the airplane and make sure you got your seat.  So, we stood by the door to the dining room and were one of the first people let in.

There was a salad bar and another section for the huge pieces of BBQ, beans, spinach salad, sweet potato fries and garlic bread.  They had an assembly line going and we were whisked through the line quickly.  However, the salad line was 50 people deep and moving slowly so we sat down and attacked the BBQ.  Rather than wait in line we decided to start on the ribs and that turned out to be a good decision.  The salad after the dinner was great but by that time we were full.

I picked up a couple peach cobblers for dessert and we managed to finish them off.  The people at our table were locals and very friendly,  We chatted with them and learned a little about the Eureka area and beyond.  Very friendly and outgoing people at this Lodge.  

The Vice President of the California Elks was attending the dinner and when it was announced he was going to give a speech one of the men at the table jumped up and began cleaning the table.  Everything is done by volunteers including serving and cleaning up afterward.  I heard him mention that he wasn't going to stay for the speech and made a beeline to leave asap.  I don't think I've seen someone his age move so fast, but he made the correct decision.  The speaker sort of rambled on quoting some $ figures and such for 10-15 minutes.  

After the speech we went back to the motorhome since Gerry is a little under the weather.  Nothing serious, but enough to make her want to go back and rest.

We wish everyone a very happy Memorial Day and to keep in mind why we celebrate the day.  Take out some time to think about it.

That was our day, how was yours? 

Downtown Eureka

It was a dreary overcast day today and we weren't that enthused to get out and about, but finally we decided to check out the downtown area of Eureka.  The town is much larger than I imagined and has an interesting "old town" that borders the water.  Since we had a late start, we decided to have lunch at a seafood restaurant.  

We settled on the Cafe Waterfront that was in a very old building but had a nice interior.  It had a very high ceiling and there was a great mural behind the bar.  Gerry ordered a shrimp cocktail and I had a red snapper and chips (french fries).  We both enjoyed our meals very much and the red snapper was fantastic. 

As can be imagined, the building has served many different clients over the years since it was built in 1892.  It is located on the waterfront has a checkered past as shown below.

 

Cafe Waterfront

 If you have wondered what happens to old diesel locomotives when they have outlasted their useful life, I think I found out the answer.  These were in a scrap yard and were being dismantled, but not before some local artist had a chance to decorate them.  There were two more locomotives a few feet from these, but I couldn't get them all in the picture.

Humboldt Bay is the only deep-water port on California's North Coast, serving as a major transportation link between the Pacific Northwest and the entire world. As California's second largest natural bay, Humboldt Bay also overflows with a wide range of natural resources, recreational activities, commercial fishing opportunities, and conservation programs.

 Tourism is important to the area and this horse drawn coach was sitting along side of a small park waiting for customers.  In the hour or so we were in the area we never saw it move.  Slow day for the horse and driver to say the least.

Rates per trip - 20-25 minutes $28.00. 40-45 minutes $47.00 4 people to a ride.

Jim Dunn's Cosmopolitan bar founded in 1882 has seen better days and was closed when we were there.  There is a lot of renewal going on by the waterfront and maybe one of these days it will reopen.  

 The crime rate in the area must be very low since the police station is smaller than our RV.  In fairness, it is only a substation.

 Lumbering is a major industry in the area and there are a number of sawmills along the road into Eureka.  These logs were sitting in an area near the wharf and most likely were going to be shipped overseas.  Think China.

We didn't get to see everything in the area, but we will be here for a week and intend to explore in the town and surrounding area.  Redwood forests are all around the town and we plan on going out to one and get some nice photos of the trees.  They are beautiful and I can't imagine anyone cutting them down, but it's a business and provides employment to the area.

Gerry made some home made chili to cap off the day and it really hit the spot due to the dampness and cold weather in the area.  Quite a change from Tucson but we like variety so it is fine with us.

BTW:  Baskets of fresh Bing Cherries  are for sale for $2 a basket and we intend to eat our share of them while we are here.

That was our day, how was yours?

Eureka! We Are Here.

We left Napa this morning at 11am and made the 260 mile drive up to Eureka, CA.  After a short drive on RT 121 over to Petaluma we took US 101 up the coast.  Actually, we didn't see the coast at all and it seemed we were either going up a hill or down a hill 80% of the time.  For the most part US 101 is a good road and 4 lane except for 40 miles or so.  

We drove through the Redwood forests and saw some giant trees along the way.  There weren't any turnouts that we could stop at so  Gerry managed to get some pictures on the fly.  We intend to go back down the highway in the car and view some of these beautiful trees up close.  Not too close or we won't be able to take a picture of them due to their height.

It was a nice drive but tiring due to all the hills and curves along the way.  At least it wasn't boring like West Texas, so that was good.

 It's late now and we are heading to bed early tonight so we can catch our breath before checking out the area.  One thing we learned a long time ago is that it's best to get a campsite before the Memorial Day weekend since most spaces will be reserved early. We don't like to spend 3 days in a Walmart parking lot.

Once again we've stopped at an Elks Lodge and this one seems to be very friendly.  They gave us a couple tickets for free drinks and filled me in on what's going on this week.  It's a very active Elks Lodge and reminded me of the Boulder City Lodge.

Larry Jr. and I both have 1111 as our favorite time and this is post number 1111 for me in this version of my blog.  Wish I had something special to put in the blog, but what you see is what you get.   What is your special time??? 

That's it for the blog today.  Maybe some pictures will creep in tomorrow, but not now.  That was our day, how was yours?

Sonoma & Napa Valley Wineries

We hit the road again to check out some wineries in the Sonoma area today.  Our first stop was at the Madrone Winery and we were the only people in the tasting room.  Nancy wound up providing us with our 5 wines for tasting.  She was very helpful and patient answering our questions.  Madrone Winery has been around a long time, but has undergone changes in ownership.  Recently a Canadian couple bought the winery and changed the name back to Madrone.

Our final selection was a Chardonnay and a Baronna red wine.  They charge $15 each for the tasting session but if you purchase two bottles of wine the fee is waived.  Still not cheap, but makes it easier to handle the cost of the wine.

 One of our stops was at the Kunde Winery and they had beautiful grounds with a small lake next to the tasting rooms.  We weren't that interested in the winery and when we saw there was a $40 fee for tasting we beat a hasty retreat from there.  There were people at the tasting tables and a tour bus plus a limousine in the parking lot so they must have thought it was worth it. 

 

St Francis Winery

Ledson Winery

Welcome sign coming down from the north.

Beringer Winery

 The wineries closed down and we were hungry for a nice dinner.  We saw the R+D Kitchen restaurant yesterday on our way back from Calistoga.  It looked like a small place but when we entered it was much larger than we thought it would be.

They had sushi on the menu and I told the waitress that I was allegric to shellfish.  I asked what they did have that didn't have shellfish as an ingredient.  We settled on a tuna platter but when it came we both commented it didn't seem like tuna.  Gerry asked what it was and she said shrimp.  Oh Oh!  Then she came back with what we had ordered, however I had eaten a couple of the sushi cakes.  Thankfully Gerry carries benadryl so I knew if I had a reaction I would survive.

A few minutes later the head waitress came over and asked how I was feeling, then the manager came by a number of times.  All turned out well for me and I didn't have a reaction.

Gerry ordered the crispy chicken sandwich and thought it was great and would order it again.  She couldn't finish the sandwich since the sushi filled her up.

 I ordered a great mushroom filled meat loaf, spinach salad with cheese and mashed potatoes which was very good also.  I just about finished it but the sushi filled me up also.

When it came time to settle the bill the waitress said it was on the house since they screwed up the order.  I told her it wasn't necessary but she insisted and wouldn't take no for an answer.  They wound up writing off a $75 bill to keep up their great reputation.  If we are in the area again, we will go back there for a meal since it was so good.  I will be more careful about the shellfish sushi.

Anybody need any wine?  

That was our day, how was yours?