Today I left Mendocino. Ah, Mendo. Town of contradictions. On the one hand you have the locals. People who choose to live here because it's unspoilt, because there's no McDonalds, because you can get a gluten free pizza on every corner. On the other hand you have the visitors. People who come here in spite of its lack of Maccy D's, who turn a blind eye to the gluten free going ons and who wait for the bearded unwashed to move so they can take some nice photos. Here are two examples to illustrate this point:
1) Overheard in the icecream parlour:
Indignant vegan lady who has just ordered most revolting sounding "ice cream" (no dairy, no real chocolate, no reason to live) and whose boyfriend - having ordered a full on icecream cone - finds himself with no cash:
"You want me to pay for your cow's milk ice cream??"
2) Overheard on sea front:
Middle aged lady with Romney bumper stickers on her car who has pulled up to look at ocean: "What's all that white gunk in the water?"
My cousin: "Oh, that's just foam"
Lady: "Are you sure? It looks an awful lot like garbage that's floated here from Japan"
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| In Mendocino people are so happy they just walk down the street playing music. For real. |
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| My beautiful cousin Elena (and her weird looking cousin Natalie) |
Goodbye Highway 1
Today I also said goodbye to my travel buddy Highway 1 and, by extension, the Pacific Ocean. This was my last glimpse - inn't she a beaut?
Hello other roads
I was pleased to discovered that my GPS, having finally understood my "no motorways" instruction, still has some nice surprises in tow for me:
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| A lake, very pretty |
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| An exaggeration, based on one (very pretty) lake |
Now, I'll admit to being a pretty dozey traveller when it comes to directions but I have gleaned from the flat and then twisty uphill and then twisty downhill and then flat again roads I've been on today that I have crossed some sort of mountain range. Can't tell you which but I'm in Sacramento now so I guess that's all that counts.
Hello Sacramento
Sacramento appears to be the dullest place on earth. Even the Lonely Planet guide can't muster anything exciting to say about it. I kid you not when I tell you that, while San Francisco is afforded 26 full pages, Sacramento (California's state capital) doesn't even cut the one and a half mark. Mind you, this suits me down to the ground. I intend to go for a little walk and then go to bed not feeling even slightly guilty at missing anything exciting.
Project "Talk to a Stranger"
This project fell a little flat today. As I was checking in I overheard a young lady asking for directions to the Pavilion. As she was told she needed to take a cab I thought "Hello, here's a chance to make a friend, that sounds like a nice place to visit, and I have a car!" So I ask her where it is she's going and whether there's anything good to see. She explains that she's going to the Pavilion for a Bob Dylan concert. I say "Bob Dylan is still alive!?!?" Needless to say, that was the end of our friendship.
Some random stuff
These are a couple of delicacies I found in a road side shop today:
Pink popcorn (because sometimes popping corn and drowning it in fake butter just isn't enough)
"All American Beef & Cheese" What's that I hear you think? That I've got to Philadelphia double quick and I'm looking at a Philly cheese steak? Oh dear. Think again:
This particular gem nearly made me wet myself laughing. I think if I'm going to continue examining American delights this closely I'd better invest in some sort of incontinence solution.
Have I mentioned how much I love it here? God bless America indeed.
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