Peckish Travels

We are in full-on California heat mode now. We have had really great weather (highs mostly in 80s/27C!) but that changed overnight, and we’ll be in above 100/38C temps until we leave. Because of that, we thought we might try some indoor activities today. Not much to choose from since we’re not shoppers, and we did want something local, so we Googled and found a couple of free options.

The first is a private home that has been converted, by the former owner’s request, into a Victorian museum. The house is in a cute area of Redding, just a few blocks west of downtown proper. It is the Behrens-Eaton home, and though it was the home of Judge Richard Eaton (who wanted the home to become a museum) we learned a bit about him, his family, and his more famous uncle, Earl Behrens.

We were led through the home by a very nice docent after ringing the bell for entry. (After trying to open the door a few times, before noticing the sign about ringing the bell. Luckily, the front door has a good lock.)

In a nutshell, Richard Eaton was a Shasta County Superior Court Judge in Redding who died in 2003. He seemed to be a nice man who was raised by his grandmother, mother, and aunt after his father died during the flu outbreak in 1918 when Richard was 4 years old. Besides the fun facts that he served in Africa in WWII, liked frilly wallpaper and collecting paintings, never married, kept $100,000 in a safe in his closet, and wanted his home to be a museum, we didn’t learn much else about him. His widowed mother and his unmarried aunt both worked. His mother served as the County Treasurer for 13 years, and his aunt was one of the first female bank tellers in Redding.

Judge Eaton’s mother, Edith Behrens, was the oldest of three children. Her sister, Edna, lived with her and Richard. Her brother, Earl Behrens, graduated from Stanford, served as the Athletic Director for Stanford before serving under Hoover in his Food Administration, and then going on to be editor of the San Francisco Journal and then the San Francisco Chronicle. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his journalistic work from President Nixon in 1970.

We also stopped at the Shasta County Historical Society to see what they might have. They had an exhibit on pollinators. Very important, not so exciting. We will resume hiking, even with heat, tomorrow.

Beth mentioned I was making the above so I thought I would provide a few pics and do a blog.

Happy Father’s Day to any fathers reading this! Bob and I had a relatively quiet weekend. Saturday morning we headed for the Farmers Market that is held weekly in the parking lot of the Redding City Hall. It wasn’t large, but it was fun to peruse the market and the grounds of City Hall, where they have a sculpture park. Very nice!

In the afternoon, we went to the historic Cascade Theater. They had a series of three dance recitals going on by a local dance company. Not something we would normally go to, not being parents or relatives of the dancers, but we wanted to see the inside of the theater and thought it might be interesting. I would describe it as a cute hot mess — sometimes cuter and sometimes hot messier. In any case, it didn’t seem like there had been much teaching going on in the classes, as the instructors usually performed with the students and seemed to serve as a reference point for those old enough to realize they should be following them. The age of the performers ranged from four maybe to teens. All well made up, as I guess that is what you do. The most surprising part was the audience “participation.” In between performances, the auditorium would go dark to change the set or something— not ever really much set to be changed. During this time, the parents or other relatives would yell out the name of their child, as if it was a wrestling match or something. Anyway, we were glad to get to see the theater and experience a little local color.

Today, we got back into normal mode for us and did a 2 hour hike up and down the Chamise Trail. It provided great views of the Sacramento River and the Shasta Dam.

Bob is making Pasta in Squid Ink Sauce tonight. It’s one of our favorites. We buy the squid ink packets from Amazon, when we’re someplace long enough to order (not Prime members). I am a spoiled woman.

After a run and another near run with our dogs (they pull like crazy on the lead), Bob and I headed off to the Top of the World. We feel like we have already been on the top of the world two other times.

Being on the top of the world is usually how we describe our time in Orkney, Scotland. Orkney, or the Orkney Islands, are some lovely islands off the northern tip of Scotland. They are known for their many Neolithic ruins, and the area just has an otherworldly feel, especially since it is so far north, and it takes a bit of an effort to get there.

The first time we were at the Top of the World (actually billed as The Top of Europe) was in the Alps during an inn-to-inn hike for my 40th birthday. On one of our non-hiking days we took a train up the Jungfrau mountain, near Interlaken, Switzerland. We went through a long tunnel near the top and came out near a building that we entered on foot through an ice tunnel. The area was covered in snow and ice, which we could only see as the clouds lifted. It truly felt like the top of the world, or at least as high as we may ever get while still on land.

Today, we hiked up to Redding, California’s version of the Top of the World (their term). It wasn’t that much of a climb. (We passed an older gentleman and his tiny dog who were on their way down while we were going up. They probably do the hike daily.). However, the hike did provide some lovely views of the surrounding area.

We thought Mary’s Lake looked lovely, and we had seen it on our trail map, so we decided to hike down to that and do the .7 mile loop around the lake. On our way down the mountain, we saw another hiker, a couple of mountain bikers, and lots of very nice-looking houses. The lake itself was as attractive up close as it was from a distance.

Bob and I went through a few ideas of what to do today before Bob found us a couple of close-in hikes that let us both explore more of the area as well as continue to learn about the dams and bridges in Redding (importantly distinct from learning about the damn bridges in Redding).

Anyhoo, back to our beginnings in Redding. The night before we did our transition with our homeowners, we spent the night in the Sheraton Hotel here that is quite nice and located near parks, the Sundial Bridge, and the Sacramento River Trail. We thought we had explored the area while there, but it’s still lovely, and Bob found a short trail around the property that he thought might have some good views of the area. Not really so much, but we did have a surprising find that connected to our Shasta Dam trip yesterday.

We began our short, 30 minute walk near the Turtle Bay Museum which is next to the Sheraton. We did not go in but snapped a photo of the city’s famous Sundial Bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava, a Spanish architect whose works we enjoy. We have seen a number of his works — buildings and bridges around the world from Buenos Aires to Milwaukee to Valencia, Spain to New York City. The shadow cast from the mast of this bridge allows you to accurately tell time between 11 am and 4 pm in the summer months.

The rest of the walk was fine. We got to see another hydroelectric plant. Lots of those here. But the real find for us was what the locals call The Monolith, and it looks like a partially destroyed old building, which is pretty much what it is. It is the shell of the old Kutras Tract Aggregate Plant which supplied the aggregate for the concrete in building Shasta Dam. So, the aggregate was loaded onto a conveyor belt at this site and traveled the 10 mile length of the belt to the dam construction site. They have added a bit of artwork and information pieces to the site. See below.

After this little walk, we headed to a local park to do a 4+ mile walk out to another cool bridge near the Keswick Dam. The hike took us out of town along the Sacramento River to near the dam and then back to where we started. I guess loop walks are like that, so no news there. Didn’t learn anything on this walk but had lots of lovely views.

Bob and I planned a scaled-back day today, as it was to get to 98. Still can’t believe that we’re chasing cooler temps than our family in the Midwest. We’re only to get to 85 tomorrow. The cooler temps are helpful here to help ease the fire risk.

We decided to check out the Shasta Lake Dam and then walk around the downtown area of Redding. The Shasta Lake Dam on Shasta Lake (funny how that works) is about a 20 minute drive or so from where we are staying. They used to give daily tours but now it’s just a self-guided walk across the dam with material to read about the dam. We lucked out, however, and got to see a film on the making of the dam, which was just starting when we entered the visitor’s center. The dam was built from 1938-1945, and one of the things that I found the most interesting is that during the construction they built a 10 mile conveyor belt to transport aggregate from Redding to the building site. The dam was needed to control flooding, store water for agriculture, and create electricity, with the first 2 being the most important. It is the 2nd largest dam in the US after the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state. The lake is currently at 40% capacity, which is apparently better than what it was in 2021.

Redding, California has a current population of about 92,000. It feels smaller to me, but it is pretty spread out. The downtown is very small and feels like it is being redeveloped. There isn’t a lot there now, but we were struck by its cleanliness and the fun artwork.

We have been getting settled in Redding — laundry, grocery shopping, establishing daily routines, finding running routes, etc. We even interviewed with a homeowner for a nearly 5 month housesit starting next January in North Carolina. She chose us, so fingers crossed the world doesn’t turn upside down so that can happen

But there is so much to see here, that today we headed out for a little excursion. (We’re trying to figure out the best balance between seeing sights and not going crazy with the driving since gas is so pricey right now.) We headed west out of Redding for a 20-30 minute drive to Whiskeytown National Recreation Center. No real whiskey involved for us, though when the nearby community was established during the Gold Rush, I’m sure there was plenty.

We started at the Visitor’s Center, which isn’t open on Tuesdays. We knew this but wanted to see if we might get a site map. We could and did. As you can see, it’s a beautiful entrance to the large (42,000 acre) national park in the foothills of the Klamath Mountains.

After looking at the map, we saw that there was a JFK memorial, so we knew we wanted to see that before starting a hike. It turns out that JFK dedicated the Whiskeytown Lake Dam at the exact site of the memorial in September of 1963, just a couple months before his assassination.

Prior to driving to Whiskeytown we had read that some of the hiking trails remained closed due to being impacted by the Carr fire in 2018. Sadly, you see evidence of burned trees all along the drive to the park as well as in the park. We started with a hike along the Mount Shasta Mine Loop Trail before driving further into the westernmost part of the park to see some historical structures and one of three waterfalls.

When we got back, we enjoyed the pool a little bit. Bob braved the cold water and got in. I sat and dangled my legs. We also played a bit of ping pong, which we’ve been enjoying— just to see how long of a volley we can do, not really to play. I’m enjoying trying to improve my eye/hand coordination.

Chef Bob is creating a veggie pizza for us tonight. We may start including some photos of his creations.

Today’s high 89, low 59.

And. . . we’re finally back.

Bob had a great baseball trip with his nephews and brother-in-law, visiting stadiums in Chicago (Cubs), Detroit, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. I had a productive birthday party planning visit with my mom, who will be turning 80 in July and who thankfully had a short stay in the hospital. Then I did a quick house sit in Rochester, Minnesota before a lovely visit with my aunt and her husband near Madison and a visit with my aunt in Chicago. Always good to see family and many thanks to my Uncle Dick for storing our car until we return to Wisconsin in July.

Yesterday we had a lovely transition with our home owners in Redding, CA, for house sit #105. They picked us up about mid-afternoon, and we began our visit with a wine-tasting at Moseley Family Wine Cellars, which is owned by their neighbors. The tasting was free, as our home owners are wine club members, and the wines were very good. We also met the winemaker, and he poured us a taste of some Grenache that they are just getting ready to bottle. Also, yum.

You’d think after the liquid start we might not have had a great walk-through of the house and pet care needs, but we got through all of the requirements— including Bob’s list of questions — before getting settled in our room, having a lovely dinner, and relaxing before an early turn in due to a 4:30 am ride to the airport by Chauffeur Bob.

We love the area, as we are surrounded by mountains. There looks to be lots of trails to explore, and we have already walked and run on the the great Sacramento River trail which follows the river in and out of town, including by a number of dams. Our house has a pool that we may use at some point and we had a lovely sunset last evening.

Cheers, wherever this may find you!

So, I had a good run in Holland, MI this morning, although it was 49 — a bit cooler than I would have liked. Bob checked out the Farmer’s Market, which he thought had a good mix of vendors with the exception of food trucks/ booths where you could order food.

We we’re having a good morning and were driving to a state park to climb a dune and walk to a lighthouse when I got a call from my aunt that my mom had been admitted to the hospital the prior night.

We immediately headed back to the hotel to check out and head towards Janesville. I spoke a bit with my mom , and she was pretty emotional. Bob and I packed and headed to my hometown. Four or so hours later we checked into the Baymont Inn across from my mom’s hospital and then went to visit her.

She was feeling much better. Fingers crossed she’ll be able to be released tomorrow. Either way, we will likely not resume blogging until we get to Redding, CA, for our next house sit on 6/11. Will post before that if things change.

All best to everyone.

Bob and I had a leisurely morning after my run before checking out of The Element Hotel to make our way across the state to Holland, Michigan. We left Detroit impressed with the Riverwalk, the numerous green spaces downtown, and walkability to sports and cultural activities. There is, as in every city, areas that are very rundown, but there appears to be a lot of new construction, and they announced a new building plan for the sports district which includes new retail, hotel, and housing. Fingers crossed it continues its revival without displacing a lot of current residents.

Since we were driving on Friday of Memorial Day Weekend and rain was in the forecast, we were not that excited about the drive, even though it is only just under 3 hours normally. It ended up being okay. We hit patches of traffic and had a decent amount of rain with a couple of heavy downpours, however, we weren’t severely delayed and were able to check in a little before 2 when we arrived.

We had a quick lunch snack in the room and then headed off to do a bit of exploring, with Bob giving me grief about my tendency to lose hotel room keys. It is not untrue, but neither of us could tell you the last time I lost one.

Our Marriott Courtyard (These can range in quality. This one looks new and/or well-maintained.) is right on 8th Street, which is also the main drag in Holland. It is also just a block down from the Visitor’s Center, so we stopped in to pick up information, talk to the helpful staff, and take a photo that you can only take in places called Holland.

We thought the downtown was charming with lots of cute retail and restaurants. We popped into a few during our stroll.

From downtown, we walked about 25 minutes out to a market to pick up dinner. On the way, we passed a metal scrap yard, not usually a good thing, but they had decorated the area near the sidewalk with metal art.

We also walked through a couple of lovely parks along Lake Macatawa.

We’re currently back in the room reading over the brochures we picked up to plan our day tomorrow — after having picked me up a new room key, as I somehow managed to lose the first one on our walkabout. This made Bob’s day.