Point Saint George

I don't want to start posting too many "nature" photos, but this is the most exciting thing I did on Saturday.
I found this hiking trail that went to the ocean, it was north of town, and it was pretty cool because the waves were larger, and there was no one else around. It's a strange feeling standing next to the ocean without another soul in sight. I swear I could even see the Point St. George Lighthouse in the distance. That lighthouse is eight miles off the coast, and is a bit of a mystery to me—sort of haunting. It was built on a reef that proved pretty treacherous. It caused one of the deadliest shipwrecks to date in 1865 when the Brother Jonathan crashed there. When the lighthouse was built, many men died. It was one of the least sought after assignments for lighthouse keepers. Five keepers died out there, and others suffered mentally. One could see why, since when really fierce storms came through, sometimes waves would reach the 70-foot tall caisson, sending water over top of the lighthouse. (I don't know about you, but that would scare me to death) The lighthouse ceased to operate in 1975, and apparently, nobody has been to that lighthouse in quite a while because of the marine life living out there now.
Well, everyone, that was the Northern California history mini-lesson for the week. Next time, I hope to have something more interesting to write...and I should, because this week is the Tall-Masted Ships Celebration.
Tuesday afternoon two replicas of old ships will be sailing into Crescent City Harbor and staying until Sunday. One of the ships, the Lady Washington, is a movie star. She was featured in "Pirates of the Caribbean" as the Interceptor, and she was also in the movie "Star Trek: Generations" in a holodeck program. The captain of the ship was an adviser for "Pirates" and a double for Orlando Bloom. I'm pretty excited to experience the whole thing!
—Laura

Crescent City Sunset

I grabbed this photo on my way back to work tonight after taking my dinner break. This view is about a block from our house. In the photo, it's high tide. At low tide, you can walk right out to that large stack (rock) in the foreground. The furthest one is called Castle Rock, and it's home to the second largest seabird colony in California. If you check it out earlier in the day, you can see several species of sea lion lounging in front of the rock. Nobody is even allowed close to Castle Rock because of its fragile ecosystem. It's a beauty from the coast nonetheless.
—Laura

Second thoughts (no, not that kind)

Okay, this was NOT my first post, but I did something wrong and lost my original entry. GRRRRR. I can't re-write everything, so I guess the world will never know my first thoughts...sigh...
Here are my *second* thoughts:
The other day, I received my very first care package. It was from Courtney and Marnie (my cousins) and their husbands. I was leaving the house to return to work from my dinner break, and I got so excited when I spotted the box there on my porch that I locked myself out of the house.
Needless to say, I was a little panicked. I walked all around my house, trying to break in. I guess it's good that I wasn't able get in. At least the house is somewhat secure. Then I called Rick (I had my cellphone). He laughed. Very funny, I'm sure.
He gave me the number of our landlady. I called her, but she wasn't home. Fortunately, I had the cell phone number of the landlord, and he answered after many, many rings. He was just a couple houses away, painting, so he came right over and let me in. Whew! That was a close call. I didn't even have the phone number to the Triplicate (work) so I could call and tell them that I was, in fact, coming back that night.
Ah, well. It was all okay, because in the end...I had a package! It was filled with goodies like Sour Patch Kids, Whoppers, Chex Mix, hot chocolate packets and Creme Savers. Yummy! Nothing makes you feel better than a box of junk food.
All's well that ends well...

PS-Rick will be here in about a week and a half! Yeah!
—Laura