Redwood Hostel

Saturday was my first experience with a hostel—The Redwood Hostel. It's located south of Crescent City about a half-hour away. The building is a historical place, and was celebrating its 100th birthday, while the business was celebrating 20 years as a hostel. (Just in case you don't know what a hostel is, it's like a dorm/hotel for travelers. A bed costs about $20 per night, but you will likely share your room with other people unless you get a family room or something. It's sort of communal living, with a shared bathroom, kitchen, dining room and living room area).
So anyway, The Triplicate did a story on the landmark event, and our photographer booked a gig for his band while he was out there getting photos. So several of us from the newspaper took a trip to the hostel! It was really neat—there were people from all over the country staying there, and some people from out of the country. The building, right on Hwy. 101, is nestled into the side of a hill, all surrounded by vegetation, and it overlooks the ocean and a small beach. It really is picturesque.
There was one older man there whose ancestor was the original owner of the property, and he had a lot of whopping stories to tell about his family and different things that happened around Crescent City. He's still upset at the government for taking his family's home though. The hostel, before it was a hostel, was swallowed up by the National Park Service when they created Redwood National Park. It sat in disrepair for some time before they renovated it (though it still has an "old" feel) and began running it as a youth hostel.
It was a great experience to be there and meet so many different kinds of people.

Life update

For those of you who don't know yet, Rick is back in Michigan, and he just started working at Allstate, selling health insurance. He'll start his last class in August, and then he'll finally be a college grad! Yeah! We're sad to be apart, but we talk every day (several times a day). Once he finishes with school, we'll make the decision of where to live (California or Michigan) depending on his job status. We'd like to start a family while we're still young! : )
I'm livin' la vida sola, but am suddenly very busy with work, as my boss (editor) was just fired last week. That makes me in charge of the newsroom for the time being (interim editor!). It's stressful, but possible.
I'm looking forward to my parents' visit in August. I've made a laundry list of things for us to do. I hope they're ready to be kept busy (except while I'm at work - then they're on their own). Just FYI: The next post is new too. I guess I was feeling ambitious today.

Boy Scout Trail

Those Boy Scouts sure know how to pick a trail through the woods. Last weekend, I went on a long(ish) hike with a co-worker (Hilary) and another co-worker's (Cornelia's) husband. Cornelia has trouble walking, but her husband likes to hike now and then, so Hilary and I invited him to come with us. The three of us chose the Boy Scout Trail, which winds through old growth redwoods just east of Crescent City. The map says there is a Boy Scout tree somewhere along the way, so we were keeping our eyes peeled for it. We got to the end of the trail, which is a little waterfall, and we never saw the tree. But on our way back to the trailhead, we noticed a little path that led away from the main path. We just thought it went nowhere, but as we passed it, we noticed a very large tree that could probably be gotten to by taking that little side trail. So we doubled back and took the side trail to this very large tree, and lo-and-behold, it was the Boy Scout tree! It was the largest redwood tree I've ever seen. We sat down on a little nature-made bench to rest for a few minutes and look at the tree. The moss that was growing on it was an amazing shade of green. So fresh and bright - almost neon. All the greens in the forest are that color. The newer ferns on the forest floor are a shade of green that seems almost fake. It was a good hike, but my muscles were complaining loud and clear for the next few days. (The sign on the tree says "BOY SCOUT TREE")