Mendocino, Mondocino, Where Life's Such a Groove

Well, kids. I get my second Pfizer shot against Covid this Friday. Two weeks later I should be pretty much fully protected against this deadly, stupid virus. The scary thing it does, besides killing you, is leave all of these other awful problems after it's gone. My daughter works with a 16 year old girl who will have heart problems for the rest of her life after stupid Covid, and my daughter's boyfriend, who has always had some anxiety, now has paralyzing anxiety where he can barely leave the house, after Covid. It's some bad shit.

So, as you can guess, I'm extremely excited about getting my second shot. At this point I'm about 80% protected against the disease, and that gives me some peace of mind. After I get the second shot, like my youngest daughter said, "I'm not going to be an A-hole". I'm still going to mask up, and socially distance, and not hang out indoors with a bunch of people I don't live with, until they find out for certain that I can't pass the disease off to other people, or there is finally some herd immunity.

What I do feel comfortable doing, is going on a trip this Summer. Yea! We've decided to go to Northern California. I get to take John to see all of the places, and then some where I lived and worked, and played in the mid-1980's.

I'm taking John to San Francisco for a couple of days first. We'll be staying in Twin Peaks, which isn't too far from Noe Valley where I lived and worked, and the Mission where I lived. We'll spend some time in that area, and then we'll do Fisherman's Wharf/Pier 39, and walk up to Chinatown to eat one day, then do North Beach, and the Golden Gate Bridge area another day. I REALLY want to ride my bike over the Golden Gate Bridge one of those days.

Next we'll stay one day at Piedmont. One of the friends we're going with has a sister who has a house there and a house in Mendocino. We're meeting our friends in Piedmont, hanging out on the East Bay for about a day, and then going to Inverness and playing in Point Reyes. We went to Point Reyes once when I was in 7th grade and we were visiting our Uncle Terry. I thought it was so cool, and have wanted to go back and spend more time there ever since. We're bringing mountain and road bikes, and we plan on hiking, riding, kayaking, and eating lots of cheese. What more could a girl want? https://californiatravelmedia.com/things-to-do-at-point-reyes-national-seashore/, https://cowgirlcreamery.com/.

On my birthday, we will be driving up to Mendocino. I want to stop in Petaluma on my way up. It's where my grandma's family lived, and there is a street there called Coady Court because my grandpa built all of the houses there. We will also go to the Washoe House (https://www.washoe.house/full-story) it's a restaurant/bar/live music venue now, but when my great great grandpa built it in the 1800's, it was a Pony Express stop. I think it would be fitting for us to go there on my birthday - a good way to follow my roots.

 In Mendocino, we'll be staying at our friend's sister's other house, right on the beach. I lived in Northern Mendocino County, but I didn't know how to drive or have a car, so I never got to explore Southern Mendocino County. I'm excited to go to Glass Beach, and hike and mountain bike, and kayak some more. This time in the heart of the Redwoods.

The last part of our trip will be spent in Humboldt County, in the college town of Arcata, not far from Eureka. On the way there, we will stop in Leggett, where I used to live (https://line.17qq.com/articles/qwwsgnhgsy.html).

So, here's hoping enough people are smart enough to get vaccinated, so we can get herd immunity, and that there aren't any crazy Covid variants that can fight against the vaccine, and we can all go back to doing the things we love, like travel and eat inside in restaurants, and go see live music. Woo hoo!