Arroyo Park

Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise.
-- George Washington Carver

Saturday, January 27, 2001
One year ago: Site Revamp
Two years ago: Catch Up
Three years ago: Hungry Again

Friday night, I was all ready to go pick up Jack's daughter H---- at the train station and drive her to Bellingham, when I got a call from him. His exwife hadn't passed the message to H----, so she'd gone off to spend the night with a friend and left a note for her mom! This was disappointing, especially when Jack had made special efforts to get this all arranged ahead of time, which I did appreciate.

So I left right away, and made good time up to Jack's house. He was annoyed with his exwife, and bummed that he wouldn't get to see his daughter. On the other hand, I was able to drive up at an earlier time; when trains are late, sometimes we haven't arrived until midnight or so, and one time we just slept at my place and drove up Saturday morning.

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I knew there was no soda in the house, so I went to the store upon awakening. I require diet cola for caffeination purposes, since I'm not a huge coffee fan. I would have just walked to the corner convenience store, but Jack requested bagels in a groggey voice, so I went to Haggen. I liked the empty aisles!

We (I mean Jack) had many errands to do, but we decided to take a walk first thing (which means around noon!). We decided on a Bellingham city park that we hadn't been to before. It was rather a nice day, mild with some sunshine. We stopped at the Red Apple in Fairhaven for lunch things -- fresh mozzarella, landsjaeger sausage ( like a gourmet slim jim), french bread, olives.

I drove to the park, after overshooting and driving up a dead end road. There were some very attractive houses in the woods -- Jack would love to live here! So close to town, yet remote. (But I think it would be a bit steep for my taste.)

Arroyo means valley or canyon, doesn't it? The trail led down to the creek a good distance below, in a deep wooded valley. Still cold, and the sun doesn't reach there. Lots of moss, ferns, and some pockets of frost that had split the bark on branches. I don't see any fish. We crossed the bridge, and asked a passing couple where the trails go -- they mentioned a waterfall so we chose that fork. It wasn't too steep for comfortable walking; a few switchbacks got us up to above the road. There were horse tracks and bike tracks (mountain bike tracks) on the trail. The waterfall was more of a cascade, but a pleasant spot. We ate standing up, since it was still a fairly damp day. Very quiet, except for a few hikers and bikers.

This type of walk (I wouldn't call it a hike) is a good thing for Jack -- he needs to let off steam and de-stress in the natural, quiet world. He should make it a habit!

Off to the used book stores -- I bought birthday gifts for my nephew J--- (Diana Wynne Jones' "Charmed Life", something about an American indian legend that was a Newbery Honor book, and a Lloyd Alexander hardback, the Arkadians). Jack got his credit here and at the store across the street. He also had some art to see about getting framed, so he was gone rather a long time. After making my purchases, I waited for a while, then walked out to my car. The store owner followed me out and quizzed me, having forgotten that he sold me those books five minutes before! sheesh!

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We drove back to Fairhaven (a "cute" historic neighborhood in Bellingham) and tried the stores there; I stayed in the car and reread a bit of the Jones book. I like its tone, quirky and mysterious and humorous. I know I didn't catch on to its secret soon the first time I read it. Jack was determined to get some value out the books he had purged, which was the reason for trying all these used bookstores in the order we did.

Back to Jack's house, to pick up the bracket he needs to match for mounting the small satellite dish on his back porch. At Radio Shack it was no dice on the correct pole, but they allowed him to return the mast they sold him a few days ago.

Next, Goodwill to get rid of the books that nobody wants, and kmart to look for lamps -- I've been wanting lamps near Jack's couch for a year or so! At last I'll be able to read comfortably when sitting there, but first we need to find some suitable lamps that can hang on the wall. Kmart didn't have much that pleases me, so we drove north to Target.

We were driving a lot today! Target's home decor is much more to my taste than Kmart, but they seemed to have had a big lamp sale and that section was almost empty. They did have two gooseneck lamps with keyhole slots in their bases, though, only ten bucks each.

Across a busy road to Home Base -- no suitable pole. Home Depot is right next door (not a good move for either store to have a competitor so close) and Jack finally found a pole that he thought is the correct diameter. They cut it for him (we don't need twenty feet!) and it only cost six bucks, so if it doesn't work it isn't a huge loss.

One last stop -- circuit city for software, something in the DJ area for my nephew. Jack helped me select something that will be usable and interesting, and has the scratch feature my nephew wants. I was tempted again by the DVD players, but still resisted. At last we were done, six hours after we started!

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For dinner we had some of the Indian food I gave Jack for christmas. He was tired, so I went ahead and cooked it too! Chicken korma, basmati rice, and bombay potatoes in a packet you just boil. A---- needed to go to an NA meeting, so we ate after Jack dropped her off. It was a good dinner -- I even burped audibly, which I usually try to avoid. Jack found that very funny.

A--- called; is it OK for her go to an NA dance? Jack agreed.

Jack's legs were itching, a recurring problem for him now. I urged him to speak to his physician, then succeeded in distracting him from the itch.