Weaverville, CA 08-17-11

We drove over to Weaverville today - Corky and I and his parents.  It isn't very far - through wooded hills with a few houses along the way and many narrow roadways off into the trees.  I am surprised at the number of logging trucks that pass the motel.  LOTS of traffic in addition to the those noisy beasts - pickup trucks, delivery trucks, sedans - and due to construction between here and Redding the traffic comes in bunches as the road is narrowed to one lane with the vehicles bound in the other direction waiting until the flagman allows them through.  In these modern days there really isn't a flagman, but a guy with a  walkie-talkie or a cell phone or something, who calls to his counterpart on the other end of the construction zone to tell him to let the cars through.  I fondly remember the few times when, as a child going to grandma's house, we were actually the last car to go through and were honored to carry the flag to the other end and pass it over to the flagman.  Such a treat!   

I was in Weaverville many years ago - maybe 45 - and I vaguely remember these spiral staircases.  The town looks much as I remember it, but there are newer buildings on the outskirts.  A modern strip mall with quite a large supermarket and a Starbuck's!  We didn't stop there.

 

This building is directly across from the one in the first picture and there are several more of these stairs along the main street. 

This sign is affixed to the building near the staircase - it explains the odd circumstances that created these landmarks.  Click to enlarge.

We asked at Olsen Stoneware for a restaurant that would allow Corky in his stroller on a patio and were directed to the Garden Cafe which has a lovely covered porch. 

Such a dear little guy - everyone stops to remark and ask questions.  This is a different stroller than the one he keeps at my house (usually in the back of my car).  His mother takes him running or walking in this one which is much more maneuverable.  He checks everything out, he is undoubtedly the nosiest dog I have ever known, then curls up and goes to sleep.  He knows he won't get anything to eat, so he doesn't beg.  At home, of course, it is a different matter!

 

The couple at the next table were served whilst we were looking at the menu and the smell was so wonderful I couldn't resist ordering the same thing.  It is all sauteed veggies the bottom layer is potatoes, then all the veggies, then melted cheese and finally topped with a slice of yellowtail tuna. Sherry and I split an order, but she eats very little, so it was sort of a 70-30 split.  And I brought home leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

 

Such a handsome couple dining in the shade on a very hot day.  It was 100F here at the motel when we returned from our drive.

 

Jim stuck with the tried and true and ordered a Reuben which looked very tasty on a specialty bread.

We will be moving on tomorrow.  I'll go north and the three of them will return to SCalifornia.  Don't know where I will be tomorrow night, but I will try to blog regardless.