T/Blues: 6/22/2012

Sundial Pedestrian Bridge… Turtle Park

After an overnight in Anderson/CA, drive up to Redding,as much to see the Sundial Pedestrian Bridge in Turtle Park, as to “get organized”. There’s a VFW (oh, dear: Veterans of Foreign Wars) convention sharing “my” parking lot, so answers about what needed to be tended to by the next administration were disappointingly ultra-conservative.

Finally, managed to get off to Yreka. Tho it’s chill and glum, decide to wander its Historic Downtown. It’s an easy stroll around & just off of Miner St.

IOOF Building – Tourist Information… 117 Miner

Drop van by Yreka Park, which has an interesting, altho small section acting as a memorial to the First Americans who were settled when Europeans finally arrived. While wandering along Miner St, stop by recommended Brickhouse Bakery, only to be disappointed at their cookies. Close to Main St, an old IOOF building now contains a Tourist Information office.

“Miners” mural… 300 Miner

Plaques identify & describe a number of these buildings, and a couple murals catch my eye. (For additional photos, see associated “page” 2012/06/22).

At Lane & 4th, run across St John’s Church & St Joseph’s Church. Ask a couple women “The Question” as they chat outside St John’s and the answer comes back quickly: “jobs/economy”.

al fresco dining along Ashland Creek

Take off up I-5, with hope raised high, only to arrive in Ashland/OR 15 minutes too late for a matinee. Pour my tears into Ashland Creek…

Later, find a bar seat @ busy Pasta Piatti, and converse with a retired Cupertino/CA high school drama teacher who surprises me with stats on ethnic distribution: Asians, Russians, Serbs… truly, an American “melting pot”.

Rain & wariness preclude Elizabethan’s “The VERY Merry Wives of Windsor/IA” as, while being able to imagine Sir John Falstaff in many ways, pottering around in Iowa isn’t one of them. Shakespeare’s OTHER great tragedy* “Animal Crackers” is a sellout.

Varsity Theater… 166 Main

Settle for Varsity’s offering of “Exotic Marigold Hotel”, which, while witty & star-studded, will settle into well-deserved obscurity.

* yes, “Old Will” did NOT write “Animal Crackers”, but why let the Truth get in the way of a good story?