Busy. Busy!

Talk about Monster Machines! This little beauty is eating Franklin Street! It is basically a big Roto-Tiller and can munch its way through black-top all the way down to the underlying dirt at walking speed! Yesterday it completely mulched the full width of North Franklin Street from Oak Street to Laurel Street. Three city blocks, all in one day!

Then the debris is loaded and hauled away.

The end result. The new curbs and sidewalks are done.

Final grading for the new blacktop is in the future. Two weeks?

Our refurbished library is open and looking great!!

The new swim center is coming along nicely.

Inside, they are holding classes for culverts. NOT !

Actually the pool has not been dug yet. These "culverts" will probably be part of the ventilation system.

Jens of “Walking Berkeley” mentioned a website called “Walk Score”. You can enter your address and the name of your town and receive a “Walk Score” as to how friendly your town is for walking. I did the numbers for Fort Bragg and received, on a scale of 0-100, a 95!! Your results may vary depending on where you live in relation to town.

Back on the Beat

Okay. Okay! Today is my “official” beginning of hitting the streets, post vacation. I tell you, vacation is rough. I didn’t walk much but I sure did eat. I gained five pounds!

But, that was then. This is now.

So.

I decided this morning to see what’s happening with the “Put In” Creek trestle. I heard work had resumed. Along the way I spotted the above bumper sticker which, to my mind, sort of sums up the national mood.

As you can see, the Marine Layer is in and the trestle, barely in view. Summertime on the Pacific coast usually involves fog. July and August for sure. Sometimes even into September. A lot of people in the central valley like to come here to get out of their 100 plus temperatures.

At the north end of the trestle I discovered some equipment in place but I can’t see that much has happened since I left six weeks ago. I understand September is the new completion date.

On the way home I noticed the Episcopalians have had a change of heart. Good. I didn’t like the anti skateboard message they had stenciled on their sidewalk and I don’t even skate!

Some folks have asked what that baby bird was on my previous blog. It is a House Finch and, as you can see, it is one of FIVE! The nest was at my mother-in-law’s house in north Seattle.

Now, back to Harry Potter.

My Bad

38 days since my last blog. I went on vacation and my blog went to hell.

Strange how that works sometimes. Sorry.

But now I’m back. My resolve has returned. Vacation is over.

Time to get back to the streets of Fort Bragg. See what’s going on.

You just never know

During my morning walk I spotted this in the Safeway parking lot. I know that some Safeway’s allow overnight parking for travelers, during my travels I have occasionally used a Walmart or Safeway too.

When I got home I got to thinking about that schoolbus at Safeway and decided to see if there really is a www . schoolbustobaja.com. By golly, there is! Soon I was reading about two young guys from Long Island, New York who decided to hit the road, see the west and surf in Baja.

On their site I read where they were having trouble finding places where they could post updates to their website so I decided to drive back to Safeway to see if they were still there. They weren’t! Returning home I decided to check Denny’s, Headlands Coffee House and some of the other breakfast possibilities. Nada. When I got to Denny’s I decided to check a surfing spot north of town.

No vehicles in the parking lot. As I turned around to return home I spotted the Schoolbustobaja! It was stuck in the sand beside the Haul Road! I could also see a park ranger’s vehicle and the ranger writing a ticket! Oh boy!

I walked out, introduced myself, told Anthony and Brian I had read their website and offered the use of my wi-fi and DSL when they finish getting their ticket and tow out.

And now, as I speak, they are updating their page and sharing stories of their travels. Interesting guys. What an adventure!

Check it out www.schoolbustobaja.com

Slackers

The sun is clearing the coastal hills by 6:05AM now and I am walking in sunlight. Just what I have been looking forward to for months but it seems to have affected my blogging and I'm not the only one. My walking/blogging buddies, Jen of Walking Berkeley, Spike of This isn't Sydney, Gary of Runs Brooklyn and Suzanne of Catron County Walk are also lagging in the blogging department for various reasons. Our, almost, daily postings have wained. Maybe approaching summer makes it harder to stay indoors and blog. Hopefully it is just a seasonal thing, a time of many other things to do.

Speaking of which; I'm going to be gone a month visiting my family and friends in the Pacific Northwest. While there I hope to maintain my morning walks and may find something of blogging interest. Check in, now and then.

By the way, here is one more chimney I couldn't pass up without taking its photo. The early morning sun had just found it!

Ring Too!

The hitching ring across the street from City Hall is now installed in the new curb.

Looking north on Franklin Street towards the First Baptist Church. The sidewalk, to the left, will be poured next and then a lot of material will be removed from the street to bring it down to a new grade.

Variations on a Theme

The coastal Marine Layer is in. A perfect neutral background for studying the variety of Fort Bragg chimneys.

Fun!