Travel Blog/Thoughts From Places: Fort Bragg and Lakeport

So I recently went back to my home town of Ukiah (located in smoky Mendocino County [heheh, get it? Cause Mendocino County has a lot of pot in it…]) for a week and a half. And while it used to be where I live, it is now a place I vacation at since I’ve been officially living as an independent adult in Southern California for three years. So I figured why not let Ramblings of a Cinephile become a travel blog for a day? So this week you’ll get to see what my home town is like-aren’t you excited? - Actually I just went through my photographs and I don’t have any pictures of Ukiah…because I lived there for a long time. However, I do have pictures of Fort Bragg and Lakeport, so instead I’ll tell you about my day trips to those places!

Fort Bragg

Wednesday June 20, 2012

It’s a day like any other summer day in Ukiah. And by that I mean it’s as hot as whatever circle of Hell is really hot, which is most of them. I think. I haven’t read Dante’s Inferno yet. Anyway it’s a smoltering (a word I just made up by the way) day like any other so my friends and I decide to go to the cool haven that is the coastal town of Fort Bragg for the day. We arrive in Fort Bragg around four p.m. after getting lost on some abandoned logging trails in Brook Trails. Now just passed Fort Bragg is a coastal beach called Ten Mile Beach.

Ten Mile Beach...from afar

And just passed Ten Mile Beach is a small patch of beach with the nicest sand I’ve found north of Monterey. My friends and I hung out there for a while, playing with sticks and sand and stuff. You know - fun, adult stuff.

I don't know those people. I hope they don't mind that
they're on the internet. Cause they're here to stay.

The driftwood graveyard

I peed in that cave.

My friend peeing in his own cave.

Here he is happy about being done.

Sarah peed in this cave. 

No one peed in this cave, cause it was kinda wet.
But I thought you guys should get to see all the caves.

I don't know what they are, but they are so cool

Feet.

The logman cometh

We had more fun than you would expect college kids
to have putting that stick in the sand.

"Hey dude wanna go to party?"
"Nope having too much fun putting this stick in the sand"

We ate at McDonald's entirely to order happy meals
and get the Pokemon toy that came with it.

Lakeport

Thursday, June 21, 2012

My sister owes me lunch so I make her buy me food at this awesome pizza place called Main Street Pizza (which I plan to review later this week), which is located in the only good city in one of the worst counties in Northern California: Lake County. Sorry people from Lake County, but you know it’s true. Anyway while we’re there we meet up with our mutual friend with whom we proceed to wander around downtown Lakeport.  

One of my favorite places in Lakeport is this huge used bookstore.
That one on the right is it. 

And this is the Iguana that lives there.

This is what remained of my pizza when it occurred to me to photograph it for the blog.

This is where Pillsbury Dough Boys are sent when they
become Pillsbury Dough Men. Kinda like Penn State.
OH! (Sorry about that...thought it was better than a Michael Jackson
or Catholic Church joke though.)

Thoughts From These Places

Thinking back on the trip I can’t help but ponder what it is that makes something like playing in sand or going through thrift stores fun. Is it the physical activity? The process by which our brain releases endorphins causing some sort of elation? I think that’s a portion of it. However, I believe it runs deeper than that. Because it wasn’t the act of shoving a stick into some sand and creating a weird archway or the joy of eating McDonald’s hamburgers, because that really isn’t a joy at all and I prefer when my stomach doesn’t rebel against my body. I enjoyed that time because I was doing it with good friends. I don’t know if this is a universally acknowledged truth, but I know for me fun stems from being around people I love and who love me back. Furthermore, I know one of my friends has been unhappy  with her life where she is living now, not because the area itself is bad (if the pictures make any case at all it is in fact to the contrary), but because she doesn’t have the people she loves most with her there. We humans are naturally social creatures I think, and even for introverts, like myself and probably most of you reading this, human contact, whether physical or emotional, is important in our enjoyment of this journey we call life. Cause we all need the human touch.