Day 2 - May 10

Eureka - We Have Found It!
Gasoline, That Is...

'Fraid we have to report that we didn't make as much progress toward home today as we had hoped. After a visit to a very respectable brewpub in Fort Bragg last nite (see below), who kept their kitchen open for us when we staggered in after posting last nite's installment, and a very sound sleep, we set off north, continuing our journey up the magnificent Pacific coast.

Our new-to-us car was performing flawlessly—our pre-flight inspection found nothing that needed our attention. Our morning drive was delightful. We were in shorts, despite the cool Pacific ocean breeze. But a few miles south of Eureka, our Alfa's engine began to stumble, and within a minute or two we found ourselves at the side of the road.

Out of gas? Nah, the gauge was reading 1/4 full and moving around.  But the symptoms all pointed to fuel starvation.   Before we even got out of the car, one of California's Finest pulled alongside, called AAA on our behalf, saluted, and left. (That is, left us calculating whether we could really be out of petrol.)  In another 20 minutes, our savior in a tow truck arrived, poured a couple of gallons in the tank, and left.  And so did we, and headed for the first gas station up the road.

So, could we really have allowed ourselves to run out of gas?  We won't get into all the excuses (speedo error, smaller tires, map mileage vs. the actual twisty-turny road)—but maybe we should have listened when we asked Brian if the car's gas gauge worked (they hadn't the last two trips) and he replied that it did but that he had always filled it up when it got to half, "but that's just me".  At the time, we thought that that was kind of anal, but maybe the "me" he was referring to was the "me" who hates running out of gas.

Anyway, that resolved, we continued on up the coast to Crescent City, where we planned to head inland (east, finally!).  But the route we planned turned out to have several lengthy engines-off, out-of-the-car construction delays (yes, they actually stop traffic for 1-2 hours while they fix something in the road).  Hence, our meager progress.  We DID cross a state, line, however, and are in Medford, OR for the nite, heading out for sustenance. We promise to do better tomorrow.

This is where we went today

Last Look
This is one of our final views of the Pacific before we headed inland.  The ducks were promoting "Rubber Ducky Day", an annual event held every Mother's Day.  We weren't interested enough to ask what it was about either.

(Tourist Shot)
So who hasn't been to this part of the country who hasn't driven through a redwood tree.  If you like this shot, send us ten cents.  If thirty of you do, it'll cover our cost.

Doh!!!
No further explanation required.

Beer(s) of the Day

Culture Feature

Tale of Two Flies. This stunning sculpture was found atop the loo at a gas station (we stop quite frequently now) just across the border into Oregon.

Alfa Spotting!

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