Oct
01
2009
by Mr Cubes
Redcrest to Garberville (32.9 miles)
Total Miles: 3,342.6
Having realised that the reason I had been so cold at night lately was my tent door zip being broken I was now in a position to make a temporary fix and had a much warmer night.
It’s still chilly first thing though, so instead of sitting around making up my porridge for breakfast I opted to cross the road to visit the Eternal Tree House and adjacent cafe. Well the tree house was open, but sadly the cafe wasn’t. Now having my mind set on a cooked meal I chose to cycle onto the next town Weott where I was sure I’d be able to grab something.
Wrong again, Weott had apparently suffered a massive flood in the 1960’s and never recovered. Just a 33ft post marking the high water level and a couple of 
houses. So onto the next town…Myers Flat which at least had a few stores. And a drive through tree. Unfortunately, and not sure if you’re noticing a theme here, all of these were closed. Except for a small coffee shop and market with a remarkably grumpy cashier. As this was now the only option I thought I should at least get something, but all he had to offer was one chocolate muffin. Well, that would do for now, so I took a seat outside in the hot sunshine and started to nibble away. A few minutes later the same cashier came rushing out screaming “What’s the big fudging deal about coffee anyway? What? They want a hug with it? It's just fudging coffee. Get the fudge over it!" Though there weren’t so many fudge references. I was amazed that in a town with a population of about 13, this guy had managed to get stressed out. Made me quite glad I don’t even like coffee…
Next stop was Miranda which looked much more promising. Several stores, a high school and a cafe! Yay! After failing once again to get a US Flag sticker for the bike, I went to the cafe and ordered a Mexican omelette. Americans really do know how to make a good omelette and I’m yet to have one that wasn’t hugely enjoyable. Just as I was finishing the entire high school population squeezed into the cafe which apparently doubles as the school cafeteria. I made a quick exit.
The last part of the Avenue of the Giants was quite enjoyable, though there was another town that was entirely closed down. I made that a total of five towns on the road and only one of them was actually providing any sort of service. Strange.
After this, it was back onto Highway 101 and struggling through the heat. The road was really fast though and I made good time to Garberville. The sun had taken it out of me though so I thought I should have a look around and try to find somewhere cheap to stay. Best deal seemed to be with the Sherwood Motel which also took the novel approach of changing their wi-fi password EVERY day. Garberville seemed an odd place, mostly young hippies and homeless people. There was also a very strong smell of marijuana which probably explained the hippies.
Was quite a nice place though and I finally managed to get my flag sticker here. I was planning to get a sticker for each country I pass through, but if I struggled so much in a country as proud of their flag as the USA, what hope for the rest of them?