**Note: I didn't take this picture (it's from the Internet). But I can attest to palm trees being in the downtown Plaza.
Miles biked: 0 (934.7 overall)
I awakened Friday morning with no specific agenda in mind. There were a few things I needed to do in preparation for three days of hiking with Dad -- buy crappy tennis shoes, do laundry, ask Marnin about camping spot for Saturday night -- but nothing that would take up most of the day or night.
(Except, of course, blogging the trip and uploading pictures.)
Anyway, I rode downtown early in the morning to drop the 520 off at a small bike shop. Especially since I'm no cycling expert, I wanted to get the bike a mid-trip tuneup to ensure it won't start breaking into pieces as I'm riding along the Pacific Coast Highway, 300 feet above the Pacific with no guardrail.
So I dropped the bike off and then did some exploring by foot.
And it didn't take me long to fall in love with Arcata.
It's a small town, with my bike map listing a population of 16,651, but it certainly doesn't feel like a boring place. It has the eclectic feel of a town where there's always something interesting happening.
As Marnin pointed out, Humboldt State University is a big part of the town. The Division II school has an enrollment of 8,500 and sits just northeast of downtown and The Plaza, where most of the bars and popular shops are.
The coolest thing I noticed from walking around is that all the stores, from shoe stores to pizza joints, are locally owned. Marnin later explained that an ordinance was passed a few years ago that prohibited chain stores from eating up any of the downtown space.
If only every town did something similar.
Because tell me if this happens in your typical Foot Locker...
As mentioned, I needed shoes for hiking, so I walked into a local place on G Street. I didn't want to pay more than roughly $40, but everything I saw on the shelves was $54.99 or up.
The one guy in the place, though, was clearly one of the owners and helped me stay within my budget. When I explained my situation, he brought out three pairs of adidas -- decent shoes, really -- that he offered to me for $40 each. He even brought out a pair of Nike's, a pair that felt like $80 shoes, and offered them for $50.
We chatted for about 13 minutes, talking mostly about the university and its sports teams -- according to the guy, the hoops team is good every year and attracts lots of local attention -- and I walked out of the store with a pair of $40 shoes (only after he let me use his private bathroom).
I felt better after the experience, and I felt full a while later following a large, and, not to be forgotten, cheap lunch at a local Mexican spot.
I also briefly explored the Redwoods, which are on the east side of town in a city park.
With a university, a forest, Humboldt Bay -- which I didn't make it to -- and, let's not forget, the ocean just minutes away, Arcata seems like a great town.
And, I should mention, a health-oriented place.
There are natural food stores all over the downtown, even more than I know of in much bigger Ann Arbor. And there are restaurants aimed at Vegetarians, soup lovers and organic-food enthusiasts.
I could definitely see myself in such a place.
I'll add it to my growing list of Western cities I've quickly fallen in love with...
But I'll leave it Saturday morning to pick up a rental car from the airport, with which I'll pick up Dad at night and prepare for three full days of hiking in the Redwoods, Trinity Alps and possibly the Mt. Shasta area.
Stay tuned for my hiking tales (and for sure-to-be beautiful pictures from them).
And be sure to check out all my other pictures, which are posted at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jakeblloyd
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