Mingo Bianchi, Baseball Player

3rd of August

Eureka - Hidden Springs State Park

55 miles, 4 hrs, 13.33 avg

I stole the covers - from the bottom of the bed! They made great padding for the floor. The breakfast at the Red Lion was awesome. All this luxury seems to have made me soft, though, as I didn't really feel like riding my bike. I just wanted to suit up and go to the park.

Those of you who might object to me hitch-hiking and bumming rides for twenty miles can just sit down, as I rode a twenty mile section for the second time. "Hey, I peed there, hey there's that litter again, hey, there's that dead raccoon again, hey last time I could see the beach from here, what's with the fog?".

Having nothing new to look at was boring. I noticed my fingernails were really long. In fact, it hurts to scratch myself. Having nothing to rejoice over, discover, or think about, I started acting funny. That was just what I needed - going nuts beats boredom.

I stopped for lunch in tiny Rio Del, at this place called Mingo's. Mingo Bianchi was a ballplayer way back when. I asked the bartender about the pictures and story goes that Joe Dimaggio played with him some, at a park in nearby Scotia. There's a picture of the park and a tree Joltin' Joe hit a ball over.

I took the cutoff to the Avenue of the Giants. This is a 30 mile stretch with huge Redwoods, making the shade and scenery really nice. I stopped in a town to get groceries... it was getting late and I was in a hurry to set up camp when a guy talked to me about touring... for a 1/2 hour. I told myself I wanted to hit him, which is very odd - maybe I really am going crazy. He told me what to do in San Francisco, three times over, and I was aggravated because he of all people should know that it's near-dark and I'm not at camp yet. Small town, I guess.

So I strolled into Hidden Springs and told the ranger (who'd just heard a ridiculous complaint from a perma-camper, about another campground) that I wouldn't reveal my own stressful, bickering, no-good-for-nothing story. I wouldn't stoop, and I wouldn't make her day any worse. She insisted, I obliged.

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