Have You Seen My Baseball?

Eureka - Arcata?!
20 miles

I woke up a quarter to 8, the sun was shining on the little spit of Samoa Beach. I guess I hadn't zipped my back pack, Raccoons got into my loaf of bread. There was sand and bread crumbs all over my bike. Lesson learned I guess.

Kendall took us all to the Samoa Cookhouse, in operation since 1893. It used to be a big cafeteria for the loggers that worked in Eureka. They had some crazy pictures of Redwood stumps that dozens of people could sit on. Just like the old logging days, you just sat down and ate whatever they cooked for the day, which was cool. A hot breakfast is a cyclist's best friend. I decided to bike south, though I kind of wanted an off day and thought of going to the hippie festival with all the guys. They were a fun group from Red Bluff, CA.

I rode 20 miles to Fortuna and stopped for more breakfast. My legs were feeling good about the next 30 miles. That was disrupted when I read the paper - some of my buddies were playing a double-header at the baseball field I'd seen, back in Arcata. I decided to follow the spirit of adventure and of Vonnegut's Bokononism, which states: "Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God". So I backtracked, taking a bus this time.

Watching batting practice, I yelled out some advice to my buddy Kyle Kuenzi. All the George Fox guys (Taylor, Mitch, Dan) said, "Nate? How the heck did you get here?" It was a fun surprise. I sat with Kyle's parents and told everyone about my biking adventures. Just recruiting more blog readers. Watching summer baseball really made me miss the game, and the atmosphere in Arcata was awesome. 1,000 fans showed up to the game, including a brass band that got larger and drunker as the game went on. The umpire tried to throw them out of the game after they played "three blind mice" (referring to a bad call). Better yet, there was some animosity between the teams as players were spiking during double plays and hitting batsmen in retaliation. I almost witnessed a small town brawl, and would've joined it if it weren't for the fact that the other team was full of huge D1 guys and an honorary guest linebacker from USC.

It was a rough night, as the Kuenzi's and the club manager gave me the hospitality of a good dinner and a floor at the Red Lion Hotel in Eureka.