I drove to Healdsburg to have lunch with Bay Area friends at a super Tapas Cafe Friday mid-day. It is always fun to meet with these friends I have known since our kids were in pre-school. We parted fairly early and I looked forward to getting back to Fort Bragg before the weather closed in.
All was going very well until I noticed the gentlest wispy snow flakes bouncing around outside the front of my car at the top of the first ridge after Hopland. Then more even further down the grade as I approached Ukiah. By the time I was coming down into Ukiah, the snow didn't subside, it just kept on coming as I drew nearer to town. I began to worry and slowed way down. If it stayed about as it was, I figured I could make it over the next hill. But that was not to be. By the time I reached Calpella, the road, roadside and grape vinyards on both sides were becoming coated with several inches of snow and the feeling of ice on the road was becoming alarming. By the time I would have started up the grade towards Willits it became clear that traffic was coming to a standstill. Trucks were crawling along at minimal speed and cars were beginning to slip and slide. The big electronic sign over the highway stated the obvious and the definite. Winter conditions — Only four wheel drive and autos with chains would be allowed to go further. That was becoming pretty clear, sign or no sign.
So, what am I? Some kind of magnet for ice and snow? Hard to feel otherwise. I crept up to the obvious turn-around spot and dutifully did a U-turn and headed back down toward Ukiah. I was experiencing more than a little sence of deja vu after my time in Oklahoma and Texas. In a kind of daze, I turned into the parking lot of the first Motel I came to on State Street and when I could stop I called Art. Could he go stay at my house with Bobby for the night? I obviously was not going to be on that side of the hill for a while.
I might have been smarter to have continued a bit further south on State Street to some more tried and true motels. The one I chose was called Discover Inn and there were indeed a few things to discover. No first floor room available. Much ice on the outdoor stairway. Once in the room and making an effort to turn "up" the heater, I discovered that the heater was not about to turn on at all. I called "O" and was promised immediate action. More than a half hour later a cheerful young man arrived with a brand new space heater in a box. He went though the motions of pretending to fiddle with the existing heater, but it was obvious that this one had no intention of responding. He opened the space heater box and made nice friendly remarks about needing to keep such thing around for this kind of occasion. " In a hotel with one hundred and seventy something rooms, this was bound to happen sometime." it was a strange little heater that moved in an arc back and forth and threw too much and then not enough heat. But I made friends with it and placed it in what seemed like the best location within the reach of the electrical outlet. Then I called a restaurant listed for delivery of food to Ukiah hotels. I withdrew my first order of a pizza and a salad after I found out that it was going to cost me $28 for just those two items. I switched to a pasta dish with small green salad which reduced the ransom by $10. It finally arrived, without any utensils. How silly of me not to expect that. The nice young man went back to his car and discovered that he had some plastic ware stashed there and soon returned with them and the paper I had to sign stating that I had received the goods. I signed. Again, how silly. Should have checked out the food first. The pasta was fine but nooooooo salad dressing. I called the restaurant and asked if the delivery man could drop some dressing by next time he was in the area. Silly me. That never happened and an hour later I finally ate it dry and of course survived just fine.
Then I decided to check out the TV since I didn't have my Kindle or a book with me. Of course, I soon discovered that the remote was as dead as a door nail. The light was too weak to allow me a good look at the buttons on the TV set so I had to settle for channel 5 where it was determined to stay. Eventually I figured the buttons out by feel, but that wasn't really much of an improvement. So I took what there was to offer. Judge Judy acting her most dictatorial and above it all. A football game that didn't thrill me much and the rest is just a blur. So I placed myself in the uninviting bed and eventually fell asleep.
The next morning I was in no mood to face the ice and sleet on the road too early so I turned the black box on again and watched a handsome young vet solve small animal problems with Oh so clever solutions. Then it got good. Two different cooking shows. First one where they took a favorite recipe of a diabetic man for a banana cream goo that tested out at about 600 calories per portion and two master chefs were tasked with rewriting and turning this dish into something healthier with less fat, sugar and cholesterol. That was actually pretty interesting. Then came Jamie or James? with his 15 minute wonder meals. That was even better. I learned a thing or two, showered and left this wondrous abode forever. Art had suggested a restaurant down near Perkins but I never found it and stopped instead at the Mud Hut. Had a veggie scramble, some OJ and a Chai latte. This was good food mixed with super people watching as they made their way into the cozy eatery from the outside with its icy temperatures.
I headed north and found the situation much improved over the previous afternoon. The top of the hill was still laden with snow and it looked like a winter wonderland. I watched my speed and managed to spy the highway patrolman hiding out in the bushes just beyond the crest of the hill. The roadway to Willits was just fine and the mountains beyond in all directions were a lovely white. Fun but icy.
The "need chains" sign was still showing but I turned onto Highway 20 and hoped for the best. Being pretty wary about these cool conditions, I drove the whole way pretty carefully and was thrilled just to arrive back home and be greeted by Bobby with great enthusiasm. Yes, "There is no place like home."
Amy Goodman just hit the afternoon rerun airways and there's talk of a new expose by Seymour Hirsch that will knock our socks off. So I'm off to the kitchen to become "In the know."
No comments:
Post a Comment