You know those posts where the person writes 99 things about themselves? I can fill out those things in like 12 minutes. I think it's because I'm crazy. Oh, and because I don't mind sharing things about myself. Like I'm not ashamed to admit that I've never been asked out on a date in my whole life. Ever. I also don't have to think long about the things I put in here. I just throw them out. I don't need to look for the most "impressive" things about myself. I don't get how people are like "I can't think of anything." Unless you are Melanie, who is the most humble person in the world. And then she has her husband go and do it for her. (Her husband is amazing to do that for her, by the way)
If I like this post, I think I'll do "99 things about Reagan & Judd." I can lay out all of our embarrassing stories and make you guys wish you were their best friends too.
Anyway, I decided to do a post about Eureka. 101 Things about Eureka. And why 101? Well, cause. . .
1. Eureka, CA is located on Highway 101
2. There is no way to avoid my town if you travel from San Francisco to Oregon
3. I've lost count of how many movies have been made in my town.
4. Some of the more well known movies that were made here are: Outbreak, The Lost World, and Return of the Jedi.
5. Eureka High School has one of the most unique mascots ever: The Loggers
6. I used to think it was so cool that I had a mascot so different from every other school. Your school had a panther, or a tiger or a moose for a mascot. Super lame and super generic. But we got a super unique LOGGER. chop chop.
7. I also loved my school colors: Red and Green. People always say, "like Christmas" but I say, "No, like a Redwood Tree".
8. Most people think that California stops with San Francisco.
9. When I tell them that I live 5 hours north of S.F. and still 1 hour from the Oregon border, they say, "I didn't think that you could still be in California 5 hours north of San Francisco.
10. I look at these people and try to tell them with my eyes how dumb I think they are. Because if you look on a map, San Fran is so obviously located in the center of the state. Why would you think that that's the top? Dummy
11. The average high temp is 64 degrees
12. The average low is 52
13. The RECORD HIGH for this time of year is 74 degrees.
14. That's the way it is almost every day of the year.
15. You almost always need a sweatshirt, but you almost never need a thick thermal jacket. This is the way it will be year round.
16. It's currently 57 degrees inside my house. I'm not joking when I say that.
17. I love curling up under multiple blankets and watching TV or listening to music or just talking to my family members in our house.You always should have a blanket in Eureka
18. My house almost always smells like damp wood. It can't help it. There is so much moisture in the air.
19. The smells of Eureka make me so nostalgic.
20. Everywhere you go it smells like the ocean, salt, trees, earth and rain and running water.
21. I want to bottle up the smells and sell them as perfume. . .Like that Seinfeld episode.
22. Going to high school in Eureka could be hard if you didn't grow up here. People tend to be cliquey.
23. I moved here when I was 13, just about to start the 8th grade. People were pretty accepting to me, but that's because I played sports and because I had been visiting here since I was born. But not everyone was that lucky.
24. There is a lot of Marijuana in Eureka.
25. My mom just told me today that if you have a "215" card, you are allowed to have THREE POUNDS of pot in your possession. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? Do you know how much that is? I mean, pot is a plant, and when it dries it weighs almost nothing. Three pounds is enough to fill a small suitcase.
26. I could see the Ocean from the windows of my High School
27. My high school had amazing English program. I mean, the other classes were good too, but the English program was by far the best.
28. I read more classics in H.S. then I think the normal person reads. And the English teachers were always voted the "Most Popular" teachers
29. This doesn't have to do with Eureka, but I want to tell this one story. One thing I didn't read was anything by George Eliot. And when I went to college Mindy would always ask me if I had read "The Mill on the Floss" and I would always ask her if she had read "Catch-22". Anyway, we would always answer no to the other person's question. Anyway, when she would ask if I had read any George Eliot I would ALWAYS answer her "George Eliot? I LOVE HIM!!" To which she would always tell me that George Eliot was a girl. And I would always tell her that I knew that, and I was just kidding. And then she would forget and I would get to pull the same joke on her 3 months later. I think I did this gag at least 3-4 different times. It never got old (in my mind, anyway)
30. Eureka isn't a great sports school. It's decent, but it's not the clear cut leader of the northcoast.
31. You wouldn't know that talking to people around here.
32. Most people are obsessed with sports, especially football. Which reminds me of BYU fans and their crazy devotion.
33. For some reason, the people in Eureka always have really nice cars. They may not have good jobs, but they have great cars.
34. There are several different "burbs" in Eureka. Some of the most notable are Cutten, Henderson Center, Myrtle Town and Old Town. I live in Henderson Center.
35. Eureka is really behind on some things and really ahead on others: it's really behind on technology. We just recently got a national cell company. Until then it was just a local company and you would have to pay for roaming charges if you went 20 miles away from the center of town.
36. However it's really ahead on things like recycling and waste management. I have no idea where to go to recycle things in Utah. But I can name three recycling centers within a few miles of my house in Eureka. And it's been like that for 15 years.
37. All the beaches are cold.
38. The water is cold. You need to wear a wetsuit all the time in it.
39. There is a great white shark that patrols off the beach at moonstone.
40. Surfers try to avoid it.
41. The surfers all are crazy. I think they are smoking 1 pound of their pot before they go out there.
42. The pulp mill off of the North Jetty puts out a smelly gas. It smells like farts sometimes.
43. It's really great to suck in smelly pulp mill farts as you are jogging around outside on the track.
44. Eureka High has an open lunch policy. You can go anywhere for lunch as long as you make it back before the next class starts.
45. All schools in our school district have what is called "snack break." It's a 15 minute break between 2nd and 3rd periods.
46. Kids would use this time to go off campus and smoke, drink or do drugs.
47. Teachers too sometimes
48. Eureka High School has hardwood floors in every room, redwood banisters and a massive auditorium with great acoustics.
50. If you were wondering why there are so many "Eureka High" based things on this list, it's because I'm back here for my 1o year class reunion. Just in case you cared.
51. There are actually 2 high schools in Eureka. One is called "Zoe Barnum" and it's an "alternative" H.S. Like you can totally screw off for a couple of years and then go to Zoe (Pronounced "Zoh" not "Zo-ee") and then you can make up 2 years in 1 year. If you do that, you can still graduate with your class.
52. The Zoe Kids are scary. I try to avoid them. Plus, only 20% of them actually go back to regular high school. Most of them just get their GED and start to work for Carl's Jr. right away.
53. Eureka High has a great Powder Puff game every year. Legendary even.
54. The Juniors play the Seniors and it ALWAYS gets nasty. It doesn't matter what happens before that, but on the playing field you are enemies.
55. When I was a Junior, there were lots of athletic people in my class, and we kicked the Seniors ALL OVER the field. They were SOOOOO mad at us.
56. Oh yeah, choosing a mascot for our P.P. team was a nightmare. The administration vetoed all our ideas. We ended up having to go with "Iron Maidens." Which now that I think about it is pretty cool.
57. Boys are the cheerleaders for the game. They dress in drag and usually have their balls hanging out sometime during the evening. Sometimes boys get suspended for their actions/moves on the cheer squad. It's hilarious.
58. So back to #55, The Seniors (who were the class of '97) had this AMAZING money making fundraiser. It was the sale of Christmas trees. They made so much money the 3 years that they did it, that they were able to take the whole class to the water slide park in Redding (3 hours away) for the senior trip. We went to a local park for ours. Anyway, when it was time to give the Christmas tree program to another class they *should've* given it to us because we desperately needed the money. But they were still mad about the powder puff thing and gave it to the sophomores. Bastards.
59. In my house in Eureka, there is a white board to write down messages. My father would routinely take the marker and write on the walls ABOVE the board or to the side of it. It really makes me mad. I've noticed there are still some numbers on the wall here in our house that haven't been cleaned yet.
60. There is a street in Eureka called "Bhuner". It's pronounced "Boone" but I always call it "Boner" to be crass and inappropriate.
61. Berries are everywhere. Not only are there Blackberries, but there are also marion berries, thimble berries, huckleberries. There is a feast all around you.
62. The Loleta Cheese Factory makes the best cheese curds in the world. They also have a big window where you can see the cheese being made. It's just like watching an episode of "Unwrapped" on the Food Network
63. Admission to the Sequoia Zoo in Eureka is Free
64. Up until very recently, the Sequoia Zoo was home to the worlds second oldest Chimpanzee. His name was Bill
65. Bill would throw poo at you through the bars in his cage. If you see his arm raise, he's not waiving hello at you. STAY BACK.
66. Right behind the zoo is a mini-redwood forrest. You can go hiking there, pick berries and just enjoy the smells of the damp earth
67. To get to the full redwood forrest you need to drive either 20 min north or 20 min south of my town. I prefer to go north. Because Trinidad is north and so are most of the good beaches too.
68. I do not like the beach
69. Whenever I go to the beach, I usually end up with sand in my underwear, hair, ears eyes and mouth. It doesn't matter if I just stand there and do nothing. I will get sand in my underwear.
70. Whenever you go to the beach here, you MUST have a bonfire.
71. No one wears a bathing suit at the beach. Instead you cover up with layers and layers of sweatshirts, pants, hats, etc.
72. Fort Humboldt in my town was once visited by Ulysses Grant.
73. Eureka has houses dating back to the mid 1800's
74. The town was founded during a logging boom here on the north coast. That's when my great-great grandparents came.
75. They came from Scandinavian. Johnson is their name. Do you get any more Scandinavian then that?
76. Our current home is the home that my mother grew up in
77. It's much nicer now then when she lived here.
78. This house had only 1 bathroom for over 70 years.
79. Sunday mornings were a nightmare. 7 people all trying to take a shower before 9 am church. I never got to take a shower alone.
80. Eureka is historically protected from most of the politics and influences of California by what we call "The Redwood Curtain"
81. In the winter you can go 45 minutes and get to the snow
82. In the summer you can go 45 min and get to the HOT HOT HEAT.
83. My brother and his wife always forget how cold it is here and always have to buy more sweatshirts for their kids while they are here.
84. I have never had seafood any better then when in Eureka
85. I have gone clamming in the slough, crabbing in the bay and salmon fishing in the ocean. The ocean is full of good stuff ready to be eaten.
86. Eureka has the best dungenous crabs. I don't think I spelled that correctly.
87. Most houses in Eureka have mold in them
88. There are seagulls everywhere in my town.
89. The birds were trained like Pavlov's dog: When the bell would ring to signal 5 minutes to get to class, the birds would start to circle in anticipation of gobbling up all the food the kids had left behind. If you were late getting to glass the birds would dive bomb you and you would probably get pooped on.
90. Los Bagels is the best Mexican based store selling Jewish foods in the world. It has everything: Challahs and pan de muertos. Kinishes and conchas. Bolillos and menorahs. You have to visit it and have some pesto.
91. Los Bagels is closed on Tuesdays. I can't tell you how many times that burned me on my lunch break and I had to scramble to get lunch somewhere else.
92. Eureka has the best Chinese Food ever.
93. Also there is an amazing bakery 2 blocks from my house.
94. don't forget about the great BBQ place. I had ribs for dinner last night. I'm still tasting the sauce on my lips. (It's no wonder I have such a hard time losing weight when I'm here.)
95. At my Jr. High you weren't allowed to walk on the grass
96. My Jr. High didn't have a cafeteria. Just 2 "snack food" windows.
97. I want everyone to come here and pick blackberries with me one day
98. I wish I could've seen and lived here during the late 1800's and early 1900's. I bet it was so beautiful.
99. I was lucky enough to have great friends growing up so I stayed pretty clear of the bad stuff that is so prevalent. I never drank, smoked or snorted anything. I'm sure I'm one of the only ones.
100. Eureka is not a great place to raise kids.
101. But Eureka is a great place to live after your kids are grown.
9 comments:
OK, so I now want to come visit Eureka. That weather sounds amazing. When are you coming back to Provo? Because I really wanna go get pedicures and catch up on your life. Also, I have a funny story involving one of our former coworkers. Let me know when you can go!
Hahaha--I had to laugh about your George Eliot story, because I TOTALLY had forgotten about that. In fact, if you had tried to pull that joke on my half an hour ago, I would totally have fallen for it AGAIN. I still haven't read Catch 22, either...
This was so great!! This was the best advertisement for eureka. Let's go sometime! I feel like I know you SO much better now. I can just smell the salty breeze, see the los bagels steamy challahs and hear the seagulls getting ready to poop on me. LOVE IT!
BTW, why why why would your dad write ON THE WALL?? Is he twelve? For serious.
Oh and another BTW, thank you for not doing a 101 things about me and judd. i have a feeling that some crazy stuff would come out.
"reagan likes to dig in other people's trash getting out their used estee lauder products."
I am one of those people who can't write 100 things about themselves, and it's not 'cause I'm humble. So yes, I am in awe of this post.
So I thought my high school mascot (the Hilltoppers) was unique ... and then I saw that the Glenbard West HS in Glen Ellyn, IL (the neighboring town when I was living in IL) were ALSO the Hilltoppers! What the! I have yet to meet any other Loggers, though, so you win.
Mindy and I both had Mrs. Moss in English our junior year. I loved Mill on the Floss. And George Eliot is a girl?! (Sorry, just trying to get in on the joke. I REALLY knew she was a girl.) (Really.)
OK so now I want to go back to Eureka. Congrats on the 10 year reunion, which reminds me... I was at the graduation and went with Jen to the Seniors after party thing where they lock you into the bowling alley so you can't get wasted. The only problem is, everyone does that before they come. I think me, you and Jen were the only sober people there. Jen and I spent the entire night on the dance floor. And before that we did hit up a party where everyone was smoking pot- we left rather quickly. I am not sure even they had 3 lbs of that stuff. You didn't write anything about that club you guys used to go to, what the heck? Oh wait, was that still on the down low? :)
Oh yeah, just had to add that my way extended fam in ILL mascot is the cornjerkers. Love it.
The zoo costs $2.00 now. Sniff, sniff.
Wow that was a great post! I really feel I got to know you better and I really want to visit and smell Eureka. I love your HS Mascot and congrats on going back for the reunion. Hopefully you will do a post on that after you go, that will be a good one I'm sure to see what all the crackheads are up to now, ha.
I love your writing! You write like you speak and it makes me laugh every time. This post made me want to visit Eureka.....it actually kind of sounds like FORKS, WASHINGTON.....LET'S GO!
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