EUREKA, CALIFORNIA: The Heart of Humboldt County

Bald Eagle at the Sequoia Park Zoo, Eureka, CA. 

Every two years in October, I go to Eureka, California, in Humboldt County, for a children's book author festival. While my focus is work, there is also time to enjoy the beautiful northern California coast, the surrounding hills and forests, and to explore the shops, parks and restaurants of historic Eureka.

Coast near Trinidad, CA, north of Eureka in Humboldt County

Eureka is Humboldt's county seat and has a population of about 27,000. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries it was a booming port city, transporting lumber from the surrounding forests all over the world. Many of the downtown buildings date from that time. A number of them are covered with colorful murals painted more recently.

Mural on building in historic downtown Eureka

During my visit I stayed at the historic Eureka Inn, originally built in 1922. (The rooms have recently been renovated.) The walls of the spacious lobby are lined with portraits of some of its famous visitors through the years such as Sir Winston Churchill and past president Ronald Reagan making one feel a part of history. The hotel is a short walk from downtown Eureka, which is filled with restaurants, craft shops, a bookstore, an art and historical museum and more. One of my favorite restaurants is the Waterfront Cafe, featuring fresh seafood caught locally, across the street from the boardwalk by the water.

Boardwalk in Eureka

From the boardwalk one can view the boats moored in Woodley Marina, which include both fishing and pleasure boats as well as commercial vessels.

Woodley Marina, Eureka

Not far from the center of town, in a beautiful redwood grove, is The Sequoia Park Zoo. It has a small but interesting and varied collection of animals, including a rescued bald eagle, red pandas, orangutans, musk oxen, ostriches and much more.

Red Panda, Sequoia Park Zoo

Arcata, California, just north of Eureka, is home to Humboldt State University and a variety of businesses including  Fire and Light Handmade Glass, a company that makes colorful glassware from recycled bottles. I came home with one of their beautiful glass redwood trees, now propped in a window to let the light shine through and remind me of my trip.

I always enjoy my visit to Eureka, discovering something new each time!

Tree from Fire and Light Handmade Glass

BEIJING ZOO and PEKING DUCK, Beijing, China (Day 5)

Red Panda, Beijing Zoo

The following is an excerpt from the diary of our trip to China July, 1995.  We were traveling with three friends, spending five days in Beijing and then three days in Xian.  China has changed greatly since our visit but many of the places we went to are still among the popular tourist spots.

Golden Monkey, Beijing Zoo

Beijing, Day 5:  Our last day in Beijing was a free day with no organized tours.  In the morning, Art and I took a taxi to the zoo.  The weather was hot but not unbearable.  The panda exhibit is the first inside the gate and required an extra fee.  The inside enclosures were filled with cut bamboo and one panda was eating.  The others were more active outside.  We also photographed a red panda, which circled around and round its enclosure before finally climbing a tree to sleep.  After leaving the pandas we searched for other Chinese animals and saw some cranes and golden monkeys.  The zoo is huge and we got somewhat lost because there weren’t many maps.  At the far end we found two polar bears play-fighting in the water.

Polar bears, Beijing Zoo

After the zoo we took a taxi to the Great Bell Temple to see the biggest bell in China.  You can read more about the bell in my post on 6/30/14.

Preparation of Peking Duck

That evening we went out for a Peking duck dinner at a restaurant recommended by the hotel.  The waitress convinced us that we needed two ducks (for five of us) but we would have been better off with just one because they were so greasy and rich that we ate too much and felt sick the next day.  The waiter brings the whole roast duck on a cart and then carves the pieces into piles on small plates.  You eat them with your hands, folding the duck pieces inside thin pancakes that have been swabbed in bean sauce. Afterwards we watched them prepare and cook the ducks and bought a few souvenirs, including a duck hat for Art.

Tiananmen Square at Night

We then walked back to our hotel via Tiananmen Square, where people were picnicking, talking, playing badminton and soccer, and flying kites.  (Badminton was obviously very popular in China. Every night on television we saw broadcasts of the international badminton championships which were being played that week.)  The moon, which had been a crescent earlier in the week, was growing fuller and small bats flew among the kites catching insects.  After a hot day, the relatively cool night air was refreshing.

My bird kite purchased in Beijing