Carson Mansion

Carson Mansion, Eureka, CA. (Tommy photo)

There is a magnificent Victorian mansion on the waterfront of Eureka which is all wooden gingerbread. Called the Carson Mansion, it is presently off limits to all but members of an exclusive club made up, according to a local worker we met today at the at the Humboldt Historical Society, "of doctors and lawyers".

Here as everywhere in the USA. doctors and lawyers are the richest folks in town.

Since the old manse is decorated for the holidays, we drove by this evening to get an eyeful and I snapped the above photo.

Though we are not doctors or lawyers we hope to be inside some day soon.

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Don Pedrito

 Don Pedrito.

I read about Don Pedrito some years ago in a little booklet I found by accident in a public library. He was a a simple and humble Mexican Indian who lived in Texas more than a century ago who is still remembered for his ability to cure the sick--often using such common "medicines" as water.


He would accept no payment for his cures.


He seems quite a saintly character and, though I don't know much about him, he is one of my very favorite people.


Below is a line from a Wikipedia citation about him.


"Don Pedro Jaramillo, is a curandero, or faith healer from the Mexico-Texas region. He is known as the healer of Los Olmos and "el mero jefe" (English: the real chief) of the curanderos."

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Two Travelers

Tough Tommy, 2011. (Tanya photo)

 It is getting close to the end of 2011, CE. 

I thought it would be good to show you what your hosts at The Life and Times of Tommy Morganstern look like at this time.

Traveling Tanya, 2011. (Tommy photo)

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We Move North

 Tanya and Tommy start in Temecula, CA.

So we just moved up from Temecula, CA to Eureka!, CA--about 750 miles north.

We rented a 14 foot U-Haul truck for our stuff and a towing dolly for our Chevy Aveo and had a very nice trip.

I really like to drive these big Ford trucks--they are so comfortable inside--plenty of elbow room and excellent air conditioning-- great visibility, huge rear-view mirrors and you get a lot more respect from other drivers than when we practically disappear from view in our sub-compact car. BUT when you fill 'em up at the pump--man! There goes a hundred dollars!

There was a terrific wind storm in Los Angeles which caused power outages for several days and which blew sand across the highway as we traveled north but it only made the passage a little more interesting for us.

We went by some signs that read "Congress Has Created a Dust Bowl!"--probably because the water from the northern mountains wanted by the central valley farmers as it passes in canals toward the southern cities has become too expensive for their irrigation projects. We experienced first-hand the dust bowl conditions as the sky turned brown from blowing dirt for several miles.

We both love the old Pea Soup Anderson's restaurant near Buellton and we discovered another one which has opened in Santa Nella which we sampled. It had the same tasty soup as the old reliable and some other good entrees--Tanya had the baked  turkey breast and said it was delicious.

To save money, we stayed mainly at another old reliable: Motel 6, whenever we stopped for the night.

They were all standard good--the McDonald's of motels--no surprises. Clean. Friendly staff and free coffee in the morning. We checked out several other motels, but found they were all more expensive and not nearly as nice. Some have been renovated and these have cool push-button flush toilets and high-tech corner showers with the water coming from the outside of the shower stall---not from the wall as I have always experienced it! You face out toward the the nice, clean white curtain as you bathe. Very different interesting.Thanks Motel 6.

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