Arcata, California - Oregon Trip, Part 10

After Ashland, we took the coastal road back to Berkeley, with a stop at Arcata, Californa for rest and meeting friend.  I had never been to Arcata and was told that it was a big hippie town; however, these advance warning did not prepare me for what I had experienced.

We arrived at the town square - Arcata Plaza, of whose edge my hotel situated, and started to unload our luggage.  As soon as we approached the entrance to our hotel - Hotel Acata - a whiff of strong marijuana smothered me.  Blessedly, it was not so bad inside the hotel. 







The town was quaint and full of characters and quite young.  I also liked the nice bookstore they had.









While waiting for friend at the hotel lobby, I saw a huge crowd cycling through the street and congregated in the center of the plaza, ended with a loud cheer when they all held their bicycles up high.





However, the enthusiasm of the youth went to far at night when our hotel became a party camp - loud music and smoke permeated the building in the middle of night.  It was not until the early morning that the sound died down and I was able to sleep a bit.  Naturally, I feeling towards Arcata turned sour.  But that was short-lived.

We had a nice breakfast at the plaza cafe and then saw a lovely farmer's market and the offerings were very lovely.





Incidentally, that Saturday morning (1 October 2011) was the day that the plaza floor was divided and merchants sponsor a drawing contest.  People started in the early morning and it would be done by noon.  All kinds people participated this event and that totally redeemed Arcata.




















Children were not merely onlookers.  They were given space to express their own creativity as well:





We left before noon and on our way out, we saw a huge mural on the back of one of the buildings surrounding the plaza.  That was a nice goodbye to Arcata.




Related articles:
--> Coastal Northern California and Wine Country - Oregon Trip, Part 11 (The End)
--> Arcata, California - Oregon Trip, Part 10
--> Idyllic Parks and Cute Animals in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 9
--> Art in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 8
--> Natural Bridge and Crater Lake, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part7
--> It Got Better - Three Plays at Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Oregon Trip, Part 6
--> Ashland Springs Hotel - Oregon Trip, Part 5
--> Ashland, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part 4
--> A Night at McCloud, California - Oregon Trip, Part 3
--> Burney Falls in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California - Oregan Trip, Part 2
--> Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, Redding, California - Oregon Trip, Part 1