In-between

Last night I was feeling blue. It's not possible to live in a World Heritage area and not miss the beauty, even though I felt the roads were trying to kill us. "Frosting on a cake" is how my hubby described them. Pour water on it and it all crumbles. Case in point....this picture below in the Shasta Trinity area. See, the road is just "frosting" on a "cake" of carved mountain side.

Shasta/Trinity area. Photo credit US Forest Service

The roads weren't all that bad, mostly there were "just" rock and mud slides. We passed four of them on highway 101 between Crescent City and Eureka. Mind you, Caltrans was on the ball and the slides were pushed off the road and marked. Last Chance Grade which is about 10 miles south of Crescent City is constantly monitored, patched and repaired. Every time it rains it has issues. 

Last Chance Grade. Photo credit, Caltrans

The mountain roads are just a fact of life for long time residents of the area. They chuckled and called me a "flatlander". It was OK, I laughed with them. I used to cross dry washes in the desert with a pocket full of pebbles to toss at bushes and rock outcroppings to check for rattlesnakes. I guess it's just how we look at things. It is a common occurrence for people to check the road conditions on Highway 199 before embarking on the two+ hour drive to Medford Oregon for a doctor appointment. One lady at the DMV bustled into the office and told her co-workers, "Sorry I was gone all morning but I had to drive to Medford for a shot." That's another thing...no good doctors. That we did not know before we moved there. Crescent City has a hospital and some clinics. That should be OK, right? Apparently not, because good doctors don't hang around very long. They up and leave when their belongings get moldy and their car starts rusting in front of them and their wife complains because they have nowhere to shop.

Still, we lived with breathtaking beauty all around us. I still consider that a blessing, and something I will miss. We walked many trails together. That is something my hubby and I enjoyed immensely. But my hubby was suffering, constantly. It was becoming unbearable for him. He was hanging on because of me, because he knew how much I loved the beauty there. The doctors couldn't help him. "Mold runs rampant in Del Norte County." Many people there take a pocketful of medicines just to get through the day. My hubby was also stressed because of the job situation. He had a good job at Runiano Cheese, but that was pretty much the only job in town, other than Walmart. We wanted to save for a house, but my concern was that even a "dry", well cared for house will have mold issues there. So, there was "trouble in Paradise".

The move to Hartford was a good choice for us. My husband's cousin has many Albanian friends. I appreciate that my husband always does things with me first, and asks me if I mind if he goes with his friends. I don't mind. My husband is a very outgoing person, and since he's going with the guys, of course I don't want to tag along. Instead, we go on walks, drives and shopping trips together. My husband's health is improving, and he enjoys joking and talking with his cousin.

Me? I am not the type to make friends easily. However I found out there is an art studio downtown where you can create stuff for the price of the materials. They have a kiln, and will fire your ceramic or glass creation. I'm looking forward to doing that.

Still, I was feeling blue. I miss what I left behind and I'm waiting for spring here. I miss my daughter in California and still I have not seen my daughter in Indiana because she had the flu, and now her hubby has the flu. And my hubby is working nights, 12 hour shifts. I miss him, I miss my daughters. I'm feeling in-between.