Couchsurfing in Trinidad

We drove up through the sleepy tourist town of Ferndale and grabbed some lunch and looked around for a few minutes.  That’s about all there is to do there.  If you like charming Victorian storefronts and trinket shops, this is your place.   There’s a mini-farmer’s market, but you’re better-off hitting the one up the road in Arcata.

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Arcata is a great little college town that we haven’t ever made it up to visit.  We have friends who went to school here years ago, so we knew it existed, but never had any good reason to drive all the way up to check it out.  A groovy little place with a downtown built around a well-manicured town square.  Lot’s of VW buses.  Lot’s of twenty-something neo-hippy kids lounging about, playing guitar, smoking dope and napping in the grass.  All is well with the world.

I was impressed with one guy who parked his bike/trailer/solar-cooker combo in front of the local Co-Op and spent his entire day espousing the benefits of solar cooking.  His own soapbox, I suppose, and a valiant cause.  He showed Bode and I how he cooked beans in an old stadium light housing (great focal properties… and free).  He also had Mylar-lined umbrellas and old satellite dishes and demonstrated igniting a piece of paper in just few seconds.   The beans would be ready in about an hour.

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After a lazy afternoon, we headed a little farther north to Trinidad for the evening.  It was our first CouchSurfing.org experience as guests and it was a good one.  We always liked the idea (what are you doing with your empty guest-room?) and had hosted CouchSurfing travelers in the past and met some really great people, so now it was our turn to surf.   Our host was kind, shared some interesting conversations, and generously hosted us on short notice.  In the morning, we were treated to breakfast made with all locally-grown ingredients, including blueberry muffins made with grains freshly ground in her kitchen.  It just doesn’t get any fresher or tastier!

There isn’t much to Trinidad itself other than fog and a harbor, but it’s a naturally beautiful spot and was a place we would not have ordinarily visited.  We took a short hike out to the harbor and got to witness all the action on the first of a ten-day salmon season.  The word on the water was that there were no salmon out there.

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Onward and upward to Oregon!

 

–currently headed towards Crater Lake and Bend–

8 thoughts on “Couchsurfing in Trinidad

  • September 2, 2009 at 10:58 AM
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    You guys are going all over the place! We love that area up there. If I had known you were heading that way, I would have recommended the campground at the end of lighthouse road near Petrolia – great spot for bus camping!

    Best of luck.

    -Brett

  • September 2, 2009 at 2:21 PM
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    Trinidad is beautiful. Judi and I rented a house overlooking the cove for our honeymoon. Would love to be there now…

  • September 3, 2009 at 2:01 PM
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    What a great blog. My wife and I are hoping to take a similar trip in the future with our son (who is only 8 months old right now).

    If you still plan to visit some of the islands in B.C., I would recommend checking out Salt Spring Island. Okay, I’ve never actually been there. But I’ve got some good friends (the Karr family) that live there, and it sounds magical.

    Safe travels to you all.

  • September 4, 2009 at 5:37 PM
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    Jad-

    thanks for the tip. any thing particular we should check out? We’ve been to Orcas Island and it was really nice too.
    Jason

  • September 5, 2009 at 9:03 AM
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    hi guys,
    if you do check out Vancouver Island drop me a line. I live in Victoria and I’m a wetwesties member. Just saw your post there which is why I’m surfing on your site this morning.
    I don’t have a guest room, sorry, but I can offer lots of suggestions for camping adventures on the Island.
    Love your blog! have fun out there!
    Caroline

  • September 8, 2009 at 11:10 PM
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    It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy that you visited Arcata and Trinidad, two of my favorite places on earth.

  • September 10, 2009 at 10:33 AM
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    Hi there, Jason,

    I know that there’s a huge organic farming community on the island. I’ve read on your blog about Bode’s dietary needs, so it seems like Salt Spring could be a cool, nutritionally-sound place to visit. 🙂 There’s a great website about the community and all things Salt Spring here:

    http://www.saltspringcommunity.com/

    Cheers,

    Jad

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