While I wasn’t exhausted by yesterday’s long ride, I was still ready for a rest day to recharge. We managed to find some fun on top of the housekeeping that needed doing.

For the morning activity, we walked the mile to downtown and bought tickets for the Skunk Train. It got its name in the 1920s from the fumes put out by self propelled cars fueled by gasoline, and a crude oil stove for climate control. Now it’s a historic train, taking tourists out on a rail line originally built to haul lumber.

We took a one hour out-and-back, out of town and into the woods. The kids seemed to enjoy it, and it was fun to see even more isolated areas. We were treated to random calls of “choo choo” from one or more kids for the rest of the day.

After returning to the station, we visited the model railroad layout in a shed behind the train. It’s a pretty neat model of the steam logging days, complete with replicas of several bridges from scant documentation. Model railroads always interest me, although I’m pretty sure I don’t need another hobby.

After lunch, we hit up the bike shop to restock. One of my cleat covers has been falling off, so we got a new set. We also semi-proactively bought new chains for both bikes. I was looking for a new rear tire, but he didn’t have my preferred kind (Schwalbe Marathon Plus for life) in my size. It’s not urgent yet, plus I have a folding spare if it comes to it. It’s amazing how much faster stuff wears when heavily loaded.

We made a few more pit stops on the way back to the hotel. Anne bought a train board book (“choo choo”) and a lacing toy for Max, and a fresh activity book for Ruth. We walked through a game and comics shop. We tried to get ice cream, but balked at the line.

Back at the room, we had a nice phone call with my parents, nominally for Max’s birthday a few days ago. Then Anne worked on napping Max out while Ruth watched TV and I put on the new chains outside. A dude on the balcony helpfully suggested I should put a motor on the bikes. I’m not entirely sure what his point was.

Then we put on our swimsuits and put every other piece of fabric we have in the laundry. We hung out for the wash, then played in the pool while it dried.

Having worked up an appetite swimming (and having clothes again), we hopped across the parking lot to La Playa. Food was meh, but at least it was fast.

Then it was time for a walk. We decided to check out Noyo Harbor, which we had seen from the bridge yesterday. We had to climb down through the back of a hotel, on a path that reminded me of the path to swimming lessons at Lake Nagawicka as a kid. It had a bunch of steps of various sizes, winding down the cliff. Ruth was fearless, of course, but did a good job of staying in the middle, and waiting for us to catch up.

At the bottom, we found it wasn’t really set up for exploring on foot. There was a well-trodden, if unofficial-looking, path between some buildings, but it ended pretty quickly. We turned around to go under the bridge towards the ocean instead. On the way we saw a bunch of cats, plus a bonus raccoon. Evidently, somebody likes to feed the feral cats, which means the raccoons also get taken care of.

We enjoyed the view of the setting sun under the bridge and on the shore, but decided to head back quickly so we wouldn’t have to climb back up the path in the dark. It wasn’t as hard of a climb than it looked from above yesterday. Or maybe we’ve developed some leg muscles somehow.

For our final errand, we fetched groceries for breakfast and lunch, plus a birthday treat for Max. Between us, we hatched about five evil plans about what to buy as we tried to stay positive when they were sold out of our first choice items. Even Ruth got in on it, trying to talk us into buying a 20 pack of bakery cookies. We do usually get cookies, but not quite that many at a time.

It came up today that both Anne and I felt like we had a bit of a cold about a week ago, but decided to not to tell the other. Anne likes to say that the best cure for a cold is a bike ride. It clears the lungs, after all. I guess she’s right.