Dunsmuir California RPCV style

This weekend was spent in Northern California, Dunsmuir to be exact. It is a little mountain town, just below Mt. Shasta. It's the perfect meeting point for those individuals living in Oregon and California so there we went! Above is a picture from our "hike" which was more like a stroll really considering we had a young one with us. It was also raining so limiting the outside activity was somewhat required.

Found a cute little cabin rental right across from the Sacramento River. Also included a set of train tracks which was not listed in the posting for the rental. Wasn't so bad. There were trains frequently through the night but it wasn't as intrusive as you would think. Some folks placed pennies and dimes on the tracks to be squished, and it worked, it really did! No trains derailed but they sure did end up in a different state than they had started. Will we be thrown in jail for defacing government property? Probably not. But it did create a souvenir for everyone. How cool is that?! It was a lovely little bungalow with lots of beds for everyone. Only thing missed was a fireplace but as Miss B says, "You can't have it all!".

The weekend was spent with lots of guitar playing and singing from Hot Toddie and Miss B. Kevin joined in as well to practice up for his class at the University of Oregon. They did all sorts of acoustic hits of the 80's. I'll stop the world and melt with you, Don't Stop Believing, Like a Virgin. I think they should do an open mic or coffee shop sometime. Hilarity! And it sounded pretty darn good too! A following would be created before you know it. We also played some scrabble which took us back to the days of Peace Corps. I spent a lot of time at Lou's house on the Magic Island in Georgetown. Lots! And one of the daily traditions was to play at least a round or two of scrabble. Seeing as I am a terrible speller, she even let me use the dictionary but only if I didn't know how to spell the word, not to look ones up! It was fun to play and we found this cute little magnetic travel set for $1 at the flea market in Provincetown last summer. Finally put it to use!

We also played a tequila fueled round of spoons on Saturday night! This is a game I had never learned until adulthood. It's probably a good thing since had it been played with siblings I may have lost an eye or hurt my younger brother seriously. How to play: one less spoon than there is people, one deck of cards. Place the spoons in the middle of the table equidistant from all players. Deal everyone 4 cards. Begin passing cards to the left while seeking out four of a kind. (4 fours, 4 Queens, you get it!) The first person to get a set of 4 takes a spoon either stealth like or commanding style and then everyone else has to get one before they are gone. One person ends up spoonless each round. I didn't think people were going to get into it the way they did but WOW, here is the list of occurrences from the game: a bloody knuckle, water spill, table almost tipping over, boob grabbed, (that may have just been for fun!), and a large day after bruise. I love my Peace Corps people! We can make anything fun!

We did have a surprise out of town guest whom no one knew was coming. Amy (otherwise known as the Hammer) walked in out of no where. Jeanette kept it on the down low and Amy made it all the way from Denver for the weekend. Hooray! Everyone was completely shell shocked once they realized who was there. Too funny!

We also ate some yummy domida, an African peanut soup. I hadn't made it in a while and was worried I had lost my skills when it wouldn't thicken up. Lou then reminded me to take off the top of the pot and it worked like a charm. The next conquest is benachin. Have never learned how to make it and I want to perfect it! That is another great thing about hanging out with Peace Corps folks, great food!

The weekend wrapped up with a trip to the local coffee shop to hang out a little longer and then it was time to hit the road. Looking forward to the next get together which will more than likely be sometime in June at Castle Crags, just outside of Dunsmuir! Get your livers cleaned up now!

P.S. We also watched with Wisconsin vs. Michigan game and Wisconsin won! Top it off with Ohio State getting pummeled by Illinois and it was a great weekend. Let's not forget the Packers whopping the Vikings either. I don't usually care much about football but this year, I am sucked right in! It's the year of the upsets and very fun to watch.