Spring has sprung, we can pretend we’re in a post-Covid world* and Eureka is looking pretty good to me these days.

* We’re not—257 confirmed cases last week in Humboldt

Let me count the ways:

Cruise ship

We were graced a few days ago with the largest cruise ship ever to navigate into our Bay, the Seven Seas Mariner. She made use of Schneider’s deepwater dock on May 3, and passengers who chose to leave their luxury quarters were greeted by a bevy of Council members and City officials and—wait for it—Free Donuts. (We know how to give folks a good time.) Hopefully we’ll be seeing more cruise ships come into the Bay—the last one was The World, back in 2012, not counting the comparatively small Silver Explorer four years ago. Word is, we might get a couple more this year.

Chinatown

The first-Saturday-of-the-month May Arts Alive got an extra fillip, with celebrations that day in Eureka’s old Chinatown district: between Fourth and Fifth, and E and F. Although the City Council changed the name of the lane between E and F to Charlie Moon Way last November, the ribbon cutting—with speeches, blessings and good-luck Lion Dancing—happened a week ago Saturday. Charlie Moon, who was working on a ranch on Redwood Creek, was one of the few Chinese who escaped Eureka’s notorious, racist 1885 Expulsion.

Old Town Carriage

When he’s not rooting for Liverpool Football Club, Brendan Feardon drives visitors around Old Town in a decidedly old fashion style, complete with historical commentary, some of which may be true. He can be found most days (officially Wednesday to Monday, 12:30 - 6:30pm) by the gazebo. Call (646) 591-2058 or book online.

Eureka Books

We are blessed with two great bookstores on the same block in Old Town Eureka: Booklegger and Eureka Books. EB’s new owner, Solomon Everta, decided to pre-celebrate the upcoming kitefest with a suitable theme for the store. Redwood Coast Kite Festival and Artisan Fair will be happening in Halverson Park next weekend, Saturday and Sunday May 21 and 22. Go fly a kite!

The Madaket

M/S Madaket, née Nellie C, is now approaching her 112th birthday. You can read about her history here. Harbor cruises officially re-started yesterday, May 14th. Call (707) 445 1910 for times and tickets.

Birds

Bird rentable electric scooters started showing up all over the place recently. At $1 start fee + 39 cents per minute, they’re more expensive in Eureka than anywhere else I checked (29 cents/minute in Sacramento, for instance), but they’re here and available and much, much more eco-friendly than driving a car around town.

Loleta Tunnel

OK, not quite Eureka. Ray (“Humboldt Outdoors”) Olson and I had fun out at Loleta a few weeks ago—he’d read my story about Loleta’s 1884 railroad tunnel, which became a part of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad’s line down to the Bay Area, starting in 1914. Somehow Ray created this playful video of the two of us exploring a slice of Humboldt history.