The week at the beach was an eye opener. My joints are not up to winter camping. That was just the beginning of some things I had to face. The car runs up the cost of sites dramatically. $35 a night for tent space works out to $1000 a month. That is more than I was paying for a two-bedroom apartment and beyond the budget for the start up. The state has raised the fees, to help with the budget shortfall I guess. I liked the distraction free environment that camping provided even under the harsh weather conditions but I slept poorly. When the wind is bending the tent pole down and bouncing it off your head it tends to keep you awake.
In addition to the higher fees the services have gone to the dogs. The showers were only working one day out of seven and every morning the toilet was backed up. I have been pretty bummed and starting each day that way was disheartening in the extreme. As a result I am looking for a place to rent. Looked at the outside of a few places and then had to turn in an application to get in to look at the inside of one of them. I went dyslexic on the new phone number so I may have wasted 2 days on that one. It is a unique looking space from the pictures but I want to see the loft before I decide. The places I looked at in old town, 1 rented and the other is not yet vacant. The one was above a restaurant and that would have been cool but it was already gone.
My skills have eroded more with the years and it seems harder and harder to conform to the rules. Have been unable to complete the car paperwork and hence needed to stay in Eureka for a bit longer. Rented a weekly room to try and recover a bit physically at the Royal Inn. Will try to recover over the weekend and go at it again Monday.
The plan will now have to be modified depending on what type of place I end up getting but will be traveling and camping with the bike only and when the weather improves.
