Bodega Bay Beat by Joan Poulos - July 2017

No matter how attractive the site for a visit, there is no place as lovely as home (especially when you live in Bodega Bay). We had a lovely trip to Alaska. We fell in love with the Alaskans (not so much the weather – although it was good while we were there). It reminded us of how northern California used to be. We all knew all our neighbors. We shared food (if someone was lucky enough to get a big salmon or even if they got a big two or three point buck). We shared garden produce, took care of each other’s dog when someone went on vacation and watered their garden while they were gone. This is the way it is now in Alaska. One neighbor who has a magnificent view had been contacted by AirBnB. All those who had lived in or visited California warned them NOT to start renting. Those of us in Bodega Bay who live in neighborhoods where we knew all our neighbors and shared any largess (and covered all the bases when anyone was gone) added our experiences. The difference will be that fewer visitors want to rent during the winter. It is more than made up by the thousands of visitors who come by cruise ships to the little towns on the Alaskan coast. Little shops like the trade; the permanent residents try to stay home.

We were there in Alaska for my granddaughter’s graduation. We admired the school spirit and listened with pleasure to all the plans of the graduating seniors, most of which either want to be fishermen or go to college in the lower 48 (choosing schools they found friendly, like those either in Alaska or in Wyoming or Montana). Some of them will have sticker shock when they realize that even Bozeman, Montana is not as remote as Haines, Alaska. They will miss the bald eagles and bears which are part of their lives in Haines. Luckily the ferries still run all winter and even the little airplanes connect to the mainland. They can still come home for Christmas.

My other graduate, my grandson John Michael, graduated from Granite Bay. I didn’t make that ceremony (at his urging). He, too, will go to college in Montana. His cousin, my granddaughter, decided on Montana independently of him. I don’t know who will have the most change. Granite Bay is typical California, but Alaska is quite a change. The other oddity: They have been assigned to the same dorm. Life is full of mysteries.

We are lucky to have such strong community support for our little school. We will have a new principal for the next school year. Her name is Amanda Massy and she will be principal of both Tomales Elementary and Bodega Bay School. Give her a warm welcome.

Belatedly we want to add our congratulations to Catherine Petty. She will be getting the Dale Webster Perfect Attendance Award. She was never late or absent since kindergarten. What dedication and family support, I am sure). We wish her the very best for next year and the sixth grade.

We are proud of our youth, but we also need to consider the needs of our older citizens (like me.) No matter what the event, someone will mention how hard it is to get to events and meetings. For those who no longer drive, (or who have spouses who don’t) evening events are pretty much ruled out. Even movies like Wonder Woman are full of senior citizens at the matinee (it was worth getting out for). Why can’t we have some form of public transportation? In Grange we are working on getting Meals on Wheels out here (I have been working on that ten years) and even discussing establishing a food bank. For senior citizens, it would be great if we had somewhere local to swim or participate in a gym program. The Harbour has a pool, but whenever we ask about letting locals buy a limited ticket we are turned down flat. We are lucky that Diana Bundy was such a bundle of power that she got the community center activated again and at least we have yoga four mornings a week. For a limited time we though Uber might be an answer (for those who have a smart phone – it requires an app) but it looks like this is out now. No public transportation except the bus with no reliable schedule to make it useful for airplane trip access. Since Alicia is immersed in the restaurant business (and we wish her well) we don’t even have the fallback of the previous Concierge. We good luck in her new endeavor, but we miss her in her old one.

Farmers’ Market is alive and well. This week the cheese vendors were out in force and the strawberries had many customers. Even the craftspeople were having some sales (I bought some great slippers from Wind Walkers). It is always uniquely pleasant to buy from the actual artist who has produced the product for sale. That is why John Hershey’s photos are always so popular. He is a very gifted photographer (you can see his work on FaceBook).

The cheese choices are multiple; the fish were a popular number. I lament the lack of a smoked salmon vendor. I hope someone considers this soon. I will be an avid customer. Speaking of salmon, it looks like a sparse season. We all looked forward to a plentiful supply after the on and off crab season. I can’t see many salmon boats going out. This does not bode well for our local fishermen.

Estate sales always attract people you have not seen for a long time. This week the Joan Scoggins’sale brought out many folks from Santa Rosa, as well as her kids from Tennessee. We wished them well in their sale (but with a touch of sadness.). We hope our new neighbor whoever it is will be nearly as nice as Joan Scoggins was (it will be a tough act to follow).

The Grange is busy. The after Fish Fest pot luck will be this week – kudoes to all the workers who brought in more money than ever for local charities. July 2 the Fire fighters put on their usual excellent pancake feed. The fireworks will be July 2 this year (probably after this issue comes out).