Humboldt County: Cali's Finest!
Some people say that there is "nothing to do" in Southern Humboldt County. I totally disagree. This is an area full of events, festivals, and too many outdoor activity opportunities to count. So to those of you who say that Southern Humboldt is boring, I say, "You are boring!"
Snoop Dogg in Eureka
One of the first things I did during my month long stay in Southern Humboldt was use my sister's unused Stephen Marley & Snoop Dogg concert ticket. The venue was Eureka's Redwood Acres Fairgrounds, which, in my opinion, was very lacking in atmosphere. The show didn't sell out, and they weren't selling alcohol so I wonder if they were able to profit off of the show.
Stephen Marley was first and put on a quality set. A fun surprise was that he brought out famous Jamaican performer Spragga Benz to perform with him for three or four songs. Snoop Dogg also had some surprise guests as he performed alongside DPG (Daz and Kurupt). Kurupt even performed a few songs, but Daz didn't rap at all and seemed like he might be too out of shape to rock the mic. Snoop kept it "old school" with a full band backing him, and sticking with mostly old songs. One of the coolest things was when he covered House of Pain's "Jump Around."
Humboldters have somewhat of a tendency throw marijuana buds up to performers, but the way that Snoop interpreted this was interesting. He took matters into his own hands and passed a bucket around the crowd for pot donations not once, not twice, but THREE different times during his show! C'mon Snoop, you're already getting 50K to perform for 1.5 hours, do you really need all the freebies?
A week or so later I went to my Aunt and Uncle's 50th wedding anniversary which was attended by around one-hundred people. The party was great, and with so many family members there, it was like a second family reunion! I was shocked to see that my kindergarten, first, second, and third grade teachers were there. All but one of them remembered my name and it was cool to catch up with them. It was a serious flash to the past!
Later that day I attended my friend from high school's wedding party which was held in the same community of Salmon Creek. In fact, people were pulling into the driveway of my Aunt and Uncle's party thinking it was the other party! Anyway, my buddy did an incredible job organizing what ended up being one of the coolest parties I have ever been to. It was held far out in the Salmon Creek hills where people own multiple, and sometimes hundreds of acres of property. Dozens of people were camping on site, there was a stage with five bands, open bar, pig roast, and more! Probably the highlight of the party was seeing my friend Jessie's band "Fear Mia" for the first time. Their performance was some of the most fun I have seen in a while!
Another very notable house party in Southern Humboldt took place in the Elk Ridge community near Briceland. This party was unique in that it featured electronic-club music DJs, and a fun, rave atmosphere. There were all sorts of colorful visuals hanging from branches, decorating the dance-floor which was surrounded by trees, sitting under an extremely clear summer night sky. This was the first time I had seen a party in Humboldt with such a theme and it was great running into more old friends, and seeing them enjoying themselves too.
Heat wave drove us to the coast
Extremely hot weather drove me to spend a few days out at Shelter Cove with Bullet (the family dog). Shelter Cove is still one of my favorite places in the world.Up on the old stretch of Beach Road
We went to Black Sands beach, and explored the old Beach Road, which once stretched north from the Black Sands parking lot. It goes without saying that Bullet had a good time, but after running around all day he was limping all night. Poor old guy!
More Shelter Cove beauty
Coming soon, my experience filming at Reggae Rising 2009, including HD footage of some of the shows I shot! It's going to be a fun one!
