No. More like Grape Soda. It’s comfortably fizzy, but not overwhelmingly so. I was worried it might taste like too-old fermented orange juice, but it doesn’t have that twang. Nope, after 48 hours, it’s tasty Grape Soda.
Mainly, I’m glad to have survived the experiment. The box says that if you leave it longer, it will get stronger and drier, so we’ll test that idea and keep you informed.
Halfway to wine
“Dude, you’re making Pruno. That’s what they drink in jail,” he said with a smirk.
I shook my head. “No man, it’s Federweißer. I looked it up in Wikipedia. It’s big in Europe. At least, I think it that’s what it is.”
“Big in European jails, maybe,” he replied.
BevMo! opens in Redding, fills unmet need
When the going gets hot, the hot go to the coast
Sometimes it can get just a bit too warm, too many days in a row, over the course of summer in Redding, and that’s when it’s time to consider heading for the coast. Only 150 scenic miles away, the Northcoast provides welcome dose of fog and seaview. Just the cure for a late summer meltdown.
The road over the hill past the Redwood Curtain offers lovely river canyon views, and you arrive in what might as well be a different country. Certainly, a different climate zone. The complete contrast provides a quick reset to the senses. In Redding, we are blessed with choices. Rivers, redwoods, mountains, ocean, all within range. It’s not Really Redding, but its not that far either.
If Redding was New York, the Northcoast would be our Hamptons.
The Squire Room
Warning to all married dudes about the Squire Room!
If you use your plastic, your credit card statement will read “Thunderbird Lounge.” There is no Thunderbird Lounge in Redding, but there is a Thunderbird Lodge right next to the Squire Room, which is exactly the sort of place in downtown Redding where, if you’re a mack daddy, you might be hooking up with a Craigslist “masseuse.”
Because I’m such a playa, TL has been all up in my mobile phone and email and bank accounts and DNA signature since long before Elin Nordegren Woods decided to take a 3-iron to hubby Tiger’s well-deserving dome. To make matters worse, TL was out of town on the date that the the damning credit card charge posted.
I had to call the Squire Room on speaker phone and ask my man if they were in any way affiliated with Thunderbird Lodge, and if that explained that nasty $38 “Thunderbird Lounge” charge on my VISA, which coincidentally is about what you might expect to be charged for a room at the Thunderbird Lodge.
My man on the speaker phone is like, “Uh huh. Same owner.”
Mmmfuuuck. Not cool, my man. Not cool.
Yelp review by Buzz Fledderjohn, in whose Palo Cedro yard I am not allowed. Photos by Skip Murphy.
Paranormal activity in Redding? Who you gonna call…?
I received a call from Lynette Gooch of River Cities Paranormal Society, NorCal Chapter. It seems she had run across an entry in another blog post I wrote about a Redding house for sale with some paranormal qualities. I assured her my post was meant to be entirely tongue in cheek, as it happens. But her intentions were completely serious. 
She explained that she was part of a team of local folks who are in turn affiliated with a larger group, who investigate claims of the paranormal. She introduced me to their website, and you can click on it below. Their team operates without charge, and has a set of expertise and instruments to investigate… uh, ghosts and such. You can click on the various pages at their site, and learn a lot more about them and their intriguing field of inquiry. Who you gonna call? (530) 255 GHST (4478), in fact.
Looking over their site, I didn’t see any Plasma Rays (Don’t cross the streams!) for actually dealing with any paranormal activity they might detect, but perhaps they keep their Proton Packs at the ready, just in case they run across Gozer, or Zuul even. Lynnette sounded very serious about all. And I’m just poking fun with my Ghostbuster references, but how cool would it be to find something truly inexplicable? Sometimes in the real estate trade, you do see and hear about the weirdest things in people’s houses. So click on the site below to see what to do about it. Thanks Lynette!
Ornamental Manzanita
Manzanita is truly ubiquitous around here. The hardy bush thrives in solid clay, hard rock, and parched earth. I’ve sometimes heard harsh language used to describe this tenacious plant, for all sorts of reasons. But then I’ve seen the leaves sparkle in morning frost and dew. And I’ve admired the sculptural reddish wood as it gnarls and flows into resilient branches. Both loved and hated, Manzanita is just a fact of life around here. But this ornamental use of it is unique.
Located on Highway 299W, you’ll see these fanciful beauties on your right, just before Swasey Drive as you head toward Whiskeytown. I’ve admired these for a long time.
I just think these specimens are fabulous. Disciplined trimming reveals their inner beauty. Given this plants hardiness and ability to adapt under Redding’s often extreme climate, it’s odd that we don’t see this use more often. True Xeriscaping. I’ve seen folks go to bizarre lengths to keep a lawn green around here, as though Redding was somehow the British Isles. Really, they could just visit https://www.lawncare.net/ if they want to make sure their lawn looks its best. Meanwhile, you could plant these ornamentals in your yard and likely never water them. Just fertilize occasionally with chunks of cement and broken glass, and watch ’em grow. It’s Really Redding.
Car photos manipulated to look like miniatures
Those darn *insert enemy name here*
It’s April 15. A special day, ahem. Nobody wants to pay taxes, but everybody wants more services. Before you go off on *insert enemy name here* you may enjoy this classic video from John Cleese:
The enemy list may change, but Monty Python remains. I know when I think about extremists and other irony-challenged individuals and groups, they are such very bad persons, and if it wasn’t for them, I’d actually be good-natured, and courteous, and rational all the time.
Redding Eagle Cam shows eggs and chicks
This is my 300th ReallyRedding blogpost! Whew. That’s quite a milestone. Thanks to all my viewers!
Here we see an image my brother Ron sent me of the bald eagle in Redding that’s from the Eagle Cam that’s positioned over near Turtle Bay. As you can see there are eggs involved.
Today I heard we had a hatch. You can click on the image below to get a live image. Redding’s most famous residents with their own Reality Show. Wonders of technology!
It’s Really Redding.