Scotia, California

One of the best parts of my dad's job as a medical rep was he got to travel all over the coast of Northern California and would take us along on his trips. The west coast is beautiful and I feel so fortunate that I got to see just about every town that existed.

On the long and windy drives, mom and dad would pepper us with stories. There were exciting ones like when their car broke down late at night in an area known for growing marijuana and drug smuggling and busts. They had no option but to walk to the nearest farm house and knock on the door. The person hesitantly opened the door and told them they were lucky they knocked on their house and not one of the drug houses. Yikes!

My favorite place to drive to was Eureka and Crescent City. The drive on Highway 1 was breathtaking with sea cliffs and crashing waves. Not to mention the game of dodging cyclists on the narrow cliff hugging two lane road. There is a town called Scotia just south of Eureka. Dad would mention each time that this was one of the last "company towns" in America. A company town is when the houses, stores, land, etc. are owned by the company that the people worked for. Everyone that lived in Scotia worked for Pacific Lumber Mill. There was a huge mill that seemed as long as a few football fields and thousands of stacks of trees waiting to be cut down into one form or another. The town was neat and orderly straight out of the 1930s. It reminded me of a coal mine town from the movie "October Sky."

After passing by this town year after year, dad finally said, "Let's go check that place out!" We thought that entailed driving around the community, but dad drove right up to the huge mill. He got out and spoke with one of the workers who offered to give our family a tour. We didn't know what we were in for. The place was humongous! It was loud with all the machinery. We walked on a cat-walk that was a few stories high. It was the first time my fear of heights did not take over and I enjoyed the whole new experience.

I don't recall everything we learned that day, but I do recall that taking a risk and asking to check something out can work in your favor. Thanks for teaching me to stick my neck out mom and dad!