Boonville, CA

Every once in a while, I get a hankerin' to go home. Not Astoria, OR. Albion, CA is my real home. I have a hope of getting there this summer, but that depends on a number of factors, not the least among them money, and pregnancy. Next year, though, I just HAVE to go. Never thought I'd miss those 14 hour drives. As background for new people, I was eight years old when we moved from Albion to Astoria, and my life was never the same after that. I loved my life on a ranch in CA. Now, I am thankful for God putting me where he did, or I might have turned out very different. I might not have gone to Gonzaga or met my husband or a lot of things.

It's a rather interesting area of CA. Just type Mendocino County into www.google.com, and you'll see what I mean. It's history is fascinating. Russians, fishermen, loggers, sheep ranchers, even Basque folks from Spain. Then hippies, high quality marijuana, and much organic living, and oh, homeschooling! Very, very hippie. Now it's very wine tasting and touristy. And still absolutely the most gorgeous place on earth. You can get to places in Mendocino County that make you feel like you are completely alone on the planet. Easily. Just be careful what car you drive where, or you might really get stuck up in the hills. I'm not real sure AAA can find you, but the tow truck driver in Philo probably can! He fixed our RV on the spot last summer. He was AWESOME. The baling twine and duct tape kind of person you want to get to know. You have to be like that to be a mechanic out there!

I was born in Ukiah, but in between Albion and Ukiah, there is a tiny little town called Boonville. If you think that sounds like the "boonies", well, it is. Sheep ranchers, mostly, or it used to be. Great county fair and sheep dog trials. TINY town. Strangely enough, it must have been just isolated enough to develop its own lingo. I had no idea I would find it on wikipedia, but there it was, today. No kidding! I didn't know it made it on the Late Night Show with Johnny Carson! It's kind of like pigeon English in Hawaii, but I'm sure it has a different sound. I wonder if there is a recording anywhere?

Gosh, I love that place. Here is the link, and you can have some fun reading it.
Reader, meet "Boontling"!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boontling