Chris and I are renting a vacation apartment in Arcata, CA, which is very cute but has a couple of funky quirks.

Now, it has WiFi (i.e. an Internet connection), which is our one non-negotiable go-to-requirement.  So that’s good. And, it has a full-sized, full-equipped kitchen, which means that we can easily prepare meals here, plus the queen-sized bed is pretty comfortable.

By far biggest quirk is that the bathtub/shower is … outside. Yup, outside.  There’s a sink and toilet (i.e. a half-bath) inside, but the shower is outside. Here’s a link to information about the place with some photos, so you can see the shower.  (BTW, ignore any prices you see; one of the reasons we decided to stay here is that the landlady cut us a super deal on the price since we are staying here for almost 8 weeks).

Now, taking a shower isn’t as cold as I’d feared, even thought the outdoor temps here don’t seem to regularly get above 70 at most. But the water stream is good and warm, and in addition to other furnishings the owners provided fluffy towels and bathrobes. So, all-in-all, not bad.

Of course, we’ve been here less than a week. Check back with me in 8 weeks, to see if my opinion has changed.

Anyway, that’s all really a digression from what prompted me to write this post. Another standard criteria for accommodations on the Plan G tour has been to rent a place that has a washer (and dryer, if a dryer is typical for the country. I.e., in Italy the places we rented had washers, but no dryers because typically people just don’t have dryers in Italy. Here in the U.S., though, if there’s a washer, there’s alway been a dryer).  An in-unit washer/dryer is a wonderful thing.  Truly.  Usually I reject places for our longer stays that don’t have a washer/dryer in the apartment, or at least have one available in a room on an adjacent floor in the same building.

However, this place in Arcata has no washer or dryer on-site. What it offers is just proximity to a local laundromat that’s a couple of miles away.

But … go back and read the note above about how  the landlady gave us a great deal on the price for this place for 8 weeks.  Let’s just say that the difference pays for a lot of loads of laundry.

So today I went off to the local laundromat and discovered that it’s not coin-operated, like most American ones. Nope, at this one you are supposed to buy a card from a machine on the wall using exactly four $1 bills (a fee that is refundable eventually). Then, you have to load money onto the card using the same machine, and then figure out how to operate the machines using the card. Using a machine on a wall  was highly reminiscent of aspects of my foray into the world of Italian laundromats years ago. This time, though, there was no family that needed my help. In fact,  there was even an attendant who sold me the card and loaded the money on it for me, bypassing the whole machine thing. Nice.

But now I feel like I’m an International Laundromat Pro.  If you know of anyone who wants to hire one, just let me know. My fees are very reasonable … although I will charge more than a mere four $1 bills.

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P.S. BTW, for those who are new to the blog, here’s a shameless plug for my book: that story of my adventures as the “Local Laundromat Pro” is just one of the tales you’ll find in my book, Life on a Gelato Diet, available in paperback (and for Kindle) from Amazon, and in all other electronic formats from LeanPub.