Advertisement
Published: January 2nd 2016
10/22/15 Little River, Mendocino, Fort Bragg, Benbow Inn, Garberville Dave and I missed the allegedly spectacular meteor shower in the night at
Heritage House in Little River because we were too tired to stay up until 3AM. We didn’t lose any sleep over it. We later heard that the weather was too cloudy and we wouldn’t have been able to see much anyway. We woke to a chilly morning with brilliant blue skies promising to be a gorgeous day. Wanting to enjoy as much as we could of the luxury resort we first enjoyed our coffee in front a our fireplace and then spent about an hour walking to the cliff and gazebo enjoying the ambiance and as we tried to figure out where the various movie sets were located over the resort’s 37 acres.
Since the previous Heritage House dinner was not a success we decided not to get burned again but instead drove 8 miles north into
Mendocino to look for a good breakfast spot. We decided to walk around town, get the lay of the land, then ask for recommendations. A woman walking her dog recommended
Goodlife Cafe and Bakery, on Lancing, a side street across
from the Mendocino Savings Bank in the
historic Mendocino Masonic Temple. The bakery was a great choice. Goodlife had a wide selection of breakfast and lunch options that were made from scratch with local organic ingredients and many gluten free options. I remember drooling over a gluten free mac and cheese but ended up with gluten-free breakfast burritos instead. In any case, I don’t think you could go wrong no matter what you chose.
Coffee’d out and well filled with breakfast Dave and I set out to explore Mendocino. The little community of Mendocino, located on a headland surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, is well known as an artist colony. The buildings have a New England feeling, so much so that the film
“Summer of ’42 “ depicting a New England town, was filmed here. But it was the TV series
“Murder She Wrote” with Jessica Lansbury (set in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine) that put this town on the map. Mendocino is also famous for its tall water towers. These towers were built in the 19th century to provide the town with water. Only about 40-60 inches of rain falls between November and March and
to this day there is no central water supply so many of the original towers are still in use. As we explored the town we noticed that some of the towers were lived in. One even offered rooms as a B&B. As we walked around I remembered and found the little B&B I stayed in years ago with a dear friend who is now gone. Treasured memories.
I could easily have stayed another night here just to unwind and get to know the town. There isn’t a lot to do here but it would have suited me just fine. But oh well, agendas, places to go, people to see.
Our next stop: the
Mendocino Botanical Gardens. Located on the ocean in Fort Bragg just a few miles north of Mendocino, it is
also called the Garden by the Sea, one of a few public gardens with ocean frontage. This botanical garden boasts 47 acres of Japanese gardens, perennial gardens, a house filled with beautiful tuberous begonias, heather and heath gardens and woodland gardens with bright colored fuchsias but what delighted the most were the hummingbirds and butterflies that were everywhere in the sunlit garden spaces! I
spent a good deal of time trying to capture these birds in flight and although not the sharpest photos I’ve taken, I did manage to get a couple of decent shots.
Mendocino Botanical Gardens are the only gardens connected to the
California Coastal National Monument. We spent about an hour strolling through the gardens to the sea to find out what this was all about. There was so much diversity in this relatively small garden along this rocky coast ecosystem that has some of the harshest natural environments on earth. Not far from shore are rocks that provide critical resting and breeding grounds for thousands of birds and seabirds such as murres, guillemots and puffins who are dependent on offshore rocks for nesting. Harbor seals and California sea lions also make their homes long the same rocky coastline. We should have brought our binoculars!
After Dave had seen all the flowers and plants that he could take in, we headed to the northern reaches of
Fort Bragg to the unbelievable
Glass Beach in MacKerricher State Park. Sea glass sparkles on the beach as far as you can see in brilliant colors of red, green, white, brown and
sometimes blue. The beach we went to is located at the end of Glass Beach Drive where there is parking and a path that takes you to some very steep wooden steps (32 in all, I counted them!) that lead to the beach below.
Once on the beach it is like you are in a stunning world of glass. I dug my hands deep into the glass surface and as far as I could dig I still found glass. In 1906 this was a dump site known as “The Dumps” where glass, appliances and even vehicles were left to rot or were sometimes set on fire to reduce the size of the trash pile. Dump sites moved about up and down this area until 1967 when it was closed and cleanup programs began to correct the environmental damage. The glass and pottery that remained was broken down and tumbled by pounding waves resulting in the colorful sparkling spectacle that is Glass Beach today.
Dave did not attempt to follow me to the beach but I, even with my gimpy knee, was determined to experience this beach and photograph the glass up close. I stayed down combing
the beach for about half an hour until I felt guilty leaving Dave at the crest of the hill, so I reluctantly climbed back up to the car to drive a little more of this beautiful coast before heading inland on 101 to more mountainous areas and the beginnings of redwood forests.
These tall redwood giants seemed to swallow up the sky as we got deeper into the towering redwood groves. The
Chandelier Tree in Drive-Thru Tree Park is a 315 foot tall coast redwood tree in
Leggett, California, with a 6 foot wide by 6 foot 9 inch hole cut through the base to allow a car to drive through. Tacky? Cheesy? Yes. But i had to do it to say I did it. There, checked off the cheesy bucket list.
The town of Leggett was on our way to to
Garberville, home of the historic Benbow Inn, where we were staying for the night. Dave had been enticed by the inn’s 9 hole golf course but after he saw it he realized this was not a destination in and of itself. The inn, built in 1926 with its distinctive Tudor architecture has
attracted distinguished guests like Spencer Tracey, Clark Gable, Charles Laughton and Joan Fontaine as well as dignitaries like Eleanor Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover.
The Benbow Inn is on the National Register of Historic Places and a member of
Historic Hotels of America. The hotel is currently being restored to its glory days adding modern conveniences to make it handicap accessible. Our beautifully appointed second floor room was filled with antiques, a decanter of sherry and a basket of novels that was conveniently placed next to a comfy chair. It had a large double European style window that opened to the spacious patio, some towering redwood trees and the South Fork Eel River below.
We made dinner reservations, rested then changed our clothes to descend the grand staircase to the historic lobby and dining room where we think we may have had the best dining experience on the entire California trip. Dustin Vallance is the Executive Chef and his wife Jennifer, the Sous/Pastry Chef. This very personable and talented team rose to the occasion with a cream of carrot and golden beet soup, a true Caesar salad, some of the best crab cakes since Maryland, perfectly cooked filet
mignon, fresh prawns, and mashed and roasted vegetable and potatoes. We shared a flight of local wine and somehow found room to enjoy a deliciously light lemon dessert followed by good organic coffee. This is one meal we won’t soon forget!
After dinner we sat in the tastefully appointed and spacious lobby surrounded by antiques. The well trained staff did everything they could to make us comfortable.
10/23/15 Avenue of the Giants, to Trinidad If you thought we might never eat again after the incredible meal we enjoyed the night before you would be wrong. By 9AM we were seated in the same corner window of the dining room and enjoyed (only) one blueberry buttermilk pancake with real maple syrup, juice, coffee, yogurt and dried fruit. We lingered over breakfast enjoying the hotel and waiting for the fog to lift. As soon as it did (about mid morning) we were off to explore redwood country!
The clouds began to lighten giving way to layers of cloud banks and dappled light in the mountains. The dappled light turned to dark shadow as we began to drive through dark redwood groves. The first entrance to
the Avenue of the Giants in Philipsville was closed so we drove further north to Meyers Flat off 101. We stopped at the
Humboldt Redwoods Visitor Center to learn about the history of this 500 mile redwood belt. The
Avenue of the Giants is a world famous 31 mile scenic drive through the old portion of Highway 101. This has “by far the most outstanding display” of giant redwoods in the entire region. The Avenue of the Giants is surrounded by
Humboldt Redwoods State Park which claims to have the largest remaining stand of virgin redwoods in the world.
The park rangers encouraged us to watch the 45 minute
National Geographic movie Climbing Redwood Giants about two teams of explorers who film, record and climb the giant redwoods of North America. It was well worth the time to watch because it gave us an entirely different reason to respect the remaining giants that grace our planet.
After the movie we began our journey with reverence into the hushed world of these ancient trees. These trees are truly living giants, “one of the earth’s largest and oldest trees. Some tower more than 350 feet high, taller than
the Statue of Liberty; some may have been seedling when Jesus was born.”
We spent about half an hour walking through
Franklin Grove before we began to drive slowly north through the twisting Avenue stopping occasionally to admire a special grove as we moved deeper into the forest. We stopped at the
Founder's Grove Nature Loop Trail where we had a little picnic lunch and then spent another hour in this grove. Each grove is different from the other, with its own unique trees and trails. Some have more trees felled where you can walk the distance from root to tip, others have a larger girth where you can try to spread your arms across their width. Some trails are longer than others. Since we were only planning one day here we had to limit our time walking through these giants.
Our last stop was just off the Avenue of the Giants into the
Rockefeller Loop Trail in Humboldt Redwood State Park. This road was far less graded than the others we had been on and proved to be very bouncy and slow going, in fact quite painful for Dave’s sore back no matter how
slow I drove. It seemed like we were driving for over half an hour before (we think) we were at the unmarked trail in
Rockefeller Forest where, we were told by the rangers, we would find the 3rd largest redwood tree in the world. The tree is not marked because they don’t want vandals to damage it so we were never really sure we found the tree, but we saw a huge one that we are calling our 3rd largest tree.
We had an hour’s drive ahead of us to reach the
Lost Whale Inn in Trinidad, our destination for the evening, so we slowly headed north on 101 reluctantly leaving the magic and mystery of the giants behind.
Sarah, our hostess greeted upon arrival at the Lost Whale Inn. The inn is located just north of the town of Trinidad and overlooks the Pacific Ocean. The first thing we heard when we stepped out of the car was the barking seals far below on large rocks jutting out of the ocean. She brought us to our room where we found we had an ocean view and even with the windows closed we could hear the
distant barking of the seals and the crashing sounds of the coastal waves.
4PM is tea time at the all inclusive inn. We were offered an array of wine and cocktails along with a tray of excellent cheeses, crackers, fruit and smoked albacore tuna. We dove into our afternoon snack and then decided we wanted to explore the property hiking down to the sea below.
I am not sure we would have gone down the rough path to the beach if I had known how steep and difficult the terrain was but once started, I was committed (and it turns out commitable) because it took nearly half an hour to slowly climb down and of course it took at least that much time to climb back up. I never did get to the bottom because with my knee at the end it was hand over hand with a rope and I didn’t think that trip warranted the risk of my not completing this trip. So I slowly climbed back up the hill and found the other couples at the inn relaxing on the deck with drink in hand. I began to wonder why I didn’t choose that activity
instead of my climb.
Dinner is served promptly at 6:30 in the farm style dining room with large glass windows facing the ocean. We joined another couple for the three course dinner of Caesar salad, vegetable lasagna, steamed mussels and clams, asparagus, mashed potatoes and filet mignon with horseradish sauce. We again had access to the bar and chose a wine to accompany the meal. There were four dessert choices and we chose New York style cheese cake and our friends had watermelon sorbet. Our dinner took several hours to enjoy and after dinner we went to our rooms, changed into our bathing suits and robes and came down to sit under the stars while we soaked in the hot tub listening to the seals and the waves. After that we were really ready for bed.
10/24/15 Trinidad to Patrick's Point to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park to Lady Bird Johnson Grove to Ferndale It was a bit brisk when we woke. Breakfast was served at 9AM in the main dining room, not that we were that hungry but coffee sounded good. We met another couple who joined us for the
morning repast that included French toast with maple syrup, bacon, sausage, frittata, fried potatoes, steel cut oats and free fruit. So much food!!
This was yet another inn where we reluctantly had to leave but again, miles to go before we slept again… We left around 10:45AM for
Patrick’s Point, only a short drive north of the inn. My daughter had brought me here many years ago and so I wanted to share this special place with Dave. Unfortunately it was windy and cold when we got there and the paths were steep than I remembered but the views were as good as my memory claimed but it was not good enough to keep us there for long. We were bundled up enough to walk out to
Wedding Rock and look down to
Agate Beach in the distance, but that was about it. I was not about to venture down the steep cliff to Agate Beach, especially after my unfortunate descent toward the beach at Lost Whale Inn!
Heading north our next stop was at
Big Lagoon Beach where I hoped to find the elusive agate. Dave stayed in the car while I, wrapped tightly in
my jacket and sweater, braved the elements to find these beautiful stones. This beach is easily accessible from the car, instead of the 150 foot descent from the top of Patrick’s Point. I found many pretty stones but no agates. Eventually some nice local people who were also looking for agates, took pity on me and gave me a few of their treasures. I thanked them profusely and then retreated to the warmth of our car to
Dry Creek Lagoon but that was equally unproductive so…on to our next destination.
As we were driving north on 101 we saw a sizable herd of
Roosevelt Elk grazing in a campground. Curious, we turned into the campground and walked around only to learn that these elk are tame and live there in the campground. We were escorted back to our car with instructions to either pay a fee to enter or leave. We left.
I think that the
Lady Bird Johnson Grove was my favorite redwood grove but I’m not really sure why. It was serene, quiet, stately and majestic, but many of the other groves would qualify for those adjectives. There was something about its simplicity and
it was here that I truly felt I was in a cathedral of trees.
I hiked the paths alone, Dave being tired wanted to stay behind in the car. Perhaps it was because I was by myself that this moved me so much. I had a chance to really commune with the forest, listen to the trees, smell the rich earth and hear my silent footsteps as I trod noiselessly on the soft paths. Yes, I think that must have been it.
I only ran into a few other people at this park. it is a little out of the way and so I think it is less discovered than the other parks. This park is also smaller and maybe people think it less attractive because of its size, but I think, in part that because it is small it provides a more intimate connection with this wilderness. Something I needed for my soul.
We had one more redwood forest to explore before the day was over and that was just a little further north.
Prairie Creek Grove is a World Heritage Site with meandering paths through beautiful tall groves of stately redwoods. The
light seemed to sparkle though the tree branches landing in golden pools on the pine crusted paths. Your footfall is softened by thick carpets of fallen and decomposed redwood fronds making the whole forest go “hush”. I was drinking in the earthy smell helping me to feel one with the forest. Such a gift. I asked the park ranger if they sold any bags of scented needles and she said they didn’t but I could quietly forage a few for myself. I picked up a few brown needles from the redwoods and was disappointed that there was no smell at all. I then understood that the heavenly smell was the forest returning to the earth, a smell that you cannot bring with you except in your memory. I have it in mine and I take it out now and again to remember the spirit of the woods.
It was getting late in the day and by 3:30PM we were on our way south on 101. We stopped briefly in
Arcata where my daughter went to school at
Humboldt State College. There was little time to stop if we were to make it to Ferndale in time for
dinner so we pressed on.
We arrived in
Ferndale at the
Victorian Inn, so named because of the town (and the inn’s) famous Victorian buildings. The remaining half hour drive south from Arcata was the toughest yet because there was more traffic due to the commercial aspect of Eureka and the other towns along the way on the busy route 101. In addition, we could see our destination at hand and so, anxious to be there, so by the time we arrived in Ferndale we were tired and ready to unpack. The Victorian Inn was easy to find at the end of main street and as soon as we checked into the inn I was eager to unpack to rush out to photograph before the rains came but after we were shown the way to the second floor where the inn’s rooms were located, I was taken aback by the enormous, steep stairway that I needed to climb to the rooms above. Is there no elevator I cried? This is an historic building and I knew the answer before I asked but still, I had to ask. Maybe there was a porter willing to carry me and
my bags up to the room? But no.
Once up in the tiny room I didn’t want to go down again (because I knew I would have to come back up, but dinner was downstairs, and the light was lovely now and if I didn’t hurry the storm that was predicted would be upon us so down I went, camera in hand, with Dave to explore this Victorian town.
Stately
“Painted Ladies” lined the streets of Ferndale in all their glorious Victorian colors. Six historic buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as well as the entire Ferndale Main Street Historic District and the Fern Cottage Historic District. We set out to see and photograph as many buildings as we could before it began to rain and forced us to select a place to eat.
We chose well, deciding to eat at the Victorian Inn. It was cozy and warm inside with a roaring fire and the menu made me forget about all the great food we had eaten over the past several days, ready to dive into more regardless of the dangers! Dave and I had delicious chicken dishes, good wines
and a gooey caramel desert that lingers still (not on my taste buds but on my hips).
10/25/15 Ferndale to Santa Rosa via the Avenue of the Giants The inn, built in 1890 was charming, but it did have thin walls and lumpy old beds so the charm soon wore off. But then, it was only one night and the rest of the experience was quite excellent. The clouds rolled in promising rain so I quickly walked through the town to photograph more of the Painted Ladies before the downpour. I didn’t have long.
Incredibly I was soon back in the hotel having a large breakfast with organic Humboldt coffee. I ate so much on this trip I should have looked like Santa Claus and yet, I must have walked enough to offset the calories. To a degree.
We sat in the hotel dining room looking out the big windows to the Victorian main street watching the skies change moment to moment, from sun to clouds to rain to rainbow while I sat inside, frustrated wanting to run outside with my camera wanting to catch the amazing changing light.
But of
course, the as soon as we finished our breakfast, and before we drove out of town, I grabbed my camera for one last shot of the Victorian buildings that put Ferndale (also known as “Cream City”) on the map. And as luck would have it, the shops were open on this Sunday morning making the photography of this town even more interesting and productive.
It wasn’t long before Destination Dave was impatient to get on the road to reunite with his cousins (Dave had earned that moniker on our 2007 two month road trip when he, like an impatient child, kept asking when we were going to arrive at our destination, not letting himself be in the moment, enjoying where he was at the time). I understood his urgency to see family and accorded the frequent lapses of impatience to his recent brain surgery. He promises to be more “in the moment” on our next journey!
By 10:30 Sunday morning we were
on the road to Santa Rosa, about a three to four hour drive from Ferndale. Our route took us back through the
Avenue of the Giants giving us another opportunity to enjoy
the redwoods. We entered the historic redwood road in
Pepperwood, population 50. This area was economically depressed. Living conditions were limited to full time campers with chain saw sculptures in the yard. There were remnants of losing with still working lumber mills showing us the commercial history of the region before the state parks were established. There were large gaps in the tree canopies here from previous indiscriminate logging. It will take centuries to reestablish the redwoods here, a lesson, I hope to those who think that reckless cutting makes for a good environment to live in. The contrast of trees vs no trees is stark.
We stopped at some of the northern trails that we didn’t see on the first drive through. The
Drury-Chaney loop had easy access from the road so we took this opportunity for one last walk in the shadow of the giants. This area showed evidence of recent fires with decayed undergrowth and charred tall trees, but the redwoods are almost impervious to fire, it was the hardwood understory that took a greater toll. But the fire seemed to enrich the forest floor as we saw more carpets of fern and wood
sorrel here than anywhere else.
The rain began to fall so softly we could actually hear the drops of water fall from the trees high above us. It was time to move on.
We drove south passing through the hippie town of
Garberville, briefly looking at the Benbow Inn (tempted to stop for lunch but we were on a mission), and then driving through the
Richardson Grove State Park on our way to lunch at the Peg House. I had read about this funky restaurant in Sunset Magazine. This now gas station and general store was named Peg House because of the Danish construction techniques using pegs instead of nails to join the hand hewn beams. It is a landmark on 101. Inside the
Peg House is a general store that is packed to the ceiling with chachkies of every sort imaginable from Burts Bees products to tacky souvenirs.
The Peg House restaurant is open 365 days a year regardless of the weather. People who hike here or swim and fish the the nearby
Eel River stop for their famous giant grass-fed cheeseburgers (which we had to say were pretty good). There are picnic tables
outside with a stage often used for live entertainment but today there was a small TV looking very lonely maybe waiting for someone to watch a soap opera. A non-commissioned police car is positioned in front of the building with two dummy “policemen” dressed as the Blues Brothers in the front seat. There is a saying “Never don’t stop at the Peg House” but for me, once was enough.
Well stuffed with after our afternoon stop, we pushed on to
Santa Rosa arriving in the late afternoon. It was
family reunion time with the Suttons. My husband’s mother was a Sutton and we were preparing to reconnect with his Sutton cousins for the first time in many years.
10/26/15 Sutton Family Reunion and Genealogy Research Our first day in Santa Rosa was spent pouring over our computers searching online and through ancestry.com for Sutton family information. I had done some research before we arrived and found that my husband’s 7th great grandfather on the Sutton side was
Thomas Greene, 2nd Provisional Governor of Maryland. He had travelled to America on a ship called the
Arc and Dove and his father had been knighted at
Windsor Castle by King James 1. We are still trying to locate the Sutton Irish connection but so far are at a loss.
10/27/15 Wine tasting in the Russian River Valley Santa Rosa is the main city in the middle of California’s Wine Country and these cousins knew exactly where to go. Before we started imbibing we thought breakfast would be in order so we drove to the
Willow Wood Market and Cafe in Graton, CA for an amazing breakfast! I tried the French Folded Eggs while Dave, and others, had the Black Forest Scrambled Eggs. All was very good. Before leaving we took time to peruse the eclectic throwback to a 1940s roadside eatery with kitschy souvenirs, lovely artwork and a great selection of wines. A perfect way to begin the day.
We began our wine tasting at the
Dutton Goldfield Winery and Tasting Room in the heart of the
Russian River Valley. This is a relatively young vineyard having started in 1998 among friends and family. What started as a 35 acre home vineyard has expanded to 80 separate vineyards over more than 1,000 acres throughout the western Russian River
Valley. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the primary wines found at this vineyard and we were all set to begin tasting!
I was glad that I had a good breakfast because without food in my belly I would have been on the floor after the first winery. But, well sated (with breakfast, coffee and now wine) we were off to our second tasting, a toast to the Sutton family at the
Korbel Champagne Cellars in Guerneville, CA. Before we were allowed to toast with our champagne glasses we were taken on a tour of Korbel. We learned Korbel was founded in 1882 by three Czechoslovak Korbel brothers. The term “Champagne” is not allowed to be used to describe sparkling wines in the US except for Korbel who had grandfathered in the name Champagne beginning in the late 1800s. Other US producers must use the term “sparkling wine” and indicate the location where the grapes were grown. In addition to Champagne, Korbel also uses the terms “California Champagne” and “Russian River Valley Champagne” on many of its labels. By the time we finished the half hour plus tour we were more than read to toast to our family with the
dry and wonderful Korbel Champagne!
Our last stop on the wine tour was at
Kendall-Jackson Winery in Fulton, CA. This family owned winery grows its grapes in the mountains and hillsides along the California coast. High elevation vineyards are difficult sites to grow grapes but we are told these areas produce the best quality grapes for the richest and most intense flavors. We agreed.
Kendall-Jackson prides itself on its ability to perfectly pair wines with food. That being said, we watched, through protective glass, chefs prepare mouthwatering foods that we would have loved to pair with our own tastings, but alas, there was a glass window protecting the chefs (and food) from the Sutton interlopers. We found out that in late September Kendall-Jackson hosts an Annual Heirloom Tomato Festival with numerous food purveyors joining the food festival.
After a day of wine touring followed by a lovely evening of family fun reviewing life events we were ready to pack it in.
10/28/15 Homeward Bound Our wonderful family hosts had thoughtfully prepared a terrific breakfast to give the strength we would need for the full day of flying back to Tampa, Florida. Visiting
family was surely the frosting on the cake of
our California Discovery Tour. We covered a lot of ground, met a lot of wonderful people, stayed in some amazing places and ate fantastic food. We were both pretty tired at the end but it was a trip that was worth taking and treasuring for a lifetime.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.473s; Tpl: 0.034s; cc: 17; qc: 82; dbt: 0.125s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.4mb
