Sunshine, Friends and BEAUTIFUL Beaches

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Today we had a glorious sunny day in Mendocino. The population is just under 900 and like most of this coast, it has a history of lumber mills. Most of the population is late 50’s or older. It is overflowing with great art and shops that are nicely appointed.
It’s a haven for old hippies, but they have to have some money to live here. It has a definite New England feel to it with its architecture of beach houses and lot's of gardens that are abundant with flowers even in mid-October. Some of the sidewalks are old wood plank and some are grassy bricks along with fragrant plants sprouting out everywhere.
We started the day with a walk through the Farmer's Market. We find that you can get a real good feel for a town by visiting its Farmer's Market. Loved the people watching and seeing what they are still growing in their gardens this time of year. Having worked in the plant industry for the past 20 years, I feel like we that garden in Seattle do so under harsh conditions. It is no surprise that all the plants here look happy, they get so much sun. They are at peak season everywhere.
We sat in an outdoor cafe enjoying a sunny location along with grapefruit juice and the garden there had a hundred birds in it. Humming birds darted all around us and butterflies floated everywhere. The garden had dahlias, roses, hibiscus, herbs and numerous flowering perennials in full bloom. We felt like we were sitting in an Atrium.
We journeyed out to where the land meets water which took all of five minutes. We were sitting on an old log bench when a gentleman who had lived his whole life there stopped and visited with us. He was late 60’s and had worked in the railroad industry, so he was a wealth of historical information. We enjoyed a lively conversation with him before continuing out to the beachfront.
We returned home to our campground and went down to the beach here. Just a two minute walk from our site. We sat and enjoyed more sun and the crashing of waves. What a lovely day. Tonight we are going to a restaurant that overlooks the water and has a piano bar. I am sure the seafood will be great.

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Photos

Typical Mendocino Architecture
Typical Mendocino Architecture

Beach at Mendocino
Beach at Mendocino

Mendocino Beach
Mendocino Beach

Mendocino
Mendocino Waterfront