The North Californian Coast

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5 April 2010

We had a wonderful day in returning fine weather ambling along 100 miles of the North Californian Pacific Coast along Highway 1 which hugs the shoreline most of the way. The views were enhanced by rough sea conditions.

Our fist stop was at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens which displays rhododendrons and many other plants on a 47 acre site running down to the sea. Strangely enough we had been listening to Edmund de Rothschild’s autobiography whilst driving on this trip. Besides being a banker he was also a rhododendron expert and we spotted a couple of plants that he had developed.

We next visited Mendocino, a small town sited on a headland jutting out into the sea. It is composed almost entirely of attractive Victorian New England style buildings.

A bit further down the coast we climbed Port Arena Lighthouse, the tallest in California and set in a stunning location.

We stayed the night at an inn and restaurant called River’s End perched on the top of a cliff overlooking the estuary of the Russian River in a small town called Jenner. Our room was amazing, it had a private balcony looking over the river and beach out to sea and we were able to admire the view through a large picture window whilst showering.

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