Day 3-Mendocino to Eureka California, 160 miles
We got on the road early Monday morning because we wanted to see Glass Beach at sunrise and also because we were still on East Coast time. Mostly though it was because we wanted to see Glass Beach at sunrise. If you're on Pinterest you've likely seen a photo or a hundred of Glass Beach and it's definitely worth visiting if you're traveling this way.
I had a wide range of outerwear packed for this trip including a light fleece, a heavy fleece, a light hooded rain jacket, and a warm hooded waterproof jacket as well as gloves, headband, and scarf. I wore everything except the light rain jacket and on this particular morning was happy I had my warm coat.
The pictures you see on Pinterest make it seem like the colored sea glass is everywhere, and I guess it is, but you do have to hunt for it.
The beach itself is gorgeous and rocky and the ocean wild. We could not get enough of the crashing Pacific on this trip. The coastline reminds us of New England with its jagged rocks and rough surf, not to mention chilly temps. So pretty!
We grabbed breakfast in Fort Bragg (the town where Glass Beach sits) in a small but really cute little cafe called Eggheads. This was another favorite of ours, mostly because our server was adorable, but also because the cafe has a Wizard of Oz theme and when you ask where the restroom is located they hand you a giant key and tell you to go out back and follow the yellow brick road. Hubs had Eggs Benedict with a hollandaise made from lime, tequila, and cilantro and it was so good! The portions were large and really hearty, so we skipped lunch this day and never missed it.
I normally keep my blog photos sized large, but this next bit needs supersizing-
We drove back along the coast until we reached The Avenue of the Giants which is for sure a don't miss stop for anyone driving north. Avenue of the Giants is 31 miles of absolute staggering beauty. Honestly the California Redwoods must be seen to be believed. Words and pictures cannot adequately capture the grandeur and magnificence of these ancient giant trees.
But of course I'm still gonna try.
There's a map posted at the route's entrance which Josh had suggested we photograph (also available in the visitor's center), and it indicates marked stops along the way. I think we managed to hit them all and possibly a couple that were not on any map.
That's the beauty of a road trip. You pass something interesting or particularly beautiful that makes you want to take a closer look, so you pull the car over and do just that. We had planned to spend part of Monday and all of Tuesday in the Redwoods which gave us plenty of time to really see and enjoy them.
You need time here.
You feel small here.
Your soul sings here.
You wonder for a second if the person who penned How Great Thou Art was standing in the middle of a California Redwood forest.
He wasn't but you hum it anyway because how great Thou art.
We made a couple more stops on our continued route up the coast ending the day in Eureka at a Best Western that had a great shower and a person in the next room who watched their television very, very loudly all.night.long. Whyyyyy?
We had dinner in old town Eureka at a restaurant called Cafe Waterfront which was at one time saloon downstairs, brothel upstairs. I like buildings with interesting stories and this one has retained it's original architecture too so very pretty. The food was good and our waiter was a nice young man who explained the booming 'plant' growth in this part of the country. ahem.
Actually hubs managed to get his entire life story over the course of dinner being served which is partly why I love him. He's never met a stranger, introduces himself and shakes hands with waiters around the world, and is truly interested in hearing their stories. This trait served us so well on a later stop and I'll write about that here soon.
Also, there will be more tree pictures because y'all!...the California Redwoods are < insert all the synonyms for amazing here >.
Have you read Tracy Chevalier's book At The Edge of the Orchard? A portion of ot takes place in the California redwoods area with a lot of historical detail . Amazing photos!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to see these photos. I will never see that part of the world, so traveling along with you through your photos and memories serves me well!! It really feels like I was there. Thanks for that!
ReplyDeleteWell, you did a great job of capturing the Redwoods in your photos. Hubby and I need to do this trip, looks so wonderful! Enjoyable post!
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying reading about your trip! Wow, it is a beautiful part of the country! I would love to see it for myself one day.
ReplyDeleteI remember those incredible trees from my trip through CA when I was 10ish with my grandmother and aunt. My aunt had been teaching in Nevada and was coming back to the east coast so everyone thought it would be fun for Grandmother and me to fly out and drive back with Aunt Betty. It was wonderful! My mother had a fit though when she had those gazillion rolls of film developed and 97% of them were of those Redwood trees. LOL I remember a good bit about that trip but what I remember most were those trees.
ReplyDeleteOh wow those trees are ....incredible.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to Glass Beach but I know I would love it! The colored glass is so pretty. I absolutely love the Redwoods. So glad you got to see them.
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