MONDAY, AUGUST 24

MONDAY, AUGUST 24:

      On our last day here at the Mendocino Coast, we were tired of grey skies and chilly temperatures, and hungry for some warmth and sun. So we took a day trip down to the Anderson Valley, just a few miles south of Ft. Bragg and then eastwards. What a beautiful day and drive! Not too long after we left the coast, sure enough, the grey overcast sky gave way to blue, and there was the sun!

      Hwy 128, which drives through the heart of the valley, is a splendid road for scenic beauty! At the west end, where we started, there's a large grove of Redwoods. They truly are majestic and stately – each one standing proudly alone, reaching to the heavens, providing habit underneath them to ferns and other moisture and shade loving plants. And on days like today, the sun penetrates through their tops in a dappled pattern, creating just enough light and warmth on the forest floor to offset the awesomeness of the dense shaded canopy overhead. 

 

                                                                        

 

 

 

 

 

               


    

     After a wonderful few miles of the Redwoods, the panorama changed to the hills of wine country. Breathtaking loveliness.

                                                                                      

                                                                  

 

Drove through a couple of very small towns, which are having an economic resurgence due to the wine industry and its accompanying tourists. We stopped at one and brought our picnic lunch and bought a couple of glasses of their signature Pinit Noir and enjoyed it on their patio overlooking more hills and vineyards.

We're told that this valley is what Napa Valley used to be like– small family-owned wineries, small friendly towns with Mom & Pop grocery stores on Main Street, very welcoming and accomodating to visitors.

       Explored a little more of the valley, and then turned around and savored the return trip. Between the redwood forests and the vineyard rollling hills, this is one of the most beautiful drives we've ever taken. Where else but in California would you experience these two diverse micro-climates and ecologies right next door to each other??! If we ever return to this area, a day's drive on Hwy 128 through the Anderson Valley will be high on our list!

       We enjoyed our time here on the Mendocino coast. We can see why the reidents love it here: extremely mild climate, where virtually anything will grow, rugged scenic coastline, unsurpassed redwood forest and vineyard valley scenery right next door, vibrant arts, and very friendly, community-minded people. But all that notwithstanding, it wouldn't do for us – too cool year round, with not nearly enough sunshine. But we'd pay a visit here again in a heartbeat!

SATURDAY & SUNDAY, AUGUST 22 & 23

SATURDAY & SUNDAY, AUGUST 22 & 23:

      More cool, overcast days. Very typical this time of year, we learned. “Fogust,” they call August, with avg temps in the 50's . . . they say it's been a warmer summer this year - in the 60's.

      We rode the Skunk Train Saturday afternoon. This old steam engine normally chugs passengers on a 4-5 hour long trip through a redwood forest (the same one we came through via Hwy 20), all the way from Ft. Bragg to Willits. But a tunnel near Ft. Bragg they use was being repaired, so all they offered from this side was a 1-hour in-and-out ride, at a reduced price. And truth be told, that was probably plenty. It's called the Skunk Train because, back in the early 20^th century when it was being used, the mixture of coal for fuel and oil in the furnaces in the Pullman cars to keep the passengers warm gave off a putrid smell . . . folks in town could smell the “skunk” train coming before they heard or saw it.  We rode in a vintage 1920's Pullman car.

                                                              

 

 

      On Sunday, we drove to Mendocino to worship at the Presbyterian church there. We'd noticed it the other day when we were in town – right on Main Street. We're so glad we went! The service was in a familiar style to us . . . not just a Praise band leading contemporary songs from a screen for 10 minutes to open the service, and then the sermon, and that's it. This had a familiar order of worship, including a small choir in this congregation of 80 or so. The pastor was unexpectedly ill, so an elder stood in at the last minute (we assume he was an elder) and talked of his involvement in natural disaster recovery & building efforts . . . Hurricane Katrina, the Japan tsunami, and now he's getting ready to leave to help with the Nepal earthquake recovery. They had a time of informal, corporate prayer at the end of the service, which gave evidence of their Christ-centered beliefs. We saw this a couple of times in the Presbyterian churches we visited in Alaska, as well. We felt very, very welcomed and appreciated there.

      And what a delightful surprise - the artist whose work we'd purchased was there! She (Janis Porter), along with 2 others, were mentioned as members whose art work was being featured throughout the town and in an upcoming charity event. So after the service, we went up to her and told her how we loved her paintings and how 3 of them (prints, anyway) were going to have a home in St. Louis. She was a sweet, unassuming woman – a former public school teacher who taught in inner city schools.

      Afterwards, we just hung around town (we'd actually planned to drive down into the Anderson Valley this afternoon, but the truck wouldn't start when we got ready to left, so we just decided to take in the town while we waited for it to get itself straightened out. It didn't even upset us this time . . . just made lemonade out of lemons). It's a charming, q uaint town, an artist colony and tourist destination for several decades now, having lost its logging and commercial fishing base many decades ago. However, unlike Carmel and some other places, it's far enough off the beaten path that you have to really want to come here! So as a result, it's far less built up and commercial. The downtown area - shops, eateries, galleries – only covers a few blocks of Main Street, and another couple of blocks or so in depth. We saw only a couple of small resorts/inns (high end luxury), along with several B&B's, ranging from down-home comfort to elegant. That kind of reflects the people here – even though there's much sophistication, especially in the arts community, there's an unpretentious, friendly atmosphere.

 

     We enjoyed lunch in a little cafe and then explored the town on foot. Spent some tine in the Mendocino Arts Center, which features local artists' work but also offers hundreds of classes throughout the year , as well as studio space.

 

                                                            

There was our Janis's work again – she's the featured Winesong Artist of the Year (Winesong being the town's annual big fundraising benefit for the local hospital). And her piece which was displayed there is entitled, “Magical Mendocino,” a depiction of the town as seen from the bay/ocean, with the Presbyterian church as the focal point! We felt there's something mystical going on here! Actually, the church, with its central location and its quaint building evocatative of Norman Rockwell, is an icon in the town – we saw its image in several pieces of diverse media around town.

 

                                                     

We so enjoyed seeing lovely cottages, more formal homes,

 

                                               

 

 
 
 

                                                             

 

                                                                 

           

several old water towers (at least one of which is now a B&B).  

 

                                                               

 

 

           

And always a source of pleasure to us, the flower gardens, as well as uncultivated, volunteer patches of profuse color, were a joy.

                      
                                                             

 

So, even though the air was cool and not sunny, we enjoyed an easy, relaxed, pleasurable afternoon here.  

 

THURSDAY & FRIDAY, AUGUST 20 & 21

THURSDAY & FRIDAY, AUGUST 20 & 21:

      Slow, relaxed days. Cool (in the 60's) both days, and it stayed overcast all day on Thursday. We did some grocery shopping and otherwise just hung out and rested in the RV. Late in the afternoon, it looked as if the sun might make an appearance, so we drove the few miles up Hwy 1 to MacKerricher State Park, which is right on the sea. Took a little walk along a nice boardwalk and enjoyed the waves and rocky coastline.

 

                                                                             

     On Friday, drove down to Mendocino, about 7-8 miles south. Another charming coastal town with lots of artists, galleries, etc. I'd come across an artist whose style I really liked, and was looking for something for the stair landing, so we targeted the gallery which features her work (and sells prints). An employee, and later the owner herself, were both very, very nice and helpful, and helped us make a final selection of the prints we thought we'd be most happy with.

      As we left town, we couldn't help but notice flashy deep pink flowers all around, even in an empty lot. (We later learned they were Amaryllis, or Naked Ladies.)

      Came home, got some lunch, and took advantage of the sun being mostly out and warming things up a bit to visit the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, right up the road less than a mile from us. A gorgeous place, small enough that you can pretty much take it all in within a couple of relaxed hours. Their perennials were at their peak,

 

                                                                  

                                               Whimsical dragon:  "You may pet, but please don't sit on him!"

 
                                               More amaryllis, or Naked Ladies:

as was their specialty dahlia garden.

                                                                      

The garden's signature plant, Rhododendron, are past blooming now, but their pretty foilage was everywhere (as is true here in the RV park). And then there are the quiet forests with redwoods, conifers, & ferns on the path which leads to overlooks of the ocean. 

 

                                                        

 

     Back home, I relaxed while Bill ran up to the local Safeway to pick up some prescriptions, and called about an hour later saying that the truck wouldn't start. We hadn't had any incidents since San Diego! He was just about to get his bike down from the truck to ride home when he tried it again, and it started. I think the advice that the mechanic in Santee gave him about letting the engine set a few moments between turning the key on and hitting the starter is valid . . . but there are still quirks. Anyway, we were just very thankful that this time only took less than an hour to resolve.

      We got out the bar-b-que and started a fire and grilled fresh locally-caught king salmon and veggies. With a salad and warmed-up sourdough bread left over from San Francisco, it made for a delicious meal on a cool, quiet night. It's pitch black now by 8:30. Feels so snug in our RV, surrounded by vegetation and not knowing that another soul is here. This is the perfect park for a cool, coastal, often foggy, atmosphere.

 

                                                                      

      I've been reading my book for the past 2-3 evenings. It's superlative – can't remember when I've read a novel so profound. The themes are huge, the characters totally sympathetic, the setting – France & Germany, alternating, in WWII – depressingly realistic. Even the plot, with its suspense & mystery, has me hooked. And through it all, the language and phrasing and imagery are absolutely exquisite.