This week was a real rest, relax and enjoy kind of week; not that we haven't enjoyed every other week so far on this trip. Only 3 travel days as we slowly work our way up the coast to Florence where we will spend the long weekend.
Saturday we drove south to the small touristy town of Mendocino where we parked near the visitor center and took in the view down the coastline as we finished our coffee. We then wandered around the few streets and looked in some of the shops. Kris spent some time in a yarn store while I took in their gardens, taking many pictures to give us some ideas for our own garden back home. While waiting I chatted with another fellow who's wife was also in the yarn store. Just then a couple came out of the store and the fellow said something about escaping lightly whereby we, the fellow I was chatting with I, both said in unison "it could be worse, there could be a quilting store nearby!"... we all had a good laugh, and yes, Kris thought it was funny too! Meanwhile, the color in their garden was pretty cool...
We continued looking in the shops and went into the huge wood salvage and supply place, on the main drag, and chatted with the fellow there about how we should go about cutting the trunks, of the walnut trees we had felled in our yard last March, into lumber. Given that the trees are actually on the smallish size, diameter wise, he suggested having them quarter sawn then the planks need to dry for one year per inch of thickness. So we'll see what we can have done when we get home. I hope to find someone with a portable mill who can come to our place to do the job.
For lunch we drove back to Fort Bragg and went to the popular North Coast Brewing Company taproom and grill. Very nice meal and cool t-shirt to boot. On the way back to the campsite we stopped in at the local flea market and had a browse around. Mostly a lot of other folk's junk but we did pick up a grommet kit for $4. We need to fix our "Life is Good" spare tire cover as we almost lost it in the crosswinds coming across Wyoming. Then it was back to the campsite for some laundry doings.
For dinner we went back into town to the Piaci Pub & Pizzeria where the nearly one hour wait was well worth it. We shared a table with a couple from near Palo Alto, just south of San Francisco, who were on a getaway weekend. We had great pizza and pretty darn good company too.
Sunday we drove north to Westport to go to the Westport Hotel for brunch in their Old Abalone Pub where the crab cakes were every bit as excellent as they were last year when we stopped in there. And, this time they had a t-shirt in Brian's size.... bonus!
After lunch we returned to Fort Bragg and spent a couple of hours wandering around the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. What a wonderfully pleasant place to be! As they say in their literature "...a rare botanical jewel..." From the different garden sections to the views of the rugged coastline it is truly a special place. Plus we got a bunch more ideas and inspirations for our own backyard, especially from their display vegetable garden. Later, after a short wander around downtown (most shops were closed on Sunday) we stopped down at the harbour for a couple of glasses of wine. On the patio this time as all the birthday fixings had been removed. The view is still one of the best. Then it was back to the campsite for a home cooked grilled steak for dinner (and some more laundry; but we're now totally caught up).
Monday we headed north on Highway 1 to join up with 101 just north of Legget. It was a good thing we didn't want to take Highway 20 back to Willits to join 101 there because early Monday morning some truck took out a power pole east of Fort Bragg and the road was closed pretty well all morning (from what we could gather on the radio). Anyway, it is all of 69 kms from Fort Bragg to Legget, but it is so windy and hilly that it takes about an hour and a half. Lots of sharp hairpin curves etc. We did see numerous brave souls on bicycles heading south in the other lane but man-o-man, there is bugger all for shoulders on this road! Once we got onto 101 it was an easy drive up to Garberville where we always stop in at the Paradise Grill (no mention of this place on a Google search for restaurants - they must be in stealth mode, but it is a right fine little eatery) for lunch and Kris always picks up a few beads etc in the Garden of Beadin just down the street.
We stopped at the Riverwalk RV Park in Fortuna for a couple of nights. We ended up with the same spot we had the last time we were here so were nice and close to the restrooms. After getting the wee trailer all settled we decided to drive north to Arcata for a browse around there. Seems like the same groups of wayward youths and their dogs around the town square and it's bars; well maybe different folks but about the same population. One store we planned to hit was a shoe store which specializes in Keen's, because Brian has worn one pair out, but unfortunately it is closed on Monday so no luck there. Oh well, had a good look around in any event. Later back in Fortuna we went to the Eel River Brewing Company for dinner. Conclusion: that's twice now and that's enough!
Tuesday morning we drove over to historic Ferndale where, of course, the yarn store was closed! For lunch we went to our favorite Gill's By The Bay and once again, they did not disappoint. Very nice lunch in a comfortable setting. After lunch we drove north to Eureka to wander around the redeveloped "old town" area. Always an enjoyable experience. We decided to stay in Eureka for dinner but had some time to kill so drove back up to Arcata where the shoe store was open and Brian picked up a pair of replacement Keen's. On the way back to Eureka we detoured out to the peninsula area known as Samoa. Very pretty area with much of it set aside for OHV enjoyment. There weren't any OHVs out this day but the surf and scenery was pretty cool with a low lying fog hovering over all. We then headed into Eureka for dinner at the Lost Coast Brewery which turned out to be a bit of a bust with the spicy carnita tacos being so dry they were unappetizing (waitress took them off the bill). Hmmm... maybe a pattern with these brewery dinners??? Next time through we'll try the Samoa Cookhouse.
Wednesday we headed up the coast. We stopped in at the Chart Room Restaurant on the dock in Crescent City for lunch. The sea lions in the harbour were in fine operatic form...
We decided to spend a couple of nights at the Bandon/Port Orford KOA. This is one of our favorite KOAs. Nice, relatively private, treed spots, a good swimming pool (although we didn't use it this trip, others were having a good time there), and several friendly kitties. The KOA is about 10 miles north of Port Orford and 26 miles south of Bandon so two days is good to do brief day trips to each. After checking in at the KOA we headed back to Port Orford to have a couple of glasses of wine and some crab cakes at the Redfish... beautiful location with views out over the large bay. Thursday we drove up to Bandon for a wander around their waterfront and Old Towne area. Nice lunch down on the dock area. Later we drove back to Port Orford for a seafood dinner on the dock at Griff's... always a success. Excellent fish and chips and fried oysters.
While at the Bandon KOA, we got chatting with our neighbours who are from upstate Oregon. They came down to Bandon all equipped to do some serious crabbing. With their licenses they were allowed to take 12 each per day. For the 4 of them that's 48. A LOT!... They were there for 4 days so easy math... 192 total. They were cooking, freezing and eating crab a lot over the two days we were there. BUT WAIT, there's more... on Thursday morning, Steve (the crabbing neighbour) comes over with a large plate of crabs (6 crabs in total) and asks if we like crab... well does a bear poo in the woods?... WOW, how nice was that. Later he came over and gave us some of their home grown lettuce (because he had to make more room for crabs) then later still he came over with some firewood because he wasn't going to use it all... at that time I tell him how much we appreciate his generosity but after the wood we had to draw the line... we definitely would not be able to take his travel trailer if it came to that! Another good laugh. Nice folks.
Friday we drove the two hours of so north to Florence where we planned to spend a week at the Mercer Lake RV Resort. On the way, we stopped for lunch at one of our favorite dock eateries in Winchester Bay... Fishpatrick's Crabby Cafe. After going into the Sportsmen's Cannery and ordering up a case of canned tuna, we continued on to the lake.
Oh yeah, that crab Steve gave us... we kept the crab on ice until we got to Mercer Lake and had a most excellent dinner...
What a great way to cap off the week!
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