Fort Bragg - Day 3

Actually, I should have called this post: Day 2-1/2, as most of this adventure was done in the afternoon and evening. Oh well, I'll leave it for now.

We went to the amazing Botanical Gardens late morning, on a beautiful 63 degree, blue-sky day on the coast. I took a LOT of pictures, so I won't show them all here, but look for an email sometime tomorrow, to where I'll post all the pix for the entire week. WE HAD A SUPER TIME!

If and when you ever get to Fort Bragg, the Gardens are something you won't want to miss. A non-profit maintains everything, and they do a smashing job. There are well-marked trails (see photo below), and a map to keep you from walking in circles. One trail takes you right out to the bluffs, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I took MANY pictures, so will only share a few here; look for an email to a "cloud link" where I'll post them all for you to click through at your leisure!

A flock of pelicans came through while we stood on the ocean bluff ... Don't look up, or at least keep your mouth closed if you do?

And, yes, there were sculptures, here and there around the Garden, made by local artisan's. And, amazing trees (like the one below) that are sculptures themselves. Everything IS labeled by the way, with the scientific name, of course, and the name that us common folk know them by ... Wait! Is that some kind of rose? Or a berry? I was never too good at remembering the different species of growing things.

Anyway, more to come in the "cloud post" of all the pictures.  After the Gardens, we headed for downtown Fort Bragg to visit two museums. The first displayed a huge cache of glass from Glass Beach, polished by the ocean over many years. The displays were organized by glass type and color. Last time we visited it was illegal to pickup glass off the beach. 

The City Council tried to impose fines on people that got caught, but the courts kept throwing the cases out. Finally, it is legal again, however the beaches have been picked clean, as you might imagine.

Next up was part of the train museum where a fantastic diorama of the entire area was displayed, dating back to when steam locomotives were used to bring logs down to the mill. Across from the dioramas room was the workshop where a couple dedicated enthusiasts were hard at work, sanding, painting, and maintaining the cars and engines.

After a busy day, we retired to the RV to rest before dinner (we had walked over 4 miles). Dinner plans for Thursday night were special, since my birthday was the following day ... I chose a fish dinner at The Wharf restaurant, right on the harbor.

The setting, dining room, wait staff, and the meal of fresh caught salmon and Alaskan halibut (fresh from Alaska?), were first rate. We had a calamari appetizer to start, with a honey-mustard dipping sauce that I thought Louise was going to use on everything! It WAS indeed yummy, I have to admit. There was a red dipping sauce, too, equally good and nothing like we've ever had before. No picture because we ate it all before I thought to take one. Ha!

We each ordered one fish type, then split plates so we could taste both. Cooked to perfection, both were "melt-in your-mouth" good ... accompanied by a chunk of polenta, fresh tomatoes, and carrots/string beans sautéed in butter and garlic. Yes OMG! 

The view from our table, looking out to sea, under the Hwy 1 bridge ... 

Of course, we just had to have a desert ... me, the Olallieberry cobbler, topped with vanilla ice cream, and a layered moose for Louise, chocolate, of course. Wow! We waddled out of the restaurant and decided a short walk along the jetty entrance to the harbor was in order after the big meal. 

Then, it was back to the bus and some relaxation for the rest of the evening, trying not to think about our plans to leave in the morning. But, we were up early and headed out of camp by 8:15 ... Such a nice time, we had. If I hadn't booked dinner at the Elks Friday night I think we would have remained for the weekend.

Friday night at the Elks Lodge in Auburn, for a smoked beef ribs dinner.

I hope you enjoyed tagging along ... I'll post all the pix to the "cloud" and, if you don't get an email from me, drop me a note. See you on the next adventure!

God bless,

Dennis

Fort Bragg - Day 2

We spent a good part of day #2 on the coast walking around the town of Mendocino, just 10 minutes south on Hwy#1. This is a similar place to what you might find on the East coast, in New England. In fact, many episodes of Murder She Wrote, staring Angela Lansbury, were filmed here. This picture is of main street as seen from the ocean bluffs, west-side of town.

The architecture looks to be what you will find in most coastal towns along the coast ... old buildings, somewhat weathered by the constant foggy mornings and windy afternoons. It has been 15 years since we last visited and many have been restored and occupied by new business; a few familiar business remained having weathered the COVID down-turn.

We hit perfect weather this week, no fog and only a slight breeze, with temps in the low to mid-60's ... A small bakery in-town offered a generous cup of black coffee plus a fresh-baked cinnamon role, of course. 

Here are a few pictures of the local buildings.

This Country Store is for sale, by the way ... check it out at Sotheby's Realty, Mendocino, CA.

Water towers and/or observation platforms seem to be the thing to have here, and there are several poking up above buildings in the community. There are several structures dating back to the late 1800's as well, nicely restored.

From the downtown, it's an easy walk to the ocean bluffs, so the next few pictures are of that hike. Interestingly, there were a two boats in the bay with divers over the side. We stopped one of the divers coming back to his car and discovered these were not fisherman or divers going for crabs or abalone ... Apparently, they are harvesting sea urchins, which have been killing the natural seaweed habitat. The divers were also replanting seaweed ... who'd thought that?

A pix of us then a few from the bluffs.

More pix from the ocean bluff ...

That hole in the cliff goes all the way through to the other side, creating a natural bridge of sorts. As you walk over the bridge, there is an opening (cave-in?) where you can see into the water, passing half-way through the tunnel. Very cool!

This "structure" appeared to be the remnants of some type of pier or stair going over the cliff sometime in the past, about to finish its journey down. Ha!

Also, some large anchor chain, maybe to tie up an old whaling ship ... or something?

Today we are going to the Botanical Gardens, two miles from camp. Then, a fish dinner at The Wharf restaurant, right on the water in the harbor ... for my birthday, which will occur on Friday. 

So, more pictures to follow tomorrow ... stay tuned!

Fort Bragg Holiday

Being spontaneous can sometimes offer amazing adventures, and that's just what we decided to do on a mid-week trip to Fort Bragg on the coast. You might think finding a spot virtually impossible during summer months ... Well, avoiding the weekend and booking mid-week for three nights wasn't an issue. We had our pick of six different sites, some full-hookups. We chose water and power only for $66/night since our tank capacity will easily cover 4 to 5 days.

Our campsite and first visitor:

We chose Fort Bragg as it is the perfect spot to go exploring from; lots to see and do in the area. Not only is the downtown a great place to poke in/out of the many shops, but there is a museum, glass beach, and one of the best Botanical Gardens on the west coast, just 2 miles south of town. Drive another 10 minutes and you'll find the little seacoast town of Mendocino ... a touch of Carmel on the North coast.

These people sleep-in here and most shops don't open until 11am. So, we are just relaxing in the RV and watching blue sky roll in and out, overtaking the marine layer. Nice and cool, about 52 deg and headed for 65.

Anyway, a quick ride through town yesterday after arrival to check that our favorite Italian restaurant was still there ... it was! Also, this sign was an unusual find as I thought Radio Shack was long gone. I may have to stop in and see what they have before we leave.

So, this should get you started with the Blog ... more to come after today's excursion.