Tonight's Specials: Fresh Oysters, Crab, and Locals

Best way to people watch in a small town or neighborhood? Eat dinner and hang around for a few drinks at a local bar. Make friends with the bartender, chat up the folks next to you. On the road without a DD, I haven't really taken advantage of the drinking much, but I can tell you that the money was otherwise well spent... on fresh local oysters on the half shell and in-season steamed Dungeness crab - perhaps the best reason to visit this region in the winter.

In the Heart of the Russian River Valley

Guerneville, self-proclaimed "Heart of the Russian River Valley" sits on Hwy 116, which is a scenic little road that follows the famed Russian River and will take you from Jenner (on the coast) to Sebastopol, where you can pick up Hwy 12 and skate right into Sonoma. On this highway, I saw snow still lingering in the never-sunny shadows of deep valleys, palm trees in the drive ways, cows on steep cliffsides, and this:

In front of the River Theater on Hwy 116 in Guerneville, CA

Nice Car...

As-yet to be named road trip vehicle
Roadside, US Highway 199
This could be used as a print ad, right? Call me, Mitsubishi.

Happy Cows on the Sonoma Coast

In Wisconsin, it's not uncommon to see deer crossing signs warning drivers that there may be some deer getting in your way down the road. Despite our love of dairy and dairy farming, however, you rarely see cow crossing signs. Mostly, they stay in fenced pastures, in barns, or make their way under the roads through culverts and underpasses. I think the only time I've seen cows crossing a road in Wisconsin is when they busted through a fence, and that wasn't supposed to happen. Cows cross roads in Montana, in Colorado - in ranch country. And, according to the signage, along Route 1 in Sonoma County. Still, I wasn't prepared for this...

Point Arena Lighthouse

Where can you see a piece of California history, a stark illustration of the erosive power of ocean waves, part of a set from a Mel Gibson movie, and spy cute, chubby harbor seals just hanging out? Only one place, people: The Point Arena Lighthouse. The only working lighthouse you can still ascend in this part of the country, next to the so-called "Devil's Punch Bowl" which is now just a few sort-of island/rocks off-shore, and once the set for Forever Young,starring Mel Gibson and Jamie Lee Curtis, this landmark is very easy to reach and totally worth the small fee to tour the museum and ascend the 145 steps to the top where you might see whales (I didn't) or harbor seals on nearby rocks (I did!).

Free Upgrade? Um... yes, please.

Wharf Master's Inn, Point Arena (in Arena Cove)

My last overnight on the road before setting up residence in Sonoma for a few days was in Point Arena. Yeah, I'd live there. If I didn't actually have to live there. Like, if I could live in the room I had at Wharf Master's Inn and eat crab fresh from the wharf each day... I'd stay forever. I arrived in the dark (and I don't recommend driving too much on Route 1 after sunset if you don't have to... I saw some deer and was nervous about the curves and potential elk). This wasn't a problem. I was promptly offered a free room upgrade. Also not a problem. And when I was told that room 122 Lookout was one of the best rooms, I smiled politely and nodded - anything was going to be better than the cheapest room I had booked (which only had a bathtub. And actually, I was thrilled, because at home I only have a shower and was excited for a real bath).

Beachcombing Arena Cove

Some cool things I found on the beach next to the fishing wharf in the cove at Point Arena. Lots of sea urchin shells, ocean-tumbled rocks, abalone shell pieces, and this crazy-ugly plant known as bull kelp. Also, a hillbilly park.

Point Arena Public Wharf

Bull kelp, washed ashore

Bull kelp root/bulb

Looking out from the beach I was combing toward the wharf and the north side of the cove

Piece of a shell. Ooh, shiny.

Some sea plant growing on a rock. At least it used to be growing, before it washed ashore.

Nature made a couple of holes in this beach rock. Neat.

Incidentally, the only structured activity in Hillbilly Park is horseshoes.

Sunset in Elk

I decided not to kill time in Mendocino before sunset. All the shops closed at 4 or 5, sunset wasn't scheduled until 5:16, and it was about 4:30. So I hit the road again and kept an eye on the clock. About 5:08, I started looking for good places to pull over for the show, but of course there weren't any. And the road was taking dips inland for a while which made me think that maybe I was going to miss my first opportunity for a Pacific sunset on this trip. Finally, just in time, I passed through this little town called Elk and found an access point to a hiking trail that took a quick jog to reach a fantastic point to watch the sun go down.

Elk, the town

Mendocino

Mendocino. Cute. Adorable. Like Galena, IL, but on the Pacific, not the Mississippi. Also, smaller than Galena. But just as cute and adorable. I stopped here on my way from Fortuna to my next stop-over in Point Arena. It was kind of late in the afternoon, and I was kind of on a mission to find a snack since the Tap House/Grill affiliated with North Coast Brewery in Fort Bragg (my original plan for second lunch) was closed. Found a fresh crab cake made with local Dungeness Crab at the Mendocino Market & Deli - big chunks of crab meat and some succulent veggies made it a good choice indeed. Then an unplanned hike to the beach area and some rocks. If I'd been more inclined to stop in the local shops, I could have easily killed an hour that way, but instead I climbed around some driftwood, looked in some tide pools, and debated whether to stay another 45 minutes to watch the sun set.

Mendocino, as seen from the beachy-area-point

Caution, Sexy Lady: Curves Ahead

The 101 is probably gorgeous in Oregon, but in northern California, it's a bit more inland and doesn't give you the great coastal views I am here to see. So, in a little town called Leggett, I met up with the storied California Route 1, known as the Pacific Coast Highway down south, and as the Shoreline Highway up here. And let me tell you: If you can't handle the first 22 miles of the 1 from Leggett to the sea, just turn around and take you and your sad little car home. And I thought 199 was fun. It was. This was just crazy.

But Sexy Lady isn't a sad little car...

Big-Ass Trees: Part 2

So, just south of Fortuna (one of my overnight points) lies an alternate scenic route to Route 101 - Avenue of the Giants, a 31-mile section of old 101 that brings you much closer to nature than the modern freeway. Like, careful or you'll lose your mirrors on the big-ass trees closer-to-nature. But we've dealt with narrow roads and big trees before. Sexy Lady and me, that is (I've since named my car "Sexy Lady"... more on that later). And although I had kind of a late start by my road trip standards, the day was young, and I was all about taking on this tourist trap, especially since I was bound to be the only tourist around.

Food Porn-Vista-Food Porn Sandwich

Ladies and gentlemen: You are such a wonderful crowd, we'd like to post a little collage for you. It's one of my personal favorites, and I'd like to dedicate it to a young woman who doesn't think she's seen anything tasty today - Sandra B, this one's for you.

Big-Ass Trees: Part 1

This was the first big redwood that I saw near a spot to pull off the road so I could take a picture. I was very excited. I had no idea how it would feel to actually hike among these huge guys, but I was about to find out. And thanks to the magic of a camera timer and a tripod, you'll actually get some sense of scale here (I'm 5' 2.5", for the record). If you've never been, go. If you've been, go back when there's not so many damn people around. Hiking weather was perfect for a few lightweight trail-running jackets, neck and ear coverage. Reminded me of hiking in the Smokey Mountains in late March.

Somewhere along US Hwy 199 in the National Redwood Forest

Crab Fishing in Crescent City

I wasn't planning on doing much in Crescent City, my first coastal city. Grab some info on the local redwood forest (info stations in the park are closed this month), grab a bite, look at the ocean, move on. But after tooling around the big trees for a while, I became distracted be the prospect of a marine mammal rehab facility and set out to find that. Just east of Battery Point, my guide book says.



Maybe so. But I didn't see it, and I ended up walking out the pier at the point, taking pictures of the lighthouse, which is only accessible at low tide, and watching people fish for crab. Old men, young couples, a family with an adorable toddler, a middle-aged woman. Everyone and their brother was out crab fishing in the middle of a Monday. And one enterprising harbor seal was foiling them all.
My favorite guy: The 60-70ish man who said it was good for me to go hiking because it "keeps ya off the streets."

Battery Point, Crescent City, CA

Hungry, hungry harbor seal

Battery Point Lighthouse, Crescent City, CA

From OR to CA: $1.99

I chose to overnight in Grants Pass, OR so that I would have a fresh day to take on US Highway 199, an often narrow, curvy route that cuts through the Cascades and spends a good deal of its time in California winding along the Smith River. And as I spent the morning driving through redwood-covered hills, along steep drop-offs, and under rock fall areas, I patted myself on the back for that choice.

Rogue River, Grants Pass OR

Rogue River at sunset.
Building on the left is Taprock Northwest Grill (where I had dinner)

Beaver?

Nope - gotcha! 

This is a bear outside the bank next to Taprock Northwest Grill. 

Taprock loves bears.

Driving through Sheep Country

Sheep grazing along I-5 in Linn County, OR

When I set out from Portland in my not-as-cute-as-a-Chevy-Aveo Mitsubishi Gallant, I was looking forward to a 4-hour straight, easy interstate drive with little distraction except perhaps some beautiful mountain vistas. No one bothered to warn me that I was about to drive through Linn and Lane Counties which, by my observation, have the most sheep next to a highway anywhere ever (except perhaps Britain, but I've never been there).

Tasty Portland

I'm reluctant to leave behind the fabulous food scene in Portland, but I'm looking forward to wine country and the SF Bay Area which have never disappointed me. A quick review of everywhere I ate outside my cousin's house.

Hood River: Of Vistas, Wine, and Fuzzy Ponies

View of some mountains with names I can 't remember, also some interesting fruit tree trellis/support system

After visiting Multnomah Falls, my cousin and I drove a bit further east to a little town called Hood River, which has a scenic route around the area's many, many fruit farms and vineyards. Of course this route is called "the Fruit Loop". And of course there's not really anything to do in January around the Fruit Loop except visit the few tasting rooms that are open (many close for January) and look at the pretty scenery, perhaps see some alpacas, and maybe fuzzy ponies, if you're lucky.