Northwest California coast road diary: July 14 - 19
Sunday, July 14: from home to Eureka
Leave Oakland 10:30; 63 degrees F
Reach tiny Hopland on 101 at 12:30 (so small that 101 doesn't bypass it or have a traffic light).
Formerly a center of the hop-growing industry for beer, it is now vineyards.
And a cannabis dispensary.
The Bluebird Cafe is busy, so we press on.
Stop in Ukiah for lunch; pickup in parking lot has two bumper stickers:
Make America Great Again
Jesus Freak
Wonder how he is able to reconcile those two beliefs.
Zoom past Willits on new (since last here in 2016) bypass; out of the vineyards, up into the redwoods.
As we approach Eureka and the coast, the temperature drops from 86 to 68 in ten minutes; and we were not driving very fast.
Reach Humboldt Bay Inn at 4:30.
Sea Grill closed Sunday, so we have dinner at Cafe Waterfront; very good, grilled oysters and red snapper.
Located in former brothel, advertises rooms for rent upstairs; by the hour?
Walk back to inn in gathering dusk past Rescue Mission. Many shaggy homeless men, but nonaggressive, some even say hello.
Monday, July 15: Eureka - Trinidad
Have breakfast at inn, then walk around Old Town before checking out.
Visit Eureka Books (of course), plan future purchases on way back.
Co-owner is author of a mystery series, may pick up a couple of hers.
Wonder about "Beautiful Poetry of Donald Trump (unauthorized)"; gag gift?
Drive up to Arcata, a very pleasant college town we only discovered last time up here.
Walk around and view Victorian architecture; return to Cafe Brio on the plaza for coffee and pastry.
Pick up blueberry muffin for emergencies.
Arcata is Cannabis City, but there actually seems to be less emphasis on it since recreational use was legalized.
Around the plaza: tattoo parlor offers "precision dermographics", next to Jitter Bean Coffee.
Reach Trinidad 2 PM, find Trinidad Bay B&B where we stayed before, lug suitcases up to room.
Walk around town, photograph harbor.
Visit Katy's Smokehouse, pick up couple cans of salmon; may get refrigerated packs on last day here.
Shower, nap, drive to Larrupin' Cafe up the road for dinner.
Decor quite eclectic; light Persian-style carpets on tables. On walls, medieval brasses, Hebrew prints, hammered-copper panels. Elsewhere, Chihuly glass sculpture, tiki, lighted branches.
Salmon (me), grilled tofu kabobs (Joan); good.
Return and retire.
Wake at 1 AM to see full moon shimmering over the bay; magical.
Tuesday, July 16: at Trinidad
Up at 7, make coffee, have with Arcata muffin. Heavy drippy fog has rolled in.
At 8:30 an amazing breakfast arrives; waffles, bacon, berries & whipped cream, OJ, baked apple.
Plan day while digesting it.
Walk down to Trinidad Bay beach and back through town.
Then north on 101; thick fog, better than last year's smoke
Exit at Fern Canyon road, 4 miles unpaved.
At entrance station, learn of washout a mile short of trailhead; we decide to hoof it.
Fern Canyon is beautiful.
Return to car very footsore. Back at room, head for ibuprofen bottle.
Then wash up and go to dinner at Eatery restaurant in town.
Grilled salmon and IPA very restorative; a new man, I return to room and sleep and sleep.
Wednesday, July 17: at Trinidad
Hike to and around Trinidad Head, a rocky promontory almost surrounded by the ocean except for a narrow sandy neck.
Circle it and walk to top, about 400 feet altitude.
Many native plants: huckleberry, salal, ferns, thimbleberry, baccharis, live oak, owl clover, mimulus, ceanothus, ocean spray, cow parsnip, larkspur, hawthorn, manzanita, and beautiful twinberry (Lonicera involucrata).
Return to Eatery about 3:30 for fish & chips; stuff self.
Back to room, edit photos, work on diary, lie down.
Wake shortly before restaurant closes, dash over, have chowder and salmon cakes. Good.
Thursday, July 18: Trinidad - Willits
Another big breakfast, too good to pass up. Did leave a little orange juice behind.
Walk to Katy's Smokehouse, buy smoked salmon and albacore.
Pack and leave Trinidad about 10:30.
Stop at Eureka, walk through Old Town, buy books and fabric.
South of Eureka, sky is filled with half-clouds that resemble soft-edged fog banks but not quite.
Down 101 to Loleta, stop at cheese factory, buy some.
Food box now full, no more buying.
On to Avenue of The Giants: old Highway 101, now a scenic drive.
Buy redwood tree, strap it on roof. Just kidding, ha ha.
Afternoon sun alternates stripes of light and shade; very dramatic.
Expect to see Ewoks any moment; none, or sasquatch either.
Outside Garberville, stop and enter recently remodeled Benbow Inn.
Nice, veddy veddy English, but not for us; we thought the same when we stayed there ~35 years ago.
Into Willits around 5:30.
The Baechtel Creek Inn is a disappointment; a cheap motel with high prices.
$100 add-on at check-in for smoking or pets; they say they will refund it, later, if they find you have obeyed.
Room is small and spartan with no decor; like a hospital room.
At 8 PM, there are five cars in the 40-space parking lot; by 8:30, seven.
Did not use wi-fi; did not trust what terms they might impose in fine print.
Dinner across the highway at Siciliana Cafe next to tire store; good basic Italian food, friendly staff.
Have gnocchi, penne, foccacia, Sicilian salad with pecans and cranberries.
Friday, July 19: Willits - home
Up early, pack, leave Willits 8:45. The town is basically a strip mall along old Highway 101.
Take northernmmost exit to Healdsburg, get lost, never find it.
Were going to find a cafe on the square.
Drive into Windsor, grab an Egg McMuffin at McDonald's, save half an hour.
Into Berkeley 11:45, home by noon. 68 degrees here.
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