Two weekends ago Stacey and I drove up to Mendocino to celebrate Stacey's 30th birthday. We left at 10am on Friday, had lunch at the East West Cafe in Santa Rosa where we picked up two pieces of the best carrot cake EVER, then took our time driving up the coast on Route 1. It was a beautiful, scenic drive along the Pacific coast in gorgeous weather.
We stayed at the Stanford Inn on a couple recommendations from friends
. Each room has a wood burning fireplace that is set up and ready to go when you arrive! They also have a really good vegetarian restaurant that utilizes produce from their extensive garden, as well as bike and canoe rentals. Friday before dinner we explored the grounds a bit, wandered through the garden, and discovered some llamas and 2 miniature donkeys.
Saturday we hiked the Fern Gulch trail at Van Damme State park. The trail started in the Pygmy forest, a surreal little patch of land where all of the 100-year-old trees are stunted due to poor soil conditions and shallow bedrock. From there, the trail descends into a thick fern-covered forest and follows a stream for several miles. It was a cool and clear morning, and we had the trail mostly to ourselves.
After that we headed North to Ft. Bragg for lunch then visited Glass Beach, which is right on the northern edge of town. Many years ago, the town dumped all of their trash offshore, and even though that practice has thankfully stopped long ago, the glass still remains. It is tumbled and polished by the waves and all washes up on a couple of beaches, much to the delight of the local beach combers.
Stacey says it was one of the best birthdays she's ever had. We look forward to coming back some day soon, hopefully next time to camp and do more hiking.
