After a wine tasting, it’s easy to imagine yourself as a member of the Olympic bobsled or downhill ski team as you slalom the hairpin turns on Rt. 1. Unfortunately, driving that way makes everyone else in the coach want to vomit.
Actually, this 3rd winery visit in 2 days was impromptu. It was 4:30pm, and we were passing a place that was about 300 yards down the open hillside between the road and the cliff over the Pacific. It was so scenic, we couldn’t help but take advantage of their last half hour before closing time. I checked the rear camera, hit the brakes, came to a stop just beyond the driveway, and then backed up and pulled in. All 5 of their wines were very nice, but for Mom, it was the best winery of the day just on it’s setting alone. She repeated that declaration several times the next day, too.
When we walked up, unbeknownst to Mom, I had spotted a sign indicating that the winery’s guest cottage was available that night. I took a quick walk out back to see what it was like, and it certainly was ideal. The cottage’s one room was configured with a bed in front of sliding glass doors that overlooked a deck with a hot tub, a patio fireplace, and the ocean. It was PERFECT for Mom. I resolved to inquire. I was ready to let our campground reservations go unused. Unfortunately, before I could even rejoin Mom, I overheard another couple completing their arrangements for the lodging. Oh well. Instead, one of the winery owners set our expectations for the last remaining hour on Rt. 1: it would take us an hour and a half, we’d navigate 487 switchbacks, and we might see elk. We did see the elk, but we elected not to count the turns.
Much of that hour and a half was right through some amazing redwood forests. As impressive as the trees are, something magical actually happens when you touch one. Mom took the “tree hugger” term literally, but, for me, just touching something so massive and so old (nearly 2,000 years) is simply inexplicable. Also, in the thick redwood stands, the light is subdued, the temperatures are lower, and sounds are muffled. It’s quite amazing. Even after we left that area and joined Rt. 101, we still took the detour on the Avenue of the Giants to see even more of the incredible trees.
Keep in mind: this all happened at the end of the day. At Mom’s request, we’d started that morning late, which was fine because I as having second thoughts about stopping to see the model train at the “Skunk Train” station, anyway, so I figured we’d strike that from the itinerary. Also, there as slack built in at our other destinations. However, on our way to the Mendocino Headlands State Park, I spotted an inviting lagoon when crossing over a bridge. When I saw the visitor parking lot at the other side of the bridge, I doubled back and pushed everyone out of the RV (none of them had seen it, because it just appeared at a time when nobody was paying attention – taking a break from 22 miles of winding forest road exactly like the winding coastline road from days prior). Well, the soft sand and cliff-walled secluded beach were so inviting, we had trouble pulling Sean away. JT, sadly, was having stomach troubles, so didn’t stay at the beach for more than a few minutes. He missed the next stop, too, but once he got up in the afternoon and had a little something to eat and drink, he felt much better. It happens. No worries. We were just glad he wasn’t coming down with something – that would have really made the rest of the trip pretty miserable.
We were so far behind schedule, now, we almost didn’t proceed to Mendocino Headlands State Park. We were sure glad we did, though. The coastline there was similar to what we’d already seen, but the little town of Mendocino really caught our interest. We walked the wooden sidewalk (like the ones you see in the old western movies) and visited the beautiful 1800’s Inn. Sean joined us while JT finished that nap, and he had a nice time too. He wanted to descend to the beach where the hippies had made makeshift huts out of driftwood, but we knew it would be impossible to wrench him away if we actually let him down there.
So, between the lagoon and the winery, it was an incredibly long day. We didn’t pull into our campground until nearly midnight – and still had to eat dinner! There were no complaints from anyone, though. We were on vacation and enjoying ourselves. That’s what was important.
