After an exhausting weekend in the park at Outsidelands 2024, it was time for some healing & relaxation. Not without a bit of adventure, however. So, although we had initially planned to drive to Montana and back within 5 days, we decided to switch plans and head our own California coast.
Day 1
A quick trip down to the peninsula to drop off David at the airport, then over to Isa’s parents’ to tend to the overwhelming tomatoes (pic), then a brief stop to say hi to the grandparents. And then we were off.
Starting from San Mateo at 1:30, our destination, Sea Ranch, was roughly 3.5 hours away. Of course, no road trip is complete without In N Out, so we grabbed our favorite burgers on the way. I tried something new this time, cheeseburger with onion and pickle and cheese and extra lettuce, but that’s beside the point.
Finally we made the westbound crossover to get to the 1 from the 101, and once we hit bodega bay, we would spend the remaining drive along the coast. It was a clear, sunny day, passing through Jenner and then onto the windy stretch of the highway. The distant cloud cover occluded the horizon and made it feel like we were in space. This also brought to mind that we were literally skirting the western edge of the continent. Pure water to the left and pure land to the right. Crazy.
Finally, after passing through Salt Point, we made it to our destination at the Sea Ranch Lodge. A stark, but well placed architectural sight to behold. We got our key and made it to our room, number 17. We set our bags down and took in the view. A short walk with the dog down to Shell Beach, where we could really feel how special this place was. Just so few people and such amazing coastline. The property itself showed, too. It’s expansive, with buildings across the whole peninsula it sits on. And the buildings become more interesting from a distance. Back to the room. Then decided to go sit at the porch on the precipice for a moment before heading inside to grab some drinks and small food. From the lounge where we were sitting we could see the solarium which extends the bar and the dining room below. Both are incredible spaces. Isa had a lovely jalapeño tequila carrot cocktail and I had some kind of Gin special, with grapefruit shrub (what is that even?). A salad and some cheese followed and we sipped and snacked as the windows turned into ombré paintings, the sun setting. A bit of gluttony ensued and we decided to get one more cocktail and a burger to take back to the room. Another carrot tequila thing for isa and a Martini for me. A monkey 47 dirty martini (i know…). Then back to the room, a glass of the complementary wine, a few bites of the burger, and some Gossip Girl before bed (not sure if I caught the first word before I was in dreamland).
The way the architecture frames the surrounding landscape is rather interesting. Whereas it claims to blend into its surroundings it is particularly stark and funky. Relying heavily on bauhaus and geometric motifs, all the while seeming to maintain a natural sensibility. Peppered around is signage in Helvetica Bold. Everything Helvetica Bold, a design trope enthusiast’s dream. I can’t complain, though.
This morning, we had room service brekky, isa having a beautiful avo toast and salad and me having a fairly standard egg Sando on English muffin with bacon. A cappuccino for me and a matcha latte for her. Then I took the dog for a quick sprint and now we’re back inside.
And now i sit here, writing this on the edge of the bed, looking out. What does the day hold today. Driving up to eureka, hopefully stopping in Mendocino at Mackerricher state park, then Trinidad state beach. We’ll be staying right around there. Will check in then.
Day 2
Up to Trinidad?
With relaxation in mind, we decided to spend our morning exploring Sea Ranch. Isa had a meeting from about noon to 1, so we figured, might as well enjoy ourselves, rather than try to get on the road as fast as possible, find a place to stop with wifi (and privacy), and stress ourselves out. Well, it was a great choice. The Sea Ranch property is certainly worth exploring and has so many moments of beauty. Slow coffee and walking Cosmo was so worth it.
We decided to grab a quick bite from the Café, as our trip time was looking like 5 hours. Starting at 1pm, it was seeming a bit dreadful. Anyway, we marched forward, making our way up the 1, planning to pass through Mendocino and Fort Bragg, then up and around lost coast to make our way to the Eureka area.
Can’t complain with a drive this beautiful, but in all honesty, it was slow going. As we ventured on, we passed through places we had wanted to spend time last time we made the journey. Elk, Albion, and more are cute and quaint, but we had a mission, and a target. And we had to execute. It was about this time where I started to mentally note to myself that “write in the blog post that staying in one place for two nights is actually ideal” and thought “why did I plan this this way.” We hit Mendocino county and started to pass by many inns and bnbs along the coast. It started to hit me that with our current plan, we’d be driving all day everyday, without any time to enjoy where we were, restore, or enjoy the landscape. So I mentioned it to Isa and next thing we knew we were at MacKerricher State Park, sitting at a picnic table with our phones out, finding a place to stay for the next two nights in Mendocino. Let’s stay and enjoy, we thought.
A new accomodation booked, a camping reservation foregone, and an expensive hotel reservation successfully finagled. Time to explore MacKerricher State Park!
After spending some time decompressing around MacKerricher, we were ready for the next thing, and to start making our way back to our accomodations. On the way, however, was the famous glass beach. So we got a great parking spot and marched on down to the water.
This one was much less of a looker, and much more popular. We did not find the glass other than a significant amount of people seemlingly out there with bags collecting what glass was left. The fog and some smoke from the fires to the north started to roll in and as the weather got ugly we decided to head back to the car and on to our place for the night.
We ended up staying at the cottages at little river, and for a same-day accommodation it was great! A special welcome package for Cosmo was the cherry on top, and the view from our room was nothing short of stunning.
That evening, we headed up to fort Bragg and grabbed dinner at the Noyo RIver Grill, where we had oysters, scallops, and fresh crab linguini. All in all, it hit the spot. U
Unfortunately when we woke the next morning, Isa’s stomach was off. We took it easy and slow in the morning then ventured on, finding our way to a super-secret beach called ElkHorn Cove. We had to walk along the highway (very sketchy) to get there, but it was oh-so worth it. Of course, that anxiety-inducing walk included not one, but two dead skunks (one of them way too fresh).
ALAS, we made it!