Rain Delay

Oct 4th

We holed up in a hotel in Eureka to sit out the rain, we searched the weather stations to find sunshine in the state of California, we even contacted our timeshare company to check on availability around the state - all to no avail :(

We are really wanting to get back to the simplicity of tenting, where boiling water and making campfires are the highlight of the day.  But tenting in the rain is just no fun, so we have to be content with some more hotel time - at least it will be in a very beautiful little town with a huge New England feel.

Mendocino, California

Settled by New Englanders in the 1850's this town is now an artisans utopia.  But even more important (at least to me) is the fact that it is "Cabot Cove" of Murder She Wrote fame.  Any of you who watched that show as faithfully as I did will recognize Jessica's (aka Angela Lansbury) house:

Amazing, eh??  I was soooo excited to find it.  Not that it took much effort - it is now a B&B, the Blair House.  I absolutely loved the show and was tinkled pink to find myself right there - right at the scene of the crime!  I could practically feel Jessica and Amos at my side  :)

And as with my previous posts, I'll the you decide for yourself on the magnificence of this beautiful section of the coast:

Notice the blue sky??  and the reflection of the sun on the waves???  Oh yes - we did find some sunshine.  Day one in Mendocino was pretty wet (nasty actually):

Day two was partly cloudy with occasional showers and DAY THREE????  Clear skies - yeaaaaaaaa!  It made a very special place absolutely amazing!!  More details on the Stanford Inn to come.

Sea to Tree

Oct 1 - Our travel from the Coos Bay area down along the coast to Eureka, California was uneventful, and I won't bore you with any of the tons of pictures taken of the beautiful coast.  The California coast is under the same horrible weather pattern the Oregon coast was - so we're back to Best Western Land.  While Guinness seemed to enjoy his tent naps:

they're nothing compared to his Best Western naps:

On Sunday, while Dave got his football fix, Guinness and I went to the Samoa Dunes for some more beach time.  At one end of the beach, surfers have their way with the waves, at the other the 4-wheelers have their way with the dunes.  And in between, just sand and sea!

And now for something completely different ...  trees

Oct 3 - On the agenda for today, the Avenue of the Giants, a "world famous scenic" 31 mile drive that parallels Hwy 101 and contains 51,222 acres of redwood groves.  Humboldt Redwoods State Park, which surrounds the Avenue of Giants has the largest stand of virgin redwoods in the world - truly amazing!!!

You can drive past them:

you can drive through them:

you can look up at them:

you can stay dry in them:

but you can't get your arms around them (some of them):

or across them:

Truly amazing!!!

Tomorrow: Mendocino, Cal

Shore Acres State Park

Shore Acres State Park is just a mile from Sunset Bay.  Even though it was pouring rain, Dave indulged me by scooting in to take a peek - were we ever glad we did!!

There was everything in there from rugged coastline

to a botanical garden:

and even some wildlife:

a great detour, and now on to Eureka

Coos Bay/Sunset Bay State Park

After our amazing stay at Crater Lake, we were anxious to get back to the coast - our destination, Coos Bay.  The drive was about 6 hours, and Guinness & I thawed out at about hour 3 (Dave seemed completely unaffected by the rather cool temps).  After the rather chilly night at Crater Lake, we decided a night in a hotel was appropriate. We again holed up in a Best Western - Dave was able to get the car serviced, and I was able to get a much needed haircut.  We had a fantastic German meal (that's for you Christina) and prepared to get back into the tent.

Dee and Garth recommended the Sunset Bay State Park, so off we went (only about 40 min drive from Coos Bay).  The long range forecast was not looking good - but the next 2 days seem to be okay.  It was mid-week and we think folks may have been scared off by the weather - so we really had our pick of the campsites.  Found a HUGE site with an equally HUGE tree (which would later become very important as the precipitation eventually commenced, exactly as forecast).

Here's the Bay:

Our first night was dry and uneventful - night two, slightly different.  But do not despair!!  A quick trip to Walmart for a $39 purchase, and moving the tent under the HUGE tree made all the difference in the world:

The drizzle did not interfere at all with our fun, and we proceeded with the plan for fajita night:

We both enjoyed hearing the pitter patter of raindrops on the tent during the night - the pack up in the morning was not quite as enjoyable.  (sorry for the fuzzy picture, but I thought it was worth posting)

 

Next stop: Eureka, California

See you there!!  xoxo

Nancyville

Hello everyone,

I seem to have a ton of time on my hands these days - what with long car rides, afternoon naps in the tent and walks along beautiful beaches.  I've been very productive with this "down time" -  I've decided it's time to create my own camping village.  It will be called Nancyville.

I have yet to acquire the land, or even decide where Nancyville will be located, but I have cleared a major hurdle - establishing the campground guidelines.  They are, in no particular order:

The owners guarantee:

• that all sites will be grass, not sand or dirt;
• that there will be no charge for showers, and there will be no limits on the time/amount of hot water;
• laundry facilities and shaded kennel sites will be provided at the campground;
• that the two largest RV pads will be converted to gardens - one for organically grown veggies, the other for greens;

In return, all campers will abide by the following:

• Men may wear anything they want to the shower - with the exception of bathrobes (gents, no matter how "hot" you are, you do not look good in a bathrobe.)  What you do in your tent/RV is your business, but the use of bathrobes otherwise is banned in Nancyville;
• Dogs who bark before 7am will be driven 1 mile from the campground and must find their own way back to the campground unassisted - the same applies for screaming children.  If this does not resolve the problem family members of said dogs/children will be ejected from the campground;
• The larger the RV, the higher the campground fee - those in two person tents or less, camp for free;
• Anyone whose car alarm goes off between the hours of 10pm and 7am shall sit in a wire cage constructed for that purpose for 2 hours.  The guilty may choose which two hours they "sit", but it must be during daylight hours so that those campers who sat bolt upright in the middle of the night can be certain of the identity of the guilty party;
• Anyone travelling in a RV with a satellite dish will tend the aforementioned gardens and CAC (car alarm cage).  They will be assisted by any man caught wearing a bathrobe to the shower.  Upon completion of their chores, they may watch one hour of Dora The Explorer.

The owners (me ;) reserve the right to post further guidelines as the need for same arises.

Anyone wanting to book a spot for 2012 may do so at www.pleaseletmestayatnancyville.ca