Mendocino - more

all of these wood sculptures come from drift wood, and look like plants, flowers, blending together in a very beautiful way
We had to promise Mr. Chocolate that the photo that Nikki took would not be used for commercial purposes. I guess you can't be too careful these days. The bear paw, that we purchased was delicious. Nikki (and the rest of america I am sure, as I am fairly ignorant of these terms) calls it a turtle, and is a mixture of chocolate, nuts and caramel. Gorgeous. Tasty stuff.
somebody's rather nice house
the wine store that was closed, but the owner was there, waiting for a call from his electrician, and invited us inside to purchase what we wanted. He had a really good supply of hard to fund cult wines, and smaller wineries offerings. A name to know. "thewineshoponline.com"
some of the locals ;-)

Mendocino continued

More shots of the savage coast ..... how quickly the day turned from sunny to blustery and foggy, as the waves increased in intensity

Above you see the fog quickly coming in
the town now is fogged over, as this photo that Nikki took of me shows. We had turned our backs to the town, taking pics one minute; the next minute we looked around and the town was disappearing before our eyes, just like that (as Tommy Cooper would say)
Beautiful coastline

Mendocino continued

Cool watchtower in Mendocino

Driftwood bench in town
View of coast with me in the way!
view from the bluff, at edge of town
Coastal Living !!!

flora and fauna of Mendocino

flowers in abundance

more shots
Roy and Joanne's favorite phrase
flora
Nikki and myself !! Nikki is the master photographer, and the one that takes most if not all of the pics, including all these great floral shots.

road to mendecino

along the road to mendocino, past such hot spots as Irish Beach
some crazy shrubbery
what a road, with plenty of surprises. they do not warn you about these 180's in advance. Hair raising
beautiful stock of houses in Mendocino
watchtower in mendocino

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Some of the houses in the Sea Ranch community

Passing a mini milestone --- 911 miles so far on the trip
Gualala .... the g is silent when pronouncing the word
coast road north to Mendocino
horses in field .... some fine ranches around here

skraggs road, from healdsburg to sea ranch

the drive across the mountains, from dry creek road outside Healdsburg, to Sea Ranch, on the Sonoma coast. Hair raising, sometimes single lane, 180's as well as 270's ..... built for this car !!!
more shots of small road. like a rally road.
single lane bridge
single lane road
turning that wheel .... cornering ..... whoooeeeee

repair, and on the way

What would a Rally Across America be like, without repairs.
Seems the sway bar bushing came loose, on driver side (it was loose on pax side last October and was repaired). Looked on Pelican forum for porsche guys near us. Saw Tillman German Car Specialists in Santa Rosa, on Guerneville Rd. Drove there. Mike Rose (originally from London) was in office when we told our sorry tale. Took car straight away, epoxied it back on, and we were on the road, inside of an hour. Thanks Mike!
On to Bella Winery. They built a cave to house their wine tasting.

Cave also is where they store barrels.
Dutchers Crossing Vineyard .... very nice place, and nice wine

View from Dutchers Crossing winery

wine country

great roads, albeit somewhat curvy
ahhh ... the vines, the vines
the deli on dry creek road, outside Healdsburg, been around for decades, owned by the Gallo's I believe. Great sambo's
Downtown Healdsburg ...
wine makes you strong !!! What's going on here eh!!! fuel pump redux?

sea ranch continued

sea ranch flowers/plants outside window
restaurant windows/solarium lounging area

outside our window, with barn in background and bluff in front
more coastal views from hotel
ready to roll

Sea Ranch, CA

Arrival at Sea Ranch Lodge.
Relaxing after a long drive, with a view to die for, out the window
Sea Ranch coastline

Our room
Barns, and black tailed deer outside window