Nancy & Ruben's
California Coast Vacation '99



Part - 3 -
Fort Bragg & Mendocino


California Coast Vacation | Page 1 - Yosemite | Page 2 - S.F. & Fort Bragg | Page 3 - Fort Bragg & Mendocino | Page 4 - Berkeley to Santa Cruz | Page 5 - Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur | Page 6 - Cayucus, Morro Bay, Port San Louis, Pismo Beach | Pre-Photos | After-Photos | With Frames | Escape Frames
We checked out all the hotels and bed & breakfasts in the area through www.mendocinocoast.com.

Thursday morning, Sept 9
The girl from the Anchor Lodge, which is our hotel on a warf right on the river said the noisy seals and foghorns might wake us up. We didn't have any problem sleeping. The view would have been fantastic had the sun been out, but it was foggy in the morning. I watched a few fishermen heading to sea, and we packed up early and made it to the Skunk Railroad just in time to catch the 9 AM train.


We hopped on board and off we went, through the redwoods on a winding track that had great natural scenic beauty on both sides. We rode in an antique passenger car, and occasionally went out onto the open air flatcar to take pictures. The streams and trees flew by, an the clickety bounce of the train kept the rhythm.
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Skunk Train Singer Entertaining the Riders

A conductor with a guitar came into the car and began singing train songs. He was really good too, playing "City Of New Orleans," "Orange Blossom Special" and other famous railroad tunes. I talked to him briefly, and he was from Willits, a train buff, and had his own railroad CD. I bought one and he autographed it. The date was 9/9/99

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Skunk Train Singer Entertaining the Riders


Thursday afternoon, Sept 9
After the train ride, we checked out Fort Bragg, and found some nice shops on a typical small town main street.

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Downtown Fort Bragg

We checked out a few, got some hot coffee and a fresh roll, and headed up the coast towards Mendocino, looking for the Mendocino Botanical Gardens. The view of the Ocean and cliffs was spectacular and we stopped along the road to take photos. We arrived at the Botanical Gardens shortly, and almost passed it. It looked more like a roadside lodge than a tourist stop. We parked and paid the $5 and entered. Gardens had paths that lead to the ocean, and the ocean and surrounding area was spectacular.

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Downtown Fort Bragg

I took a bunch of photos of the rock inlets and coves with whitewater waves crashing all around, and we moved on to the flower room. The fusia flowers were beautiful, with many varieties of many different color patterns. I took some photos of beautiful these California flowers.

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Nancy smelling the Mendocino Fusia Flowers

Thursday evening, Sept 9
We headed off to Mendocino Village, and arrrived in about 10 minutes. We found our hotel, The Blair House, and checked in.



We called it the "Blair Witch House" after the movie, and the Innkeeper was, you guessed it, Norman. The girl that greeted us was very friendly, and showed us around the house, making us feel right at home. She even made some tea and walnut bread for us, and



This is the house where Jessica Fletcher lived in "Murder She Wrote." It's located at 45110 Little Lake Street, Mendocino, CA 95460, phone 707-937-1800 or 800-699-9296
We stayed in Forence's room, which has a delightful ocean and village view, as well as, a window overlooking the carriage house. Spacious and charming, the room is decorated in antique rose, green and white. It includes a queen size bed, armoire and other antiques. A shared, large bathroom is just outside the door.
The house was really cool, antique cabinets throughout, great furniture, and we even got a complimentary bottle of wine.



After visiting some of the little shops on main street, and getting dinner, we went down to the sculptured rock cove headlands to watch the sunset. It was just a couple blocks from the Blair house, so we went back to our room and showered up after a long day. Downstairs, Norman poured us the wine and we exchanged stories over the large wooden antique kitchen table. Turning in was easy, and the bed had a feather mattress, which I loved.


California Coast Vacation | Page 1 - Yosemite | Page 2 - S.F. & Fort Bragg | Page 3 - Fort Bragg & Mendocino | Page 4 - Berkeley to Santa Cruz | Page 5 - Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur | Page 6 - Cayucus, Morro Bay, Port San Louis, Pismo Beach | Pre-Photos | After-Photos | With Frames | Escape Frames