A large, carved wooden duck that Peggy and I found gracing a wood-working shop on one of Mendocino’s colorful streets.
I’ve always been a fan of rugged, rocky coastlines. I’ve been fortunate in my life to live near the northern coast of California, which I define as starting down in Big Sur country and making its way up to the Oregon Coast. When I lived in Sacramento, summer escapes usually meant the Sierra’s, but winter escapes always meant the coast. Mainly I played along the 300-mile area of coast stretching between Monterrey/Carmel and Mendocino/Fort Brag on California’s beautiful, cliff-hanging Highway 1.
A view of the Mendocino Headlands, which host the town of Mendocino. The steep, rocky cliffs of Northern California, Oregon and Washington make up my favorite coast lines.
Now I live in Oregon, I’ve begun to explore the Oregon Coast. Over the years, I’ve also ventured along the Washington coast on occasion and made several trips to Canada’s Vancouver Island.
Last year, I wrote a number of blogs on both the California and Oregon coasts. I did a solo trip along the Oregon Coast while Peggy was off doing grandmother duty in Alaska and then a solo trip north from San Francisco while she was traveling to England with her sister, Jane.
This fall, my side-kick was with me on a couple quick trips: one visiting the town of Mendocino and then traveling north, following Highways 1 and 101 back to Southern Oregon. The second was over to Coos Bay, Oregon and Sunset Bay State Park. My next few blogs will cover these trips. Again, since Peggy and I are off in Connecticut and North Carolina visiting with our kids and grandkids for Christmas— plus making a side trip to Boston— these will be mainly photo blogs.
Mendocino is one of my favorite coastal communities. Founded as a logging town, it was discovered by artists in the 50s and 60s and today supports a thriving tourist industry. Through it all, it has maintained much of its original charm. Quaint buildings, lots of art, a great bookstore, and a magnificent coast all add to its ambience. If you would like to learn more about the town and see more photos, go here for the blog I wrote last year about the town.
Another view of the Mendocino Headlands, this one featuring a cyprus tree.
Looking the other direction through the same cyprus.
Rocks, cliffs, and a pounding ocean: music to me on a dark stormy day.
We found these berries growing on the Headlands. T’is the season!
Walking back toward the town from the Headlands, we caught this view of Mendocino. The town has done a superb job of maintaining its historic buildings.
I find the homes charming.
This small, in-town pond provided a convenient reflection shot.
Inviting walkways are found throughout Mendocino.
This is the inside of the woodworking shop where we discovered the duck.
Any idea what this is? It’s an old fence that has seen service as a Mendocino message board for decades. You might say, it is a ‘staple’ of the community.
Speaking of staples, veggies always add a touch of color on a cloudy day. Peggy and I found these in an old church that had converted to being a natural food store.
This rooster also added color, and character, to our day.
Not so colorful, but there is a story that goes along with this chicken wire mouse. In my last blog about Mendocino, I had included a chicken wire cat from the same shop. A person from Japan wrote to me and said he had also visited Mendocino, seen the sculptures, and wanted to know which shop it was so he could buy some. I was reminded of just how international our blogging community is…
And finally, I’ll include this Tiki-like god sculpture we found protecting a house. Love the toothy grin. Or was I supposed to be frightened?
NEXT BLOG: A North Coast journey along California’s Highway 101.
Wandering through Time and Place 
What a wonderful place! Love the rooster.
The place was a whole barnyard of animals, AC. 🙂 –Curt
That sure is gorgeous country up there! My mom lives in Crescent City. Guess where we’re going for the Holidays. Happy Holidays
That’s great, Trish, a beautiful location to spend the holidays. –Curt
We were just there two weeks ago. Loved Mendocino!
Our paths were close to crossing, Sue! 🙂 –Curt
Mendocino has a Spanish tinge to it. The timber looks inviting and hopefully many carvings will be made.
Right, Gerard. The cape received its name from early Spanish explorers, which is the case for a number of geographic locations along the California coast. –Curt
Your photographs are fabulous and certainly do it justice. Wonderful part of the world.
Peta
Mmmm, that wood shop, though. If I had a heated one, I’d be out there right now with a chisel and a jig. Could you add a link to the chicken wire cat post and mention the shop it came from? I’ve never seen that art before, it’s intriguing.
Hope your east coast holiday jaunt is full of fabulous weather and amiable relatives in equal measure. And spiked eggnog, lots of spiked eggnog.
Spiked eggnog, that’s what I need. Having fun, relatives are amiable, but after a week of three grandsons age 4-7, I am beginning to think that eggnog would be good. Make it a triple! Here’s where I think the chickenwire animals are found: http://www.thehighlightgallery.com. Enjoy your holidays… –Curt
Hint: Give the eggnog to the grandsons so EVERYBODY can relax. Ha, ha! Have a happy.
The moms agreed! Happy I am having. You too. 🙂
Hahaha!
Your photos make me want to move to the northern CA coast. Such a beautiful area. It’s 86 here today and I yearn for a cool ocean breeze.
There are times when that 86 sounds good, like now. Peggy and I are visiting our son and his family in Connecticut. It has been a bit on the brrr side. 🙂 –Curt
Mendo is heaven on earth. My favorite place in California I think. Hope to have a second house there some day.
Happy new year.
For years I wanted a home along the North Coast, and Mendocino would be perfect. No complaints about where I ended up, However. 🙂 –Curt
Wish we could visit the Oregon Coast once a year — love those rocks, dashing waves. But Mendocino also looks inviting. Those colorful homes facing the sea would be where I’d like to stay. Any discounts for your readers?
Mendocino is one of my favorite coastal communities. You would enjoy the emphasis on art, Rusha. Discounts are few and far between, I’m afraid. 🙂 Once the artists discovered Mendocino, the tourists weren’t far behind. –Curt
Sometimes I wish I were wealthy and unencumbered. So much to see and do in America.
You and Bert work in quite a lot of travel, Rusha. We probably spend less on the road than we do at home when we are traveling by RV. Not a great deal of wealth out this way. 🙂 But we do get around the ‘encumber’ bit! –Curt