Day 5: Wine Country

Stayed the night in Ukiah with Adrienne at her pink apartment which used to be a candy shop.

Then it was on to the Wine Garage in Calistoga where all the wine is $25 or less. Tasted some Cabernets, have to say I am not a big fan. The drive from 101 to Calistoga and down into Napa is stunning, but all my pictures suck because the turnouts are not in scenic positions. And I was kind of feeling a time crunch because most tasting rooms close between 4-5.


Stopped in Oakville, which is midway through the stretch of wall to wall vineyards. This place was just a wine making facility rather than a full fledged vineyard. They process the grapes for tons of smaller local growers and chose ten to feature each day so you get to try lots of stuff you wouldn't find anywhere else. The tasting was really steep, $5 per one ounce pour! But I got to try a $110 Cabernet (It tasted a lot like the $25 dollar ones I had earlier but I don't really like reds, remember?). My favorite was the $16 Elizabeth Rose Sauvignon Blanc which I got a bottle of for this weekend.
Had lunch just next door at the Oakville Grocery, which was like a tiny Elephant's Deli. I don't know if this was a giant homemade Oreo or a Whoopie Pie but what I do know is that it was delicious.
Finished up wine country in Petaluma at Cline vineyard 10 minutes before they closed, so only time for a couple tastes (which were free!). The wines were also very affordable. I loved the Viognier but the woman working there was slammed and adamant about closing at 6 on the dot so there wasn't really time for me to buy (which is probably for the best, I'm out of room in my cooler). The grounds were nice, lots of water features, gardens, a Califonia Mission Museum, and a pair of Andean miniature donkeys. Yes, a donkey version of a pony.

Tomorrow: Golden Gate park, some aimless wandering in San Francisco, maybe the Legion of Honor or a sunset harbor cruise.

Day 4: The Redwoods

Started the day off right in Arcata at Renata's Crepes. It was a mushroom, prosciutto and jack cheese crepe, very good. The jack cheese came form this factory, which I visited in Loleta:

The cheese was pretty standard Tillamook quality but I always have to get me some curds when I get the chance.



Ah yes, the Avenue of the Giants. The visitors center is pretty much the last stop from the direction I was going so I had to do a bit of doubling back to find the trails I wanted to hike. I didn't get to see as much as I wanted to but I kind of expected that outcome before getting there.


It's pretty much impossible to accurately capture the scale of the trees. While I was impressed by the height, none seemed as wide as I was expecting. Have we killed all of the house-width trees already?
I shelled out $5.00 for a tourist trap drive-thru tree in Leggett (I counted at least 2 other places that offer one along the way) but chickened out and didn't drive though. It just didn't seem wide enough for my car. However, A mini cooper managed to fit through after I got there.

Had to skip Fort Bragg and Mendocino to get to Ukiah at a decent time, but I enjoyed the drive on 101, the hills are very beautiful and green and the grapevines are just starting to grow back.

Tomorrow: Anderson Valley (briefly), Napa, Sonoma, another cheese factory that specializes in Roquefort and Brie, and Oakland.

Day 3: Northern California Coast

Didn't sleep very well last night so I got a late start, but luckily I didn't need to cover many miles today. My first stop was the Crescent City Overlook Park. There was a nice little hike down to the beach where I found this:

There were tons of plants I wasn't super familiar with either so that was cool. Blogger only seems to let me add 5 photos so this is a super abbreviated set- I took scads of pictures today. Maybe I'll get around to putting the rest on Facebook.

Next was the forest planet of Endor, uh... I mean Big Tree Wayside at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. It looked very well traveled and a bit like a 'greatest hits' of the redwoods but I have the Avenue of the Giants to explore tomorrow. Also, It had just finally stopped raining so I didn't want to press my luck with a long hike and no waterproof shoes.


On to the Carter House (which is now a private and inaccesable club) in Eureka. There were several of these (albeit less over the top) restored 1880s-ish victorian mansions in town. As I was wandering I stumbled upon the Lost Coast Brewery (which in my head was on the east coast):

If you can get your hands on their Tangerine Wheat Beer then buy it and some for me as well. I didn't get to try the Raspberry Brown Ale, they were sold out :(. After the uncomfortable bed last night I splurged tonight and got a pretty swanky room at the Blue Lake Casino just outside Arcata for $79. Now I just need to avoid giving them a whole lot more of my money at the casino...

Tomorrow: Avenue of the Giants, Fort Bragg, Mendocino, Boonville (hopefully I'll find Anderson Valley Brewing), and Ukiah!

Day 2: Southern Oregon Coast

First stop: Eel Creek dunes south of Florence Oregon. Nice hike except for the quicksand (I was up to my knees!) The weather was perfect!



Simpson Reef lookout at Cape Arago. I could hear the sea lions but not really see them.



Another lookout just south of Port Orford. South of here is Humbug State Park, It was gorgeous from the car, I'll have to make a point to actually visit it someday.

View of the water (the overexposed stuff in the distance) from Azalea Park in Brookings. Unfortunately the Azaleas are not even budding yet. Can you spot the wildlife?



I think I'll wear some sunscreen tomorrow.

I'm currently in Crescent City, California at a somewhat sleazy hotel. Tomorrow: The Redwoods!

Day 1: Eugene

My how the U of O has changed. The VPL and bakery next door are now a massive stadium and an LED bedazzled athlete only study lounge. Laughing Planet and The Bier Stein are still cool. I had some great film-geeking out with Wes and of course some quality time with Ben and Tiffany.

Tomorrow: The Dunes!

Day 0 - Getting ready to leave

Tomorrow is the big day! I have more packing to do so this will be brief.

Here is my itinerary:

Portland, OR
Eugene, OR
Florence, OR
Crescent City, CA
Eureka, CA
Ukiah, CA
San Francisco
Monterey, CA
San Simeon, CA
Los Angeles
San Diego
Las Vegas, NV
South Rim, Grand Canyon, AZ
Flagstaff, AZ
Albuquerque, NM
Santa Fe, NM
Carlsbad Caverns, NM
San Antonio, TX
Austin, TX
New Orleans, LA (joined by my mother)
Panama City Beach, FL
Sarasota, FL
Savannah, GA
Washington DC
Columbus, OH?
St. Louis, MO
Somewhere in Kansas?
Denver, CO
Canyonlands, UT
Salt Lake City, UT
Reno/Minden, NV
Portland, OR

Approximately 8,500 miles!