winifredcreamer

Low Tide follies, Sunday July 6-Monday July 7 (and an abalone bandit)

The lowest tides between July 1 and Sept 1 were on July 6 and 7. We decided to take advantage of the very lowest tide on Sunday to visit the beaches to the south of the Glass Beach in Ft. Bragg. This was .9 ft lower than the usual low tide. These are the beachesContinue reading “Low Tide follies, Sunday July 6-Monday July 7 (and an abalone bandit)”

Happy July 4, 2015

The July 4th parade in Mendocino was truly eclectic. There were fire trucks from many jurisdictions in Mendocino county. We missed the presence of a high school marching band, but there was live music provided by people who looked to be about our age. The California state parks were represented. There were also political floats,Continue reading “Happy July 4, 2015”

Moving Day, July 1, 2015

We moved from Little River to Ft. Bragg, CA for the month of July, though we plan to move back to the Little River house in August. It was a bit of a trial to pack up, though probably a good exercise. There are somewhat fewer canned goods, but the car still ended up filledContinue reading “Moving Day, July 1, 2015”

Summer Stories

If you ever had a small child, you understand this scene. I’m sure the family that this shoe belonged to passed us on the trail just a few minutes earlier. Whenever this happened with one of our girls, I always wondered what could possibly have happened to that shoe. Unlike this photo (above), most ofContinue reading “Summer Stories”

A drive through the Redwoods, 6/25/15

We turned inland, driving into the woods. There are a series of state parks that extend inland from the coast road (Rte. 101) for ten miles or more if you can find the road. We twisted and turned up and down through the forest, winding down Caspar Orchard Road for almost 8 miles until itContinue reading “A drive through the Redwoods, 6/25/15”

Another gorgeous day on the coast

There has been much less mist and much more sun the past three days (6/22-6/24), and we have continued to explore the coast between our house in Little River and Ft. Bragg, our next stop.We walked a trail along the headlands just south of Mendocino Bay, near Chapman Point: That’s the town of Mendocino inContinue reading “Another gorgeous day on the coast”

A Taste of Redwood Valley, Solstice, and Father’s Day, all in one.

June 21, 2015 was all of the above. We didn’t know much about “A Taste of Redwood Valley” but we took a chance and drove there, and that turned out to be a great idea. Today was a community-wide tasting that included seven vineyards and one craft distillery. Participants included Barra of Mendocino (Girasole Vineyards),Continue reading “A Taste of Redwood Valley, Solstice, and Father’s Day, all in one.”

Don’t even think about catching or eating Abalone.

We got up in time to be on the coast at low tide just after 8 am. There are only a few days this summer when unusually low tide coincides with the 8 am start time for abalone fishing. In fact, the start time was moved to 8 am from an earlier hour to decreaseContinue reading “Don’t even think about catching or eating Abalone.”

California State Parks are the place to go.

California is full of state parks, something I did not know. Between Mendocino and Ft. Bragg are a string of parks that provide access to the coast. Some charge $8.00 to park. If you park elsewhere and walk in there’s no charge, but sometimes there is no alternative. We’ve started looking for cars parked byContinue reading “California State Parks are the place to go.”

The Bahamas Effect and second homes

We are in a gorgeous gated neighborhood, where each house has a view of the ocean, the spectacular Mendocino coast. Tonight as we walked down the street we realized that about 75% of the homes are unoccupied. Yes, it’s Sunday night and people may have gone back to the Bay Area for work, but weContinue reading “The Bahamas Effect and second homes”