I took notes on some of the great places we visited along the northern California coast during June-Aug. 2015. Somehow I never posted them, though I may have mentioned the excellent, Hiker’s Hip Pocket Guide to the Mendocino Coast, by Bob Lorentzen. We used it regularly. My own notes are these:

Places visited on the California Coast between Pt. Arena and Bruhel Point, Westport, CA
These are listed from North to South, with the date of the visit(s), when I noted them:
Bruhel Point, S. of Westport
• Pullout at M 74.0 or 74.5
• There are picnic tables and benches and a trail to the cliff edge. If you walk the path S along the bluff there is access to the shore.
• Go at low tide to get out on the rocks. Good tidepools at low tide.
• There is a trail into the wetlands. Bring bug spray.

Lyndon La., north of Ft. Bragg  8/20/15
• Turn off Rte. 1 onto Lyndon La. Turn R (N) onto unpaved path before last house. The path makes a loop
• Park at the far end of the loop
• Take path W, cross haul road to several bluffs with rocky outcrops and beaches
• Tide pools, beach glass, very little abalone

Virgin Creek, N of Ft. Bragg
• Pullout N of Montessori school
• Woodpeckers along the trail
• Shore birds on beach and in mouth of Virgin Creek
• Phalarope, black turnstone, least sandpiper
• Tidepools

McKerricher State Park, Cleone Lake
• Entrance at M 64.87 for ranger station (no fee)
• Parking area for Lake Cleone
• Birdwatching around the pond, go counterclockwise to avoid closed section of boardwalk. On our second visit, we went clockwise and around the closed section. Not bad at all.
• Wrentit, orange crowned warbler, Virginia rail, Great blue heron, egret

McKerricher State Park, skip ranger station
• Turn off at M 63.81, W toward the water
• Parking and trail head are just S. of the street
• Wide sand beach for walking, swimming or birdwatching
• Sanderling, gulls, Townsend’s solitaire, Heerman’s gull, Western gull, hummingbirds along trail

McKerricher State Park, 7/19/15
• Turn W. from Rte 1 at mile 62.7, there’s a sign
• The beach is long and sandy with a few mussel shells. Very little for beachcombing.
• Park in furthest south lot and walk toward the seal viewpoint, or follow shore toward S. facing rocks

Coastal Access to beach south of Mckerricher State Park
• Trail from side of road goes W, crosses Haul Rd., continues W to the shore. Bluffs are low, beach is sandy
• Very good tide pools, not much beachcombing.

Pudding Creek, Coastal Access
• Just N of mile 62.0
• N. side of Pudding Creek near trestle bridge
• Large beach, good birding
• Try Boice Rd. Mile 58.50

Hare Creek Beach, S. end of Ft. Bragg, W of Hwy. 1
• Turn W. at Ocean View Dr, also access to Todd Pt. and College of the Redwoods
• Turn L (S) at first intersection, Harbor Ave. Park W. of trailhead
• OR park on Main St. Ft. Bragg by the N. End of Hare Creek ridge. Trail head is at N. end of bridge
• OR cross ridge toward S. and turn R at first St, Old Coast Hwy, then right onto Cypress
• Parking and trailhead at narrow opening between board fence and split rail fence, this is unmarked. All routes descend to a very nice small beach

Belinda Point public access, terrific
• Turn W on Boice La. S of Mendocino Botanical Garden
• Turn S on Ocean Dr.
• Sign on R after Pacific Way
• Path runs between houses to the bluff
• Stairs to the beach, some glass, little driftwood, no abalone
• Continue S on Ocean Dr. just before the end at a cluster of Do Not Enter signs is great birdwatching: northern Flicker, Hairy and Downy woodpeckers, chestnut backed chickadee

Todd Point, Ft. Bragg
• Turn W. on Ocean View Dr south of Noyo Harbor
• Follow to end and park
• Pah runs along the bluffs, there are some picnic tables along the Noyo Harbor side of the park
• July 4th fireworks are here.
• We saw whates spouting and diving during August.
• There is a large cormorant rookery.
• You can climb down onto the rocks but it is steep
• Form the rocks it would be possible to fish
• We saw downy baby gulls here on 7/25/15

Pine Beach, from Pine Beach Inn
• Park by turquoise house of Ocean Ave. aprox M. 58
• Walk to far N portion of motel to start of path.
• Beach has fresh water stream and small lagoon
• No tide pools, abalone, glass, driftwood
• Lots of birds, chickadee, pygmy nuthatch, waxwings, plover, goldfinch, wilson’s warbler, flycatcher, Hutton’s vireo, yellow warbler

Jughandle N. Headlands, 7/21/15, 8/9 and 8/17/15
• Turn W. from Rte 1 onto Ocean Dr.
• Park on dirt opposite Pine Beach Inn
• We took the trail W from the parking area and came out at dramatic bluffs
• Beaches vary in difficulty of access, though the trail runs across one (Belden’s beach?)
• We walked as far as the point south of Jefferson Way and returned to the car via Jefferson and Rte. 1
• Beaches have some very private spots.
• Driftwood, no glass or abalone
• All beaches are sand.
• Pileated woodpecker along trail to headlands
• Semipalmated plover, least sandpiper, black phoebe, pygmy nuthatch, song sparrow, chestnut backed chickadee

Jughandle State Park, 6/28/15, 8/5/15
Snorkeling, sand beach
• All beaches on N side of park are sand
• To start snorkeling, turn R (N) at trail map by parking lot. Take first trail to the left and follow to the trail down to the sandy beach on the N side of the point. Start on the beach and snorkel around the point toward the south.

Caspar Headlands-fishing, from the South
• Stop at station opposite Russian Gulch (E of Rte. 1) to pick up a permit for Caspar Headlands. This is annual so you only have to go once. It is probably good to do this just so the state has records that people use and enjoy Caspar Headlands, despite its small size.
• Back on Rte. 1, go N to Cabrillo Dr. (Rd. 409) just before (S of) the bridge over Caspar Creek.
• Follow road past beach and uphill until it meets S. Caspar Headlands Dr. Look for pullout indicated on Cal State Parks map and park.
• Walk toward the ocean, take the central path to areas C, D, E. We fished on the south facing rocks just after low tide.

Caspar Headlands Coastal Access, from the North
• Turn W. from Rte. 1 at Pt. Cabrillo exit
• Go in to beach
• Follow road up hill past beach
• Trail head is off S. Caspar Dr. There are three paths that branch onto the headlands
• This is where we saw abalone in a tidepool.
• To return, follow S. Caspar Dr. back around to the S/SE until you reach Pt. Cabrillo Rd.
• Pt. Cabrillo Dr. and Rte. 1 returns you to the highway by the entrance to Russian Gulch State Park

Caspar, 6/28/15
• Pacifica is the second right turn off the Caspar Rd. as you go south from the Caspar Rd. turnoff from Hwy 1.
• Park behind healing center on Pacifica and you will see trail head.
• Trail goes sto an overlook over a stony beach, but there is no way down to it. The trail is bordered by a fence on one side and a huge brush pile along the other side.
• There is no beach access from Seadrift Dr.
• There is no coast access along Pacifica beyond the healing center parking and trail head.

Caspar Cemetery
• Turn W. from Rte. 1 at Pt. Cabrillo exit, Rd. 409
• Look for turnoff on the left. There is a barrier, but space to park.
• Follow path to cemetery.
• Southernmost occurrence of sitka spruce, preferred feeding for crossbills
• We didn’t see any, but it is beautiful.

Russian Gulch North Side, 6/30/15, 7/26/15
• Turn off Ret. 1 at Russian Gulch State Park, mile 53.
• Turn left, pass guard booth (pay or show tag), take right fork.
L. fork is parking, Center road goes to the beach
• Follow right fork to farthest parking area, end of road
• Follow trail past blowhole, take right hand forks
• Fish off the north side of the rocks.

Russian Gulch South side, 6/27/15
Fishing
• Turn W off Rte 1 at R 52.00, road goes about 1 m to a dead end. Scuba and abalone divers depart from a spot about halfway along. Park at the dead end and walk back to the South Headlands Trail.
• Follow this trail W to the grassy point for fishing. You have to get down to the rocks but there are a couple of steep paths. Both N & S sides have good spots
• Tidepools here: mussel, sea anemone, tiny snail, crab
Cypress Drive, north of Mendocino
• No parking in the neighborhood
• There are access paths on either side of houses at the end of the street, by the Sea Dreams motel.
• Are these ocean access even if they are marked No Access?
• Try Drifters Reef Rd.

Brewery Gulch Rd.
• Just S of Big River Rd.
• Several access points
• Entry path goes to a broad overlook of Mendocino town and Big River beach
• This is a good place to take law chairs
• No access to rocks/beach that we could see.

Spring Ranch
• Access from pullout at mile 49.0 (aprox) on Rt. 1
• Trail goes to the water and then right, follow to end to see sea lions
• Left goes to rocks for hiking.
• Peterson Lane-park off Hwy 1 in cleared area.
• Walk west to find path to VanDamme beach (S); Spring Ranch path is N.

VanDamme State Park, hiking 7/20/15
• Take Hwy 1 S of Mendocino to Little River Rd., turn East
• Park at Pygmy Forest, the road has become Airport Rd. at this point
• We hiked the Old Logging Rd. Trail
• On a later visit we hiked the Fern Canyon Trail
• 3 hrs. round trip including stop for lunch at the bottom.

VanDamme State Park, beach combing
• Easy parking access from Rte.1 just south of Spring Ranch
• Best beachcombing for abalone
• Some beach glass

Little River
• No coastal access from N of Albion to Little River
• There may be access W of Little River Post Office, very small headland can be accessed from the P.O.

Little River Cemetery
• Path runs through the cemetery from the cemetery gate.
• W of the cemetery is a blow hole and a large sinkhole. It is possible to enter the sinkhole.
• There is a trail and a rope but it is steep and a small area at the bottom once you get there.
• The trail goes to the bluffs but the overlook is very small
• No shore access
• Nuthatches, chickadees
Dark Gulch Beach and Navarro Bluff via stairs, Heritage House Coastal Access
• Turn W off Hwy 1 at M45.25. This turnoff is easy to miss, it is unmarked between a wooden fence and a driveway
• Stairs turn and end at the beach, which is invisible from the road
• Beautiful beach, little abalone, no glass
• M. 44.87 just south of this marker on the W side of the Rd (Rte. 1) is a pine tree with Christmas bulbs on it. You can pull over and look at it.

Navarro Headlands
• Pullout just south of R. 41.95 on Rte. 1.
• Beautiful bluff walk, with one area on the point furthest SW that has an especially wide range of wild flowers.

Navarro by the Sea, just south of Albion
• Mostly sand beach, some gravel
• No abalone or glass
• Huge collection of driftwood, some made into fanciful structures by visitors
• On Hwy 1 just S of junction with Rte. 128, turn right at M 40.15
• Go all the way to the end of the road to park. There are restrooms and trash cans
• To climb the bluffs on the old coast Hwy trail, look for the trailhead at .35 mi from the turnoff
• A sign on the old road says “closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic” follow old road up the bluffs

Greenwood State Beach, 8/13/15
• Parking in the town of Elk, across from the store, M 34.05
• Easy downhill path to the beach
• Picnic tables on the bluff and one at the beach
• Lots of driftwood, some sea glass
• Spectacular views

Manchester State Beach, 8/12/15
• Kiney Rd. M. 21.40 goes in to parking and rest room
• Trail to beach is long
• Beach is very long, like a beach in SoCal
• Lots of driftwood, but no abalone or sea glass.

Pt. Arena pier
• We went on a cold day and enjoyed having lunch near the pier

Driving in from the north to Pasadena we missed most of the rush hour traffic and arrived around 6 pm. Unloaded most of the car at Amanda’s house, since she and Jimmy are the inheritors, willing or unwilling, of our miscellany. They are rewarded by getting our leftover kitchen ingredients and picnic supplies, and stuck with disposing of the oddments they may not want. Jimmy is taking some of my collection of abalone bits from the beach and showed me a pendant he has already made (since last weekend when they visited).
Jonathan voted for a visit to Oinkster for dinner for the best pastrami in Los Angeles, and the line was much shorter than usual, so we dined on the patio. Definitely a place to visit if you are in the Eagle Rock, Glendale, Highland Park area.
Since the young folk have day jobs we were on our own the next day and I had gotten free tickets to a taping of Jeopardy. Haven’t we all wanted to be on Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune? Studio audience tickets are free. We met our friends the Riggall’s for lunch in Pasadena and then set off for beautiful Culver City for the taping. You show up at 1:30 pm and by 2:30 pm you have gone through a metal detector, handbag search, standing in line and filing through the exhibit of memorabilia to the auditorium. When the two shows we watched air on Oct. 8 & 9 we’ll be in the rear of the audience on the right side of your screen. I think they pan across us. It was a lot of fun.

In LA all activities are judged by traffic or potential for traffic, so our afternoon was a success because we did not get bogged down for more than a few minutes. That was important because we had to rest up for our dinner at Racion, a Spanish-inspired restaurant in Pasadena where until recently, Amanda (our oldest) was the pastry chef. Amanda and Jimmy Woodhead, his mom Connie, Jonathan and I probably had the largest table in the restaurant. This was my second visit, Jonathan’s first, and dinner was excellent as usual. The menu is tapas style, with the size of the portion increasing from the top of the menu page to the bottom. We sampled anchovies in tomato sauce, the most delicious octopus, beef tongue bunuelos, lamb meatballs, crispy prawns, milk-poached asparagus, and the divine chicken croquettes. Chef Teresa came out to say hello and brought us a cool creation she has been developing, cucumber granita with a froth on top, a sprinkle of dried creamy bits and eucalyptus powder. My description doesn’t do it justice, but take a look at the menu and visit if you are in the area. http://www.racionrestaurant.com/

Racion: 119 W. Green St., Pasadena, CA

We left our wonderful house in Little River, CA (thank you Eckhart, Birdie, Jenna and VRBO) to head south for LA and then Barcelona. Down by a couple of boxes, the car was still packed to the doors. I gave up on the bird feeder–after the raccoon visit it was held together with fishing line. I’m not sure how items expand to fill a Prius. We were like clowns in a VW bug.

Our first stop was the Centrella Inn in Pacific Grove (Monterey). The Centrella is a fabulous Victorian house B&B. I lay in bed admiring the complex light fixture with its pipes, glass shades and ornamental brass details. When I mentioned it at breakfast I was told that they are original to the house, early dual fuel lighting—the shades that curve upward were gaslights and the shades that curve down were electric. Can you imagine the work involved in installing these?

My chat with a woman at the desk led us to exchange stories of beach combing. She recommends the beach at the end of Tioga in Sand City. I wish I had time to stop in.
Our goal in stopping overnight in Monterey was to visit its world famous aquarium. It’s $39.50 for a regular admission ($34.50 for seniors over 65…), but lives up to its reputation.

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 Guide books recommend planning at least three hours for a visit. We had to leave at noon or risk sitting all evening in LA traffic so we found a compromise. We only visited exhibits with live creatures, skipping all the video and photographic material (Sorry, exhibit developers). We may have seen all of them. We couldn’t spend time on the outdoor terrace where you can observe whatever is passing, including sea otters. I did pet an abalone at the touch tank, watch the keepers feed and do some training with the sea otters. It is a very wonderful place. Tore ourselves away at noon and headed for LA.

Sea otter.

I was about to pat the abalone.

The aquarium also has a wide variety of seabirds. The tall bird center is an avocet.

We’ve been having a great time watching the birds on the bird feeder and successfully shooed away the squirrels. We met our match today….

Here’s the raccoon that visited yesterday, shook the feeder and ate what fell out.

Here’s the bird feeder this morning….

Empty. And there was no seed left on the deck.

He also drank all the sugar water out of the hummingbird feeder. I guess I’ll be bringing these in at night now.