Wandering Retirees

Mendocino, CA to Eureka, CA

We had another good day. After a terrific breakfast at our Inn, we walked out to the point of Mendocino and took in the waves as they struck the cliffs. Satisfying booms and sprays the surf – it is so soothing to hear and see. The town is small and very cute, like most shore towns we’ve seen, even on the New England coast. Even more than our riding gear, our outfits screamed that we were out-of-towners. Jersey no less, though no big hair! Wide, soft-brimmed hats, down vests and gabardines are the uniform of choice. But the welcome we received was warm and friendly. Again. Nice.  
We filled up at $5.56 per gallon ( yikes, small costal town ) and set off for my sister Judy’s house in Eureka. We rode a bit more on CA Rt 1 and had gorgeous sights all along the coast. The twisties were fun but slowed us down some. It took us about 5 hours to cover 190 miles, with stops. We met a Vietnam combat vet, named Craig, who had just attended an annual convention in San Diego. He is 70 and was on a Victory trike with camping gear and was riding back (by a circuitous route) to his home in Wisconsin. He does this every year, and yes, he camps at night. Sometimes he manages to take his dog, Sophie, along. He showed us pics to prove it. He had a ton of good suggestions on where to go, how to get there, and what to be careful of. He strongly encouraged us to bring bear spray with us when we head into the northern mountain ranges. He does, and there have been occasions when he’s needed it. Consider it done.

We are spending the night at my sister, Judy’s home and we’re so glad for her generosity. Unfortunately she is not here tonight, but is in Boston. A scheduling mix-up. We’ll hook up in a few days at Glacier Nat’l Park in Montana. We can’t wait.

The weather continues a bit chilly, mostly in the 60’s. (Hmmm, what’s the temp in Jersey these days?) we had to layer up some. Looks like it will remain cool as we head into Oregon, Washington and east into Idaho and Montana. Looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.

Mendocino Headlands State Park