Pescadero & Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Pescadero

Bay Area Day Trip

Feb 14 , 2010

It’s a Long weekend – Presidents Day. Surprisingly – we have no plans.

Fall back option: Lake Tahoe. The problem with doing a day trip to Tahoe – we had to wake up sufficiently early ( Like 5am) . That’s usually not possible after a night as long as last night was. We woke up at 10am. What plans did we have for the day? – None.

After waking up leisurely at 10am ( sometimes that’s OK!) , a Lazy round of Coffee, Puris ( yes – I made them from scratch) & Prashant’s Aloo, a long shower and some phone calls we were all set to start debating on what to do with the day!

We have quite extensively covered route 1 all the way SB from jct 17 and all the way NB from Half Moon Bay onwards. There is this huge patch in between that was undiscovered for us. The destination: Pescadero

Route & Drive time:

From San Jose: 280N  -> Portola Road -> CA 84W -> Hwy 1. That’s a little over 50 miles – 1 hr 15 mins.

280 is great this time of the year. The hills are green and there is a lot of blooming everywhere. It’s lush. Occasionally you’d get to see those happy California Cows. ( It’s my Route to work too!!) After exiting in Menlo Park and a drive through Portola Rd to CA84, we noticed a whole bunch of beautiful properties hidden amidst towering redwoods with long driveways. It’s amazing to think people love in such places just 2 miles from Palo Alto and the Stanford Hub. I’m pretty sure some big shot Donor of Stanford stays there. The drive up 84 is also very scenic. You get to see Stanford down below as you go up the hill. But I must warn you – it can be quite taunting if you have motion sickness. The road meanders every ¼ mile for around 10 miles!

Attractions:

On reaching Pescadero, all of the attractions were within a 10 mile stretch. So it wasn’t much driving within.

Pescadero State Beach:

Turn Left into Hwy 1 and within 4 miles is the Pescadero State Beach. It was the Day after “The Mavericks” in Half Moon Bay. Clearly there was a storm somewhere far-far away in the pacific that rendered the beaches with some spectacular swells. This one is great to walk along - the shore is full of dunes and there supposedly are Harbor seals around ( I didn’t get to see any). A great place to spend sometime watching the Ocean. We did come back here for some pics during sunset before driving into Pescadero.

Time Spent: 30 mins

Website: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=522

Pebble Beach:

Driving along the Pacific on Hwy 1, there are numerous Vistas and tiny beaches that one could stop by for some pics, bird watching , or perhaps even whale watching! (Jan – April) We did stop multiple times, but the one we really liked the best was a short drive down south to pebble beach. 




The beach is really unique. It has some very interesting rock patterns due to water gradation and stones that look like precious gems! They glistened in the sun, as we strolled - sun shining over our heads and the ocean roaring ahead. It is definitely worth a visit.

Time Spent: 15- 20 min

Pigeon Point Lighthouse:

This is where we spent most of our time today. It’s something you cannot miss – just visually (even if you wanted to!! ) – It is the tallest lighthouse on the west Coast and perhaps the most scenic in terms of location! Point Arena – was fogged out when I visited, Point Cabrillo was small, scenic and had me hike up a mile to get to it, Point Reyes – is a close second.

From where this is located, you can pretty much see Ocean on 3 sides and the swells are humbling to say in the least. In some parts they would end in a thundering crash and in others the swell would just carry all the way to the shore, giving you the impression that it could destroy anything in its path – but would just gently subside and vanish in mist just yards from the beach. They literally tease you and are a joy to watch.

It was interesting to see the skull of a gray whale near the foot of the lighthouse . think it was a pup – since the skull cracks had not sealed completely ( a nugget I got from forensic files :D )

There were times when I spotted birds trying to fly into the ocean desperately flapping their wings, but they would actually be stationery! It was hilarious.

The best part : The Hostel located right next to the lighthouse that has private rooms and a hot tub right on the bluff!!! The most spectacular hot tub on earth, from what I hear. I am hoping to visit sometime again, stay here and write about that too. But I need to get reservations for that. Apparently it’s sold out till July!!! The booking opens 6 months in advance. So I need to wait until march 1 to book for August ( and I don’t even know if I am going to be here then!) – another option is just to make a group large enough to book the entire dorm! – that would be fun!

Time spent: 45 mins

Website: http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=533

Hostal website: http://www.norcalhostels.org/pigeon/

Gazos Creek in the Ano Nuevo State Reserve:

This reserve is normally knows fr its elephant seals, but today, we just visited simply because we saw an incredibly large , potentially photogenic flock of birds. The creek carried right into the ocean and that’s where all of these birds hung out. 


Hundreds of gulls and a lone pelican. We spent a lot of time tracking the pelican waiting for it to come closer so we could get some good shots. 


The birds flapped around, enjoying the flowing water of the creek and I think they liked being carried backwards into the ocean. Something like a roller coaster ride for them. And it was a weekend – party time for the gulls!

Time spent: 30 mins

The Town of Pescadero:

Pescadero – meaning “A Place to Fish”.  It did have a booming fishing industry sometime in the 1800s. Now it has tourism nearby, its history and artichokes.

Pescadero is 2 miles into Pescadero creek Rd from Hwy 1. It was very anticlimactic when we reached. Too tiny! The whole town was just 1 road and you could see from one end to another from any spot! But it’s a nice hamlet to grab from great food from! It’s known for its berries and Artichokes.

We did stop at the much recommended Duarte’s Tavern. This is what I read about it “Owner Ron Duarte's grandfather opened the place in 1894 and Ron has been refining the restaurant since the 1950s. He cooks with fresh local ingredients, creating such dishes as crab cioppino and his celebrated cream of artichoke soup”. So I went craving for the artichoke soup, only to discover that it is made with Chiken Broth. I almost paid for it when Prashant popped the critical question. I guess I just wanted it so much, that I forgot to check. Also, there was such a mob there!! Waiting time was 1hr. Yes, 1 hr!!! – that’s as much as some of the more popular places in san Francisco on a Saturday night!!! So we got Green Chile soup (the only vegetarian option) to go. I did notice Artichoke Ravioli on the menu. Perhaps, next time. “ceramic garden torches at Luna Sea or stained glass, jewelry, and cat-themed gifts at Stage Road Shops” is another thing I wanted to do. But it was after sunset and they were all closed.

I did get a chance to stop at the Arcangeli Bakery for some of Mike Benedettis home made fresh artichoke bread. It was nothing short of spectacular. It’s the best bread I have had in my life! I thought I liked the Jalapeno bread at Anderson Bakery , but this one just crushes that!

All that was left now was the drive back and then dinner ( Green Chili soup and the Bread!)

More for Later in this Area:

Butano Redwood State Park:

This is another place I wanted to visit – but did get a chance to today. What I do plan to do is tomake a trip of it on another. Cover the elephant seal walk and hikes down this canyon. Hope to write about it very soon

Pescadero Marsh:

This seems to be closer to Half Moon Bay.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=522

Ano Nuevo State Reserve:

The Breeding site of Northern Elephant seals. Doing the 2.5 hr guided tour in Feb to see harbour seal pups!

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1111

Mendocino and Fort Bragg

Mendocino and Fort Bragg

Day 1
November 27th

The Drive from San Jose to Mendocino – 4 hrs on 101 and nearly 5 hrs on hwy 1.We’d done the Hwy 1 drive south of San Francisco multiple times and up north till Point Reyes. It made sense to Join Hwy 1 somewhere near Bodega Bay and drive all the way up.

The Sonoma Coast
It was rather uneventful until we started driving along the Pacific. I’ve stayed in Bodega Bay, camped on Wrights beach and covered all the beaches in between. The surf was always rough but never looked Dangerous. The sight of 20ft waves crashing into rocks and the ocean in front literally roaring was menacing. Ive never seen the Pacific in this Avatar. We had to make a stop at Salt Point, for old times sake. ( and also for a restroom break – yes, the campground has flush toilets)

The Drive upto Point Arena
The Road is reasonable wide, but a single lane each way. It took us up the hill and then down again. It was interesting for me coz nowhere on the big sure drive does the road go so high up the hill and yet by the bluff. Quite breathtaking – until the fog played foul. We drove past the Gualala regional park ( so the board read ). The plan was to stop at the Point Arena lighthouse. We stopped at the town just before , by the same name. It was time for a cup of Coffee from the only shop that was open that day – everyone else was eating turkey. Family owned little place. She named her smoothies after her kids! Perfect Mocha. Got the sugar just right. We couldn’t see a thing ahead of us on the road, but something made us turn left and try our luck with the lighthouse. The tallest one on the pacific coast. That was 15 minutes we were never getting back.


Sandrahla!
Continued driving through till we reached the house. The landscape looked pretty much the same all through – fog. Thank God for the Coffee. The keys had already been picked up from the Coast Getaways office on Little Lake rd. All we needed to do was to get home. Beal Ln can easily be missed ( But the GPS doesn’t, so that worked out well). It’s a narrow road and 33150 was somewhere near the end of the street. What is amazing is that Google has a street view of this! It is practically a Private Street leading to a pathway over the dunes to our private beach!!!!

Sandrahla was a beautiful home with a spectacular yard. Spacious and beautifully landscaped. There was even an outdoor deck with a grill and a hot tub. To the left as you go through the front door is a large living room and formal dining room; straight ahead is the family room with the 50" TV and another dining area that is open to the spacious kitchen, including a big island--enough room for anyone who wanted to play chef. the master bedroom had a huge bathroom suite each of the other 3 bedrooms were themed- Asian, Hawaiian, and Am. Indian. 4 beds and 3 baths for 4 families. That was a lot of room. The private dunes dunes and beach were on the Mackerricher State Park & Beach. Btw, i got the Asian room.

The Agenda: Unpack – eat – play. We did drive a long way. Couldn’t have spent the evening better.

Day 2: Friday
November 28th

BBQ Prep
Normally we would wake up early and head out. This time we decided to Chill. It was vacation time – time to just be. Also – Rain was predicted. The morning was wet. The nice kind of wet. We had planned to BBQ weeks ahead. Rain was not going to stop us. Right after breakfast, what we did was marinate. MDH Tandoori BBQ masala + curd + Corriander chutney. Simple and yummy. cauliflower, zucchini, onions, paneer and bell peppers. The only thing we were missing were the mushrooms.

Walk into the dunes
A deer checked us out from atop the dunes. We had to go! Prashant went out on a reconnaissance ( but without his camera), he came back and I went along with him on the second trip. This time, we brought the camera without the SD card. By the time we got back to retrieve it, the whole mob was ready. So we started on the expedition again. There were 3 sets of prints – Deer, Mine, Prashant’s. wild.

The combination of open spaces and kids is lethal. They went crazy. I had no idea kids could run so fast with their tiny limbs. We had to take turns running with them. I love baby metabolism. I want it. It’s amazing how a bite of food consumption can take them over the roof! The dunes were totally un-spoilt and beautiful. It started getting a bit windy and we headed back. The good thing was that it looked like it was clearing up. We hoped the morning drizzle was the last we saw of the rains.

BBQ
The men had an afternoon out with the grill and some wine. Lots of fun and great food.

Mendocino and the Headlands
Come evening and we headed out to Mendocino. We had to drive back south towards Mendocino and just followed signs to the Mendocino Headlands state park. Mendocino is a little peninsular village which sits on rugged bluffs overlooking the pacific. It is simply beautiful – with its New England style architecture, galleries, inns and shops. A survivor of the free spirit and the era of peace and love. The state park surrounds the village making it accessible to everyone. A much appreciated buffer. The meandering drive took us along the bluff. The views were expansive and ocean was as unruly as it was the day before. We reached the tip and parked. The car shook. We looked at a bird in the sky and it was floating in the same spot while trying to fly. Another gull was actually walking backwards. It was hilarious. We got out of the car only to be pushed by the strongest headwinds I have ever encountered. It was a struggle to stand in one spot. It was a struggle to take pictures. It was exhilarating. Cold, but exhilarating. No one survived long enough. We had to keep running back to the car and recover before heading out again. I’m glad I had that experience. Wouldn’t have wanted it to be otherwise.

In the Village
We drove into the village at stopped at Harvest Market for some local wine and cheese. ( and also some organic dark chocolate with raspberry). It was a nice little store. Definitely prefer to patronize this local store rather than the Safeway closer to Fort Bragg. We Strolled down, to grab some coffee before heading home. Coffee was at Moodys café. Quick and nice.

Day 3
November 29th

After a long night of Cranium, I think it was 11 by the time we left.

Point Cabrillo Lighthouse
South of Fort Bragg, closer to Russian Gulch State park is the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse. It’s located in a vast nature preserve. It’s a ½ mile hike on a paved road to get to the lighthouse. Here, we could actually climb down into the rocks and enjoy the surf up close. We could only imagine how this place would have been last evening with all the wind. The “lighthouse Inn”, overlooks the lighthouse and is actually open for renting! There are 6 rooms and 3 cottages – each costing between $250 and $300 per night. It’s definitely worth a try! There is also the first light keepers house that is maintained as a museum, with all it’s antiques preserved. It was interesting.

It was time to grab lunch. I wanted to try Piaci, but it was closed. We should have closed in quickly on an alternative, something local. I would have liked to try Mendo Bistro. What did we do? We Had lunch at Round Table Pizza. I am not going to talk about that for obvious reasons.

Van Damme State Park
While Northern California is famous throughout the world for towering redwoods and Douglas firs that grow to be hundreds of feet tall, there are, however, trees that cant grow to even 10 feet tall! This is what the Pygmy forest walk told us. It’s nestled in the Van Damme state park, 3 miles south of Mendocino. The natural condition of the soil is the cause of their stunted growth. They’re 100s of years old, live in these harsh conditions just a mile away from towering redwoods and are still alive! Pretty cool. There was a nice little boardwalk and the place was surprisingly chilly.

Russian Gulch State Park
After following directions to the park, we drove down the road and turned into the road that took us to “picnics”. The picnic tables are located right before the parks most interesting feature : the blowhole. The relentless pounding of the mighty pacific has burrowed a 200 ft tunnel island. Eventually, a huge section caved in measuring 60 ft deep by 100 ft wide, creating a spectacular sight. You can actually look down into the canton and see the churning, bubbling sea as it crashes and thunders below. The views of the headlands are also quite spectacular from this park – 2 miles north of Mendocino.

Back to Fort Bragg
On our way back, we stopped at the pedestrian bridge, right off hwy 1, to get some shots of the sunset. The access to this bridge is tricky. Our guess is that it is accessible via a paved path from the backyard of the motel right next to it. We had to climb rocks to get there.

Day 4
November 30th

This was our drive back. We drove into Mendocino on Hwy 1 , along the pacific. This time, we were driving though Hwy 128. Right after we crossed Van Damme State Park, we were stunned by the dramatic tunnel of redwoods that led all the way to the Anderson Valley. Navarro River Redwoods State Park offered the most beautiful natural corridor I have driven through. Superb wines and beautiful scenery is what awaited us in Anderson Valley. It is best known for its production of rich pinot noirs and Gewurztraminers. It’s full of small family owned wineries that make small batches of hand crafted wines. We stopped by at Handley Cellars for tasting and brought back souvenirs. Wine, art and beautifully scenery blend seamlessly in this fascinating region of Mendocino County. We stopped for lunch at Boonville, right at the southern edge of Anderson valley. Freshly made roasted veggie sandwich and a pizza with parsley and caramelized onions. My mouth’s watering as I type this. To me, stopping there was the best decision we took that day!

The rest of the drive was rather uneventful and we were consumed by the moroseness of the impending Monday morning. We had a wonderful vacation, tons of pictures, memories and now, an entry in this blog!