Mendocino, CA

June 5
Miles Driven:
Funds Raised: $675


Driving up the California coast on Hwy 1 is something everyone should do. And this far north! But veer east when you get to Manchester and take Mountain View Rd. It’s incredibly scenic, and so fun to drive! And I wish I could add smell to my blog, because the air is so fresh and clean I think my lungs were confused! Bring music though, because the only station I could get was the local public radio – which normally, I’m all over. But I checked in just in time for Linda and Sara’s Farm & Garden Show. They had a guest today, some guy who knows more than you can possibly image about squash. It’s a call in show, and who knew there were that many people with questions about squash! I pulled over at a winery to indulge in a little wine tasting. But being the designated driver and all, I could only taste so many.
 
   Janelle Teague at the Scharffenberger Cellars Winery

Once I got back in my car, Linda and Sara were still squashing it up. When they wrapped up their hour show they said, “well Bart I’m sure we could spend another 3 hours talking about squash, we’ll have to have you back!” And they meant it.

My destination for the evening was a farm house at the Jug Handle Farm Nature Preserve in Caspar, CA. It’s this great old farm house built in the 1860’s and if you work an hour on the farm you get $5 off your room. I was all over it! Or so I thought. When I got there, the woman who runs it wasn’t there. Spoke to another woman who said that maybe she would be in around 4 or 5 but go ahead and go in. I decided to cruise over to Mendocino – a very cool town with a population of a little over 800. The entire town has been declared a historic district, and deservingly so. It’s right on a bluff above the ocean and many of the residents are artists and writers. Definitely worth a stop.
I eventually made my way back to Casper, CA. But now there wasn’t anyone at all at the house. There was a guy either clipping or hiding behind a bush but he seemed to belong to the little house next door. I wandered in. It’s a great old house, with huge rooms, piano, reading room, 10 bedrooms. Then a man and his son walked up. “Do you work here?” I asked. “No, I used to. Just make yourself at home. The cypress room has the best bed. Good luck.” And they were gone.
OK, so here I am with this entire farm house to myself. Which ,hmmm, well no cell phone service, no phone, no key, no locks on the bedroom doors and 18 beds to look under every time I want to leave and come back. Ugh. This would be so cool with a few friends, but maybe it’s from living in a big city where you’d have to scale 6 flights to even get to my window, but this seemed the makings of a sleepless night. Even if I screamed, no one would hear me – except the bush guy who is probably the person who would be making me scream anyway.   Jughandle Farm and Nature Preserve

I drove back to Mendocino to get a cell phone signal and called my sister. We both agreed, if you aren’t going to be able to sleep then maybe it’s not worth it. I checked in at the Mendocino Historic Hotel with a small room with a view of the ocean, the bathroom down the hall and this internet café right around the corner. There’s an ….interesting… I think woman… next to me. She is very sensitive to smells. She smelled someone smoking across the street and now she made the girl stop mopping because of the chemicals. She kind of looks like a cross between Mickey Rourke and the Native American that was in those Keep America Beautiful commercials in the 70’s. I’d take a picture, but she probably would be disturbed by the flash.
 
  
Point Arena Lighthouse
  Adding to my sand collection at Big River Beach