continuing travels to Eureka

5th December
Got up reasonably early to another sunny morning. Linda walked out to the lake shore. When I went out to join her she was sitting at the end of a lovely whitewashed jetty looking out over the lake. We spent a happy half hour taking in the view.
On our continuing travels around the lake we stopped at a little coffee shop called Mary Lou's. The owner was very chatty and was very liberal in his views. A little further along the lake we came to an organic vineyard that had been recommended by our hosts. It was a place to taste some organic wine. We bought a bottle as a treat for Shirl and Stephen
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The afternoon journey took us back through windy wooded roads, eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean again at Fort Bragg. The views were fantastic.
Our accommodation that night was a motel on the edge of town. We ate in a Mexican restaurant which was frequented by Mexicans always a good sign.

6th December -Fort Bragg to Garberville
After a hearty breakfast over the road from the motel – where the waitress insisted on filling our coffee cups after each sip, we headed off to do a coastal walk. Once again... and yes we deserved it... the sun was shining and there were terrific views over the Pacific Ocean. Several joggers and even a cowboy passed us by and we enjoyed a walk back along the beach to the sound of the waves. Watching the surfers was fun. On the road before midday we enjoyed the road trip along the coast and through the forests. I insisted ( that's Linda) we stopped at a redwood grove trail and it proved a good move: the sun shone through the glorious trees. Quite spectacular. Around 4pm we arrived in Garberville and had quite a giggle at some of the signs around town. We thought of staying at the Sherwood Forest motel, but after a look around it and several others we opted for the Best Western, which was very comfortable. Around 6pm we headed down from our room to experience the cheese and wine complimentary event. We were met by Muriel, who didn't let us get a word in edgeways, but was most entertaining. Next morning at 8.55 Brent announced: oh my god! We only have 5 minutes to catch breakfast! I hastily pulled on my underwear and jeans and we rushed downstairs to discover breakfast was until 10am! Oh well...we do like an early start. On the road again I felt very excited at the prospect of seeing my old friends in Eureka and visiting my old haunts. We stopped off at Founders Grove, but the views weren't great as that good old Eureka fog had come down. However by the time we reached the town it had almost cleared. Steve and Shirl opened the door of their lovely home and it felt like I'd never been away. The stove was lit and a crab sandwich on the table before we had time to say hi! Lovely. In the afternoon we walked down to Old Town with Shirley, while Stephen stayed home preparing a gourmet meal for us. I loved showing Brent around and enjoyed some of the new sights too: the murals were fabulous and the new Co-op very impressive...oh that the co-op back in Bridgford were on the same level: organic fruit and veg, cereal, nuts etc all wonderfully fresh. Back at 1204 L Street, the table was set and we just loved the razor clams, Orzo pasta with pine nuts and beans with almonds, followed by home made cherry pie!! Thank you Stephen!

Monday 8th Dec.
This morning we were invited to Ann and Duke's for coffee. Had a very warm welcome. Ann was able to catch up with Linda while I chatted with Duke. He proved to be a very well travelled man who proved invaluable in giving us some hints and tips on our future visits. After a while Ann brought out the most fantastic scone – delicious, served with butter and jam. We felt really at home.

In the afternoon we went to Arcata Marshes. Stephen and Shirley proved to be expert bird watchers. We all had binoculars and the birdlife was so plentiful with lots of birds prey and wading birds. With our knowledgeable hosts we learnt lots about the wildlife. Returned for a lovely meal of coq au vin. Retired feeling all our senses had been statiated.

Tuesday 9th December.
Went for a fantastic walk in the Humboldt bay reserve, further south along the coast. Again fantastic sunshine and lots of birdlife; great egrets, white egrets, marsh wrens, blue heron, marsh hawks, kites, canada geese , the american robin and a variety of sparrows including the savannah sparrow. We even saw a young bald eagle! Hunting was taking place next to the reserve. One of the geese was shot down on its way to landing at the reserve. The highlight was on our return to the car when we spotted some ripples in the water. After a while an otter appeared around the bend of the creek. As we stood on the bridge it calmly swam towards us occasionally diving down to show its tail before reappearing to look around. To our surprise it swam right under the bridge we were standing on. On re-appearing it had a quick look up at us before continuuing with its business up stream. First time Linda and I had seen one in the wild. Fantastic.