September 22, 2012
Elks Lodge, Ukiah, California
[As always, please feel free to click on any image to enlarge it.]
Thursday was our travel day for this leg, and an easy and scenic drive it was. Our route was simple: drive 1/2 mile to US-101, head south for a couple of hours, and get off the right exit in Ukiah. In reality, this part of the country is one of the most scenic places to travel. Alternating between forests of huge redwood trees and incredibly scenic coastline, we didn't mind at all that we were moving at a relatively slow pace. This kind of drive is why we like the Pacific Northwest, and why we like to leave the Interstates behind when we can.
We were soon at our destination and parked at the Ukiah Elks Lodge. We've stayed here before, so we knew the location and layout. It's blacktop parking with 30 Amp electric and water, but there's a dump station on-site and you can't beat the price!
Friday, we were up early (OK, early for us) and had the Rover packed for the drive down to San Francisco to pick up Pat and Al for their visit. There was extra excitement in the air because they brought their puppy, Tanner along. Tanner’s basically a Chihuahua, but a little larger than the yappers you might see on TV, and he’s just less than a year old.
It was a long drive from Ukiah to SFO and back, but we wanted to show Pat and Al a different part of California than the more developed Sonoma-Napa-San Francisco from their last trip. We easily found the Cell Phone Lot (right where it was two years ago!), walked the pups and had a sandwich, and waited for the call that they were through baggage claim. Their flight was on time but delayed on the ground, but we were soon heading for the arrivals area and picked them up. We didn’t have time to really introduce the pups properly, but everything worked out fine, other than Tanner didn’t care for the fact that Al was riding in the front and Pat was in the back with her Mom. So, we had some back-and-forth before things settled down. Merlin and Maya Lynn were fine; they were just happy to be out in the car and especially please to be with Pat and Al.
We had sandwiches and Coors Light ready for them and they quickly enjoyed the refreshments after being on planes all day (Hartford - Dulles and Dulles - SFO). We quickly made our way north from the airport, bypassing the US-101 corridor through the city and getting to the Golden Gate Bridge before the real rush hour traffic started.
Once over the iconic Bridge, we hopped off the first exit and took everyone up into the Marin Headlands for a little bit of a scenic excursion. This gave everyone a chance to stretch their legs and the pups to have some “get to know you” time. We did a few photos before heading down the hill and getting back on the northbound US-101.
Once on the highway, we snaked through Marin, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties on the way back to Ukiah. Of course, our little scenic detour had allowed traffic to catch up with us, but we weren’t in a hurry. In fact, I was able to use Google Maps on my phone to see real-time traffic so we’d know where things picked up. Once we were north of Santa Rosa, it was more or less clear sailing.
Once we were back in Ukiah, we whipped up a quick snack and enjoyed some wine, but it was soon time for the East Coast crowd to call it a night.
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Saturday was designated as a “touring day”, so we piled everyone in the Rover, fueled up and headed out early. After a big breakfast in Willits, we swung west on CA-20 through some very nice redwood forests to the coast. We picked up CA-1, the Pacific Coast Highway, just south of Fort Bragg, and were soon in the little seaside town of Mendocino. After some browsing and resting, we continued our trip, exploring a little of the coast before heading back inland on CA-128.
This route took us through the Anderson Valley wine region and we already had a destination or two in mind near the little town of Philo: Schramsburg Cellars for some sparkling wine tasting, followed by one of Geri’s favorites, Goldeneye for some Pinot Noir. Goldeneye does wine tasting right, with all the wines served out on their patio as opposed to crowded up against a tasting room bar. We ordered up some pate and a cheese plate and thoroughly enjoyed the wines. As a bonus, it’s dog-friendly, so the pups were able to hang with us while we relaxed for a while.
Tasting (and purchases, of course) completed, we continued on CA-128 to Booneville, where we picked up CA-253 back to Ukiah. Overall, it was a very nice day for touring.
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