Santa Clara to Mendocino: April 7

April 7

On our way back through Sebastopol (we backtracked to miss none of The One) I saw the metal pop art sculptures that had intrigued me when we saw them on Saturday. Tom graciously pulled off so I could get some pictures. I tried to research them on the net, but could not find anything.

Dog pop art sculpture outside Humane Society offices:

Not sure what this is, but I like it. It’s on a corner in Sebastopol.

One of the others we saw was a huge cow next to a fence, in a field full of real cows. We couldn't stop there to get a picture, but it was hysterical.

We stopped in Bodega Bay again and this time I found out what the story is about the sailboat that is grounded and tipped part way over in the bay. It seems the owner was over $8000.00 in debt to the marina owner. He tried to sneak the boat out, but was stopped by the Coast Guard, who told him it was not seaworthy. (Inquiring minds want to know if they were tipped off—the newspaper article posted on the wall of the little general store did not go into that possibility.) The owner moored it in the bay, but it broke lose in a storm and stranded on the mud flats. There it sits, tipped precariously but stuck fast to the mud bottom. It grounded six months ago. It is now not worth trying to save since no one is willing to spend the thousands of dollars it would take to remove it. Locals think the gas and diesel and anything else harmful should be removed and it should be scuttled. Meanwhile it has become a tourist attraction that the local people are getting sick of explaining.

As we approached new territory after Bodega Bay, The One gave us spectacular views of both ocean and hills.

Arched Rock Beach along The One between Bodega Bay and Jenner:

Just past Jenner, the Russian River empties into the ocean.

Mouth of the Russian River:

We stopped to look at several groups of sea lions, some with cubs, who were lounging on the sand on either side of the river’s mouth. Several of them were also lazily swimming about with some cormorants. They seem to congregate in the same areas.

We saw many beautiful views at overlooks and pullouts.

We stopped, as we usually do, at Point Arena Lighthouse.

Along the Point Arena road from the Lighthouse.

We arrived in Mendocino in mid-afternoon and settled in to our room at the Sea Rock Inn. We have the same room we stayed in several years ago. It is upstairs with ocean views from the easy chairs and bed, as well as our private balcony.

View from our window and balcony:

We had to take a quick trip to the Headlands, which are as beautiful as ever. Tomorrow we will probably spend a great deal of the day there.

The Mendocino Headlands from just off The One north of Mendocino:

We can view the sunset from our room or balcony without going anywhere else for the first time this trip, so there was no sunset. The sun went down, but it just got gray, then grayer, then dark. There was no hint of color. It was too overcast. Maybe tomorrow evening.

Sky at what should have been sunset:

We could hear the ocean from our bed. I could get used to this.