For my birthday this past week my girlfriend and I decided to head to the California north coast. Our first long 2-up ride together. Heeding the advice of the wise ladies and some gents who ride 2-up here from the forums, I rode the FJR like a Harley. Speed limit on the straights and 10 under in the turns
.
We left the day before my birthday, the bike was fully loaded as she is still getting used to traveling light on the bike, so there was no room for my big camera or my laptop. The little point and shoot which lives on top of my tank bag would have to suffice.
We had a very late start so the first day was just a commute day, there was no time to stop and smell the ocean, we were leaving that for the next 2 days..
We were staying at a B&B in Fort Bragg. It was dark, cold and foggy when we first got there, so I waited till next day to take some pictures.
The Weller House Inn in Fort Bragg was our B&B. This place is on the National Registry of HIstorical Places. The oldest existing house in the city of Fort Bragg and has been fully restored as a B&B. It is a pretty place and the Innkeeper and staff try really hard to provide you the best service they can, but it seems this B&B is barely making it and it has started to show. Upkeep for a really old house is expensive and it did seem that the B&B had seen better days. In my opinion for the price, there are much better options in Mendocino about 10 miles south of here.
If you are interested in knowing more. Here is a link to the B&B.
https://www.wellerhouse.com
The grounds and gardens, however, seem to be very well maintained.
They do have good parking. No need to park in the street, they have their own fenced parking spaces behind the house. Perfect, secure parking for your motorcycle.
We had initially wanted to stay in the Water Tower room. Figured it would give us a lot of quiet and privacy, but upon arrival decided that the room was too small, so we switched rooms to a garden view room in the main building. An old house so not so quiet, but we enjoyed the extra space.
In the picture below you can see the window to our room on the ground floor.
Birthday morning. The B&B normally doesn't deliver breakfast to your room, but my girlfriend arranged it with the innkeepers to have our breakfast delivered to our room in the morning!
After a good breakfast, we geared up to head out towards the Redwoods, the B&B grows their own chickens. Those were organic eggs I was eating for breakfast there..
It was still a bit chilly even though the sun finally came out, a bit too chilly for my girlfriend, so we decided to take Hwy 20 inland and warmth first to catch Hwy 101 to the Redwoods.
The usual hoaky tourist stop at the Drive Thru Tree in Leggett, CA
Yep, big-ass tree and yes the ground is pretty slippery. I could see how people drop their bikes here..
More posing by the big tree.
We rode to the Avenue of the Giants from here for more big redwoods. Here is birthday boy being a reverse tree hugger..
Big blue being dwarfed by the big red woods!
On our way back we had a nice leisurely lunch at the Benbow Hotel restaurant, before heading towards the coast hoping for warm clear weather in the afternoon.
Because, you know...It's good to see the ocean!
Although, we couldn't see much at first as we came up to the coast on Hwy 1. The afternoon fogged had rolled in..
We would have better luck just a few miles south. No fog, just bright sun and a beautiful ocean to gander!
From here it was back to Fort Bragg and a steak dinner at "The Restaurant" in Fort Bragg. Really really good steaks. Try it out sometime!
Link here: https://therestaurantfortbragg.com/
The next day was the journey back home. Of course we took the long way down the coast. We had a lot of ground to cover at the speeds that we were riding, but we were determined to make stops along the way, even if they were to be brief ones.
First stop was at the Mendocino Botanical Gardens. These gardens are the only botanical gardens in California which are right beside the ocean, and it is a mile and half walk to the ocean from the visitors center. We didn't have the time, so we mainly hung around the nursery and the visitor center before going on our way. Someday it would be great to hike and take pictures of the flowers here.
More info: https://www.gardenbythesea.org/
The trail to the gardens starts from here..
The Dahlias are in bloom in Aug/Sept as well as many other perennials! Apparently I don't know my Dahlias from Begonias, so here is a Begonia which I thought was a Dahlia..
Just a few miles south of the Botanical Gardens is the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse. This is the site near which in 1850 the Baltimore build clipper "The Frolic" shipwrecked on a reef on it's way from China to Gold Rush San Francisco. It was this shipwreck off the coast of Mendocino which acted as a catalyst to exploring the resources of the Northern California coast. Much of the old SF was built by the Redwoods from the northern coast of California.
You can see the lighthouse keeper's house on the left other left in this picture. This house is now available for vacation rental.
More views of the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse.
The coastal views from here were breathtaking!
Quick stop for lunch in the town of Mendocino. The honey bee's were plentiful and busy!
..and angels were getting their wings and what not...
..as we continued heading south stopping along the way all day to enjoy the ocean!
Approaching the Sonoma coast and it's beautiful beaches. It is so peaceful here on a weekday without the maddening crowds which swarm on the weekends.
More glorious Sonoma coast beaches.
My girlfriend did not know that the Alfred Hitchcock classic "The Birds" was filmed right here in Bodega and Bodega Bay, CA. The Bodega Schoolhouse and the St Teresa of Avila church in Bodega were featured in a scene in that movie, when the birds attack the schoolhouse and the children run out and into the church.
The Bodega Schoolhouse. It is now a private residence. You can see the church in the background.
A better view of the church.
One last stop at the Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes. The creamery is famous and of course mostly has women working here. We bought some cheese to take home! Delicious!!
It was a long slog home from here in rush hour traffic. Our little mini-vacation along the California coast was over. Can't wait to head back to the ocean again!!
Thank you for reading and thank you for the birthday greetings here on the forum. I enjoyed them as well!
We left the day before my birthday, the bike was fully loaded as she is still getting used to traveling light on the bike, so there was no room for my big camera or my laptop. The little point and shoot which lives on top of my tank bag would have to suffice.
We had a very late start so the first day was just a commute day, there was no time to stop and smell the ocean, we were leaving that for the next 2 days..
We were staying at a B&B in Fort Bragg. It was dark, cold and foggy when we first got there, so I waited till next day to take some pictures.
The Weller House Inn in Fort Bragg was our B&B. This place is on the National Registry of HIstorical Places. The oldest existing house in the city of Fort Bragg and has been fully restored as a B&B. It is a pretty place and the Innkeeper and staff try really hard to provide you the best service they can, but it seems this B&B is barely making it and it has started to show. Upkeep for a really old house is expensive and it did seem that the B&B had seen better days. In my opinion for the price, there are much better options in Mendocino about 10 miles south of here.
If you are interested in knowing more. Here is a link to the B&B.
https://www.wellerhouse.com
The grounds and gardens, however, seem to be very well maintained.
They do have good parking. No need to park in the street, they have their own fenced parking spaces behind the house. Perfect, secure parking for your motorcycle.
We had initially wanted to stay in the Water Tower room. Figured it would give us a lot of quiet and privacy, but upon arrival decided that the room was too small, so we switched rooms to a garden view room in the main building. An old house so not so quiet, but we enjoyed the extra space.
In the picture below you can see the window to our room on the ground floor.
Birthday morning. The B&B normally doesn't deliver breakfast to your room, but my girlfriend arranged it with the innkeepers to have our breakfast delivered to our room in the morning!
After a good breakfast, we geared up to head out towards the Redwoods, the B&B grows their own chickens. Those were organic eggs I was eating for breakfast there..
It was still a bit chilly even though the sun finally came out, a bit too chilly for my girlfriend, so we decided to take Hwy 20 inland and warmth first to catch Hwy 101 to the Redwoods.
The usual hoaky tourist stop at the Drive Thru Tree in Leggett, CA
Yep, big-ass tree and yes the ground is pretty slippery. I could see how people drop their bikes here..
More posing by the big tree.
We rode to the Avenue of the Giants from here for more big redwoods. Here is birthday boy being a reverse tree hugger..
Big blue being dwarfed by the big red woods!
On our way back we had a nice leisurely lunch at the Benbow Hotel restaurant, before heading towards the coast hoping for warm clear weather in the afternoon.
Because, you know...It's good to see the ocean!
Although, we couldn't see much at first as we came up to the coast on Hwy 1. The afternoon fogged had rolled in..
We would have better luck just a few miles south. No fog, just bright sun and a beautiful ocean to gander!
From here it was back to Fort Bragg and a steak dinner at "The Restaurant" in Fort Bragg. Really really good steaks. Try it out sometime!
Link here: https://therestaurantfortbragg.com/
The next day was the journey back home. Of course we took the long way down the coast. We had a lot of ground to cover at the speeds that we were riding, but we were determined to make stops along the way, even if they were to be brief ones.
First stop was at the Mendocino Botanical Gardens. These gardens are the only botanical gardens in California which are right beside the ocean, and it is a mile and half walk to the ocean from the visitors center. We didn't have the time, so we mainly hung around the nursery and the visitor center before going on our way. Someday it would be great to hike and take pictures of the flowers here.
More info: https://www.gardenbythesea.org/
The trail to the gardens starts from here..
The Dahlias are in bloom in Aug/Sept as well as many other perennials! Apparently I don't know my Dahlias from Begonias, so here is a Begonia which I thought was a Dahlia..
Just a few miles south of the Botanical Gardens is the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse. This is the site near which in 1850 the Baltimore build clipper "The Frolic" shipwrecked on a reef on it's way from China to Gold Rush San Francisco. It was this shipwreck off the coast of Mendocino which acted as a catalyst to exploring the resources of the Northern California coast. Much of the old SF was built by the Redwoods from the northern coast of California.
You can see the lighthouse keeper's house on the left other left in this picture. This house is now available for vacation rental.
More views of the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse.
The coastal views from here were breathtaking!
Quick stop for lunch in the town of Mendocino. The honey bee's were plentiful and busy!
..and angels were getting their wings and what not...
..as we continued heading south stopping along the way all day to enjoy the ocean!
Approaching the Sonoma coast and it's beautiful beaches. It is so peaceful here on a weekday without the maddening crowds which swarm on the weekends.
More glorious Sonoma coast beaches.
My girlfriend did not know that the Alfred Hitchcock classic "The Birds" was filmed right here in Bodega and Bodega Bay, CA. The Bodega Schoolhouse and the St Teresa of Avila church in Bodega were featured in a scene in that movie, when the birds attack the schoolhouse and the children run out and into the church.
The Bodega Schoolhouse. It is now a private residence. You can see the church in the background.
A better view of the church.
One last stop at the Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes. The creamery is famous and of course mostly has women working here. We bought some cheese to take home! Delicious!!
It was a long slog home from here in rush hour traffic. Our little mini-vacation along the California coast was over. Can't wait to head back to the ocean again!!
Thank you for reading and thank you for the birthday greetings here on the forum. I enjoyed them as well!
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