N. California/Oregon Road Trip 2018
October 25 – November 2, 2018
Day 1/2 – San Francisco/Calistoga, CA
Flew into San Francisco at 5PM west coast time and headed north to Santa Rosa to hit Russian River Brewing and then on to Calistoga, CA for the night. Our cute little hotel in Calistoga (Upvalley Inn & Hot Springs, Ascend Hotel Collection) was built above a natural spring, so the pool and hot tub are filled with mineral water. A refreshing soak post-breakfast made sure our day got started right! We got to the hotel (very) late the night before, so adjusting to West coast time was easy. Wandered into Downtown Calistoga for some breakfast, and ran into a little lady who told us about Bella Bakery (and even walked us there and introduced us to all her friends). It was a great welcome to town, and a delicious breakfast! We set out to explore some local wineries for the day – Long Meadow Ranch Winery & Farmstead & Tank Garage Winery. When in Napa Valley, right? Then we hit the road again – we went from fields of grapes, to redwood trees, to coastal highway scenery on our drive north.
Day 3 – Fort Bragg, CA
We landed in Fort Bragg, California for the night (Beachcomber Motel and Spa). We took a morning stroll across an old railroad bridge and along the beach cliffs. The fog made everything pretty spooky. Very fitting for Halloween week! We also took a ride on the famous(?) Skunk Train and visited North Coast Brewing, home of Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. We started driving north again and made a few stops to see the redwoods – Avenue of the Giants (and even drive through tree – Drive-Thru Tree Park)!
Day 4 – Eureka, CA
The next stop was Eureka, CA (honestly, I picked it because I liked the name). Eureka has some gorgeous examples of Victorian architecture. We checked out some human powered spaceships at the Kinetic Museum. Eureka hosts the original Kinetic Grand Championship race, a 50 mile, three day race across land, sea, sand, etc.(Kinetic Museum Eureka). After much procrastinating, I picked up an amazing Halloween costume at a cute little vintage shop in downtown Eureka. It’s awesome, seriously. After venturing into downtown Arcata, CA (which Peter dubbed the crunchiest downtown he’s ever seen), we headed back into the redwood forest. Spotted a few elks, all at a distance. When the redwood centers burn out, they are called goose pens, because people used to keep livestock in them. If the tree is large enough, it will continue to live, even with a burned out center – Redwood National and State Parks (NPS).
Day 5 – Kalamath/Crescent City, CA/Ashland, OR
We spent the night at a tiny casino hotel in Kalamath, CA. There’s not much to the town, so we left early and headed to Crescent City, CA for breakfast and a quick impromptu aquarium visit. We got up close and personal with three harbor seals and two spunky sea lions. Marina, the light color harbor seal pictured in the middle, is 39 years old! We crossed over into Oregon today and stopped at the original Dutch Bros location in Grants Pass, OR. When they heard we were visiting from Georgia – they treated us to coffee. LOVE this coffee chain even more now! We also saw some spooky scenery on the drive into Oregon. We met up with my parents in Ashland, OR after their cross-country drive. Our hotel(motel?) in Ashland was adorable…I may be slightly obsessed (Palm Cottages).
Day 6 – Ashland, OR
While Dad and Peter are hit the golf course, Mom and I went shopping, then we headed up to Roseburg, OR see my sister and family. Had a quick pit stop on the way to Roseburg at In-N-Out Burger. Cheeseburger for Peter and cheese sandwich (no burger) for me…yum!
Day 7 – Medford/Roseburg, OR
Happy Halloween from the West coast! Mom & I toured Harry & David in Medford, OR. They were already ramping up production for the holidays. Stopped by to visit my Niece at work at Dutch Bros. Headed up to Eugene, OR, where the guys had to visit their favorite golf store while in – Fiddler’s Green Golf Center and we all stopped by Ninkasi Brewing. That evening we had a big family dinner back in Roseburg and went trick or treating.
Day 8 – Roseburg, OR
Love it when friends in the brewing industry treat you to the “I’ll have one of everything” special (see image). Thanks Two-Shy Brewing! This crew got to play at Bandon Dunes today. They apparently spent a lot of time in the sand traps…while I spent a lot of time in the hotel hot tub – Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.
Day 9 – Mostly Seattle, WA airport…
Our flight from Eugene to Atlanta hit some snags, so we spent the entire day in a Seattle airport lounge watching movies and eating free cheese. Gotta be flexible with travel!