Thursday, September 12, 2024

A Cabin in the Redwoods

 

When we spent the long Labor Day weekend in Gualala, we stayed in a lovely little cabin in the Redwoods along beautiful Highway 1, right across from the Pacific Ocean.

But before we got there, we met with our very good friends B and P at the Navarro Winery in Anderson Valley for our annual winetasting picnic. We started doing this last year and decided then to let it become a new tradition. B and P - a German-American couple - are very close friends of ours whom we met through our German Stammtisch group (curious what a Stammtisch is? Find out here). We spent four wonderful hours together in the beautiful vineyards of this winery off the beaten path that makes fantastic wine at an affordable price.

This one is for Nicole's Friday Face Off

After that the Geek and I were on our way to Gualala and our little cabin. It is a basic cabin, nothing fancy, and it's right at the Redwoods.


It has a decent sized room with a bathroom and a beautiful deck at the back. The skylight is right above the bed and I enjoyed looking up into the canopy of the trees. 


The room has a cozy little sitting nook where we had our breakfast and enjoyed a glass of wine in the evening while chatting, reading and knitting. The heater was very helpful in the chilly mornings and evenings.


The homemade breakfast was brought to our door every morning. It was delicious.


The Naked Ladies (Amaryllis belladonna, native to South Africa) were in full bloom and the deer weren't shy at all and seemed to hang out on the premises a lot. 


And finally, the view of the ocean. 


On the first morning we went to Gualala Point Regional Park. While Gualala is in Mendocino County, the regional park is still in Sonoma County and we could use our Regional Parks Pass here. The border between the two counties is in the middle of Gualala River which flows into the ocean at Gualala Point.

The first view of the ocean is from near the visitors center.


We decided to first go to the beach. Instead of walking down the paved path, we took the dirt trail through the "tunnels".



I was delighted about the Naked Ladies in the meadow, but not so much about the Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana). As the name says, Pampas Grass is native to southern South America and a highly invasive species at our coast. It looks beautiful, but it does a lot of harm to our native plants.



Someone had planted Nasturtium (Tropaeolum) on top of the cliffs and it was hanging down the cliff wall. Nasturtium is native to South and Central America, but as far as I know it is not invasive. It sure looked stunning in this location.


The beach is long and slightly curved with lots of driftwood and, of course, an abundance of gulls.




All this walking, taking photos and beachcombing (I took home some beautiful small driftwood for future art projects) makes hungry, so we decided to eat at our favorite seafood shack in town. Rockfish and chips on one day, a spicy tuna melt on the other. The three hispanic girls who work in this shack (and who might be the owners) are always very nice and pleasant, and their food is excellent. I'm really glad they made it through the pandemic. Other than many shacks I have seen in the States, they try to keep their single-use things at a minimum - the only plastic is the little container for the sauce and they use food grade paper to line the baskets. We have been going here for years and we have never been disappointed. Afterwards it was time for coffee at Trinks on the cliffs with a view of the ocean - Aztec Mocha for the Geek, a regular Mocha for me. Yummy.



My favorite part of Gualala Point, however, is not the beach, but the Bluff Trail. It offers endless views of the ocean along a narrow trail. We had expected foggy and cool days in Gualala as the weather so often is like that at our coast, but we had sunny weather throughout with temperatures in the 60s (a lovely relief to our much warmer inland temperatures). This made walking along the Bluff Trail even more enjoyable.


Of course I was delighted by all the plants we saw along the way as well as the often very gnarled trees. There are "tunnels" here as well - I actually call this trail the Hobbit Trail as I can picture it in Middle Earth.



Beautiful views everywhere...




And to my biggest delight we saw so many Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis)!


A little fun sidenote: A writing, office and art equipment company in Germany is called Pelikan. It was founded in Hannover in 1838. My first fountain pen I got (in first or second grade) was a Pelikan one and I had it for years. Today I'm writing with a Faber Castell fountain pen, but I still use the Pelikan ink cartridges (thanks, Amazon).

And finally a couple pictures at sunset, again at Gualala Point.





16 comments:

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

What a lovely getaway for you both, Carola. The cabin was just the right size and breakfast delivered even nicer. I lived all of the walks you showed especially those tunnels. The driftwood was a great fund and the one piece reminded me of a dog's head or perhaps some other animal? A lovely sunset to end the day.

Tom said...

...Carola, thanks for taking me along to see this beautiful part of God's country. The gnarled junipers have been sculpted by Mother Nature.

Veronica Lee said...

What a wonderful trip!
The winetasting picnic with friends sounds like such a fun tradition.
I love the cabin in the Redwoods with that skylight view.

Glorious photos as always, Carola!

Iris Flavia said...

Ein super-Trip und eine so schöne Cabin. Mit Service vom Feinsten. Und aaaah.... das Meer, die Möven... und die Pelikane ;-)
Ich erinner mich nicht an meinen ersten Füller...

Elephant's Child said...

What an absolutely glorious place. Heart balm at its very best.

Rostrose said...

Liebe Carola, oh, das sieht herrlich genussvoll aus! Eine großartige Idee, mit euren Freunden eine jährliche Weinverkostung in dieser traumhaften Gegend zu unternehmen - das ist Lebensfreude! Und euer Aufenthalt in der Hütte samt schönster Naturlandschaft rundum passt da ebenfalls perfekt dazu. Mag sein, dass die Hütte "einfach" ist, aber hausgemachtes (und extrem köstlich aussehendes) Frühstück jeden Morgen an die Tür gebracht zu bekommen, ein entzückender Raum mit einem kleinen hüschen Ofen und die Aussicht auf die herrlichen Blüten und Wildtiere, das ist Luxus pur. So schön auch die Wanderwege - und du hast recht, manche der Pfade erinnern an die Welt der Hobbits. Braunpelikane sahen wir vor allem bei unserer 2012er-USA-Reise auch in solchen Schwärmen, ein atemberaubender Anblick. Und ja, ich hatte als Schulkind auch einen Pelikan-Füller.
Alles Liebe und ein angenehmes Wochenende, Traude
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2024/09/calle-libre-festival-2024-und.html

David M. Gascoigne, said...

As I go through this, Carola, picture by picture, word by word, the drool builds up! From lunch with friends to the cabin in the forest, to glorious beaches and gulls, everything about this post resonates with me. It is all simply wonderful. And I continue to be impressed at your absolute proficiency with the English language. It is quite remarkable. Not only is your grammar impeccable you add style, flair and nuance. Amazing! Big hugs - David

Gene Black said...

What a delightful trip. I loved seeing you and your friends around the table.

My name is Erika. said...

What a fabulous get away Carola. It's looks really lovely. I like the pelican story. Here in NH we have an Island Hotel (on Star Island) and the summer workers are called pelicans. The hotel is from the 1800's and it is closed for the winter, but I wonder how they got that name. I love watching pelicans if I travel and see them as we don't have them here. I think you had a great time away, and thanks for sharing those photos. It makes me want to go back to northern CA for another visit. hugs-Erika

Valerie-Jael said...

Beatiful post and wonderful photos, glad you enjoyed our getaway. Have a great weekend, hugs, Valerie

DVArtist said...

Wow! What a wonderful weekend. It's nice to meet up with friends. The room looks amazing and that food! OMGosh I miss CA. LOL Thank you for sharing with FFO and have a nice weekend.

Jeanie said...

What a terrific getaway. The cabin is wonderful. It looks so secluded but warm and charming. And the views you saw are stunning. All that plus a bit of time with friends to get you started. It's really wonderful. What a grand time!

Lorrie said...

The little cabin looks like a perfect place for a getaway. Ocean plus woods plus meadows - such variety to explore. The sunset looks glorious. And how lovely to find a place where the food is delicious and the people kind. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos.

MELODY JACOB said...

Your Labor Day weekend sounds absolutely delightful! Staying in a cozy cabin amidst the Redwoods with views of the Pacific Ocean must have been breathtaking. Meeting up with close friends for a winetasting picnic at Navarro Winery sounds like a perfect way to start the trip, especially with the added charm of creating a new tradition. The combination of good company, beautiful scenery, and fantastic wine sounds like a recipe for a memorable experience.

Wishing you a lovely weekend. You are invited to read my new blog post: https://www.melodyjacob.com/2024/09/sighthill-neighbourhood-glasgow.html

Teresa said...

Carola, me ha encantado este recorrido, con tanto para ver y disfrutar. Besos.

Lowcarb team member said...

What a wonderful trip, lovely photographs.

All the best Jan