On the Road: Garberville to Eureka
Posted 04-07-2007 12:19 pm
by Admin Admin
I didn't travel very far today in miles, but the route I took was another spectacular drive.
After a very good breakfast at the Benbow (dinner was quite good as well), I sat on my huge terrace and enjoyed my view of the river for a little while before checking out and starting off with a drive through the Avenue of the Giants, the old Hwy 101 that parallels the freeway. Part of the road (just north of the visitors' center) is currently closed for repair work, but I didn't mind backtracking a bit and taking it slow through beautiful Humboldt Redwoods State Park. I took a short walk in the Founder's Grove, with its huge trees, including the fallen Dyerville Giant (which fell in 1991). From there, I followed the road towards Honeydew through the Roosevelt Forest, which is the beginning of the Lost Coast loop drive to Petrolia and then on to Ferndale. It was truly gorgeous, especially the stretch of beach just past Petrolia--completely deserted except for cows. At the north end of that stretch of beach, the road rose straight up and started winding through the hills to Ferndale, with its beautifully restored Victorians. While having lunch at Curley's in the Victorian Hotel (which was very good), I got to talking with a couple who live near the northen entrance to Sinkyone Wilderness State Park--they were pretty impressed that I'd not only done the Lost Coast drive but that I'd also visited that park (see the entry from Trinidad to Mendocino), although they said next time I'd have to go in from the north end (rather than the south end). From there, it was just a short hop to Eureka, where I stayed at the lovely Carter House in Old Town. I was in a very nice suite in the main inn, the Hotel Carter, but there are three other buildings in the complex. When I wandered back downstairs hoping to see some of the other rooms, a lovely couple from New Zealand (who run a B&B in Auckland but are traveling around the world for a year) was asking for a tour, so we went together, and the woman from the front desk very graciously showed us nearly all the rooms in all four buildings so we were really able to get a sense of the place (and it's really quite nice, especially the stand-alone Carter Cottage suite). I was able to join the winemakers's dinner going on that night at the Carter House's restaurant, Restaurant 301. The food was delicious, especially the spring mushroom risotto with truffle oil. After dinner, I enjoyed the large soaking tub in my suite as I was still feeling the effects of my horseback ride the previous day, and reflected back on a great trip to the northern California coast. I plan to come back as often as possible!
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Posted 04-16-2007 5:28 pm
by Sheri Doyle
Well, it’s good to know someone is reading ;-)! And I’m glad to be of help. It’s a lovely part of the world!
And yes, I did like the rooms. They are more simple than some of the more chichi places I stayed but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Inn. I was in the Blue Whale room, which was very comfortable and had a lovely window seat with a view.
Posted 04-16-2007 5:19 pm
by Harry
Sheri, I have just read your blog, and wanted tom thank you for the nice descriptions of your recent travels. We are planning a trip to the area in a few weeks, and your experiences have been helpful to our planning. Did you like the rooms at the Lost Whale Inn? The setting sounds terrific. Best regards, Harry (Arlington, VA)
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