(Left) Sunset from Mendocino Headlands (Right) Mendocino Masonic Hall, built 1866. Very quaint, tiny town located along the coast with strong roots as an artist community. No chain stores, lots of organic restaurants, groceries and artist galleries.
Atrium Bed and Breakfast, Fort Bragg. This was the cutest B&B, perfectly decorated Victorian cottages. Fort Bragg was definitely less "quaint" than Mendocino -- and by that I mean they had a CVS-- but it was also much more affordable and closer to MacKerricher State Park which had the best coastline. There's also a great art supply store with an amazing paper selection on North Franklin Street. The wooden pulp papers aren't available online but their printed papers are on their website.
Mendocino Botanical Gardens -- featured 47 acres of plants and coastline with great views of the ocean along the bluffs. We ended our trip with a visit to Cowlicks Handmade Ice Cream (so good!) at the cafe entrance to the gardens.
(Left) Botanical Garden Coastal Bluffs (Right) Succulent Gardens
Mendocino Botanical Gardens Branch Gates.
Succulent Gardens
Dahlias
Fort Bragg, Glass Beach -- This beach was used as a town dump until it was closed in the 1960's. Since then cleanup efforts were made to dispose of all trash, leaving behind tiny pieces of broken glass worn down by the tide.
(Left) Fox Glove (Right) Glass Beach
(Left) Dahlias, Mendocino Botanical Garden (Right) Russian Gulch State Park
Mendocino Headlands
(Left) Mendocino Headlands (Right) Van Damme State Park Fern Canyon-- We camped overnight at Van Damme State Park where it unfortunately rained the entire time but the scenery was beautiful.
