After a wonderful visit to Yosemite, we only had one more day of driving until we settled ourselves down in Ferndale, CA. You’d bet we were excited! Here’s what we saw between Yosemite and Ferndale.
Is that a mini NRG Bridge?
There were tons of cute little towns, tourist traps, and view points along; but our favorite part was the highway through groves of redwood trees!
We’re getting close!
Look out for tractors!
OH! There’s a billboard for “Historic Victorian Ferndale”!
AND THE EXIT!
We passed the local creamery as we drove over the Eel River to enter our CA home away from home.
You are led through an agricultural area with lots and lots of cows as you drive into town; which really gives that small town feeling.
Just as advertised, Ferndale’s streets are lined with old Victorian houses.
Driving down Main Street is like taking a stroll down Main Street USA at Disneyworld, with small historic store fronts and local hotels.
One of these hotels, the Victorian Inn, was our first our first stop. We were STARVING, so we plopped ourselves down in the hotel’s restaurant (the town favorite) for some really big oysters, super mac and cheese, and roast beef. All of the food was from local merchants and was so so good!
After lunch we went across the street to our lodging and settled in. We were very pleasantly surprised by the size and the quality of our suite! What’s even better is the three months of maid service we have ahead of us. Extended hotel stays are an understated luxury! With the charm of Ferndale and the comfort of our new home, the RB’s decided that we are going to like it here!
That evening our arrival was celebrated by busting open our chocolate frog and every flavor beans.
Throughout our first week in town, Bilbo stocked up on some local beers and California wines. I think we’ll be working on those for quite a while.
The excursion that I had been most excited for during our planning was a trip to Redwood National Park. So, naturally, that was our first exploration outside of Ferndale. Unfortunately, we had to wait until after work to make the hour drive up and our time was limited. It was alright, though, this was just our first introduction to the park. We plan on returning a few times.
We took a walk in Lady Bird Johnson Grove, where the trees engulfed us. Their height and splendor is amazing! Everything that I had been hoping for!
As the sun began to set, we began our drive back home. But first we stopped at this unexpected, gorgeous, Pacific coast beach within the park. Finally! We’d seen the Pacific! Standing on the black sand, we watched the waves crash in and the sun go down.
Switching gears, our next destination was the Loleta Cheese Factory. It is a local business just outside of Ferndale in the town of Loleta, where visitors can try EVERY one of their 30+ cheeses for FREE and take a tour of the factory. Our favorites were the aged sharp white cheddar and the roasted garlic havarti and that’s what we went home with.
In between all of this was a weekend trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park! We decided that we should make sure to get this one under our belt before the snow came and shut it down.
Lassen is a geothermal hotspot complete with dormant volcano (Mt. Lassen)! As you walked along the park road (because it was closed to traffic), you could just smell the sulfur that was oozing from ground.
We had planned to hike the trail up Brokeoff Mountain for a spectacular view of Lassen, but we detoured by the solid sheet of ice covering the trail.
In stead, we drove to Chico for a visit to Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. Bilbo had a wonderful beer sampler and I really enjoyed the garlic fries!
Well, folks, that’s all there is to tell of our first two weeks in Ferndale. Things here are shaping up to be an unforgettable experience! Next time, we’ll tell you about my much anticipated trip to Napa Valley an Sonoma County!
