Camping in Mendocino

For my friend Mandy's birthday we decided to "get campy with it" and spent the weekend in Mendocino County. We camped out Friday night at Hendy Woods, then took the coastal tour of Ft. Bragg, Mendocino, and Elk. We started in Mendocino, had sandwiches at the Mendocino Market Deli, which by the way is the best sandwich I HAVE EVER HAD. No lie. Try the grilled chicken sandwich with gouda and pesto or avocado... simply melts in your mouth. I usually eat the whole thing. Next we went cave exploring on the Mendocino Beach. Waterfalls with lots of vibrant flowers growing naturally, and succulent dudleyas growing in crevices in the cliffside. My favorite were the chalk blue dudleyas with red tipped leaves, sending out stalks of bright yellow clusters of flowers.

We piled in our cars and drove north to Ft. Bragg where we visited the Mendocino Botanical Gardens. I usually go in the spring when the rhododendrons are in full bloom, but we were a bit late for that. We did enjoy the succulent garden the the coastal bluffs with tidepools and turquoise waters.



We drove a bit more north to Glass Beach. The entire beach is covered with tiny polished pieces of colored glass, mostly green, brown, and clear. The sea sparkles with the glass that sits at the ocean floor. That day the seemed almost peacefully mystical, with the rolling fog draping over the cliffsides in the distance. That beach has always reminded me of Italy, particularly Palermo, with it's craggy gray and dark rocks jutting out from the small inlet covered with glass. All along the shore, people of all kinds sit on the beach sifting through the shore for nice pieces. I filled the paper bag my lunch came in with as much as I could, and then climbed around the cliffs.

Back to the campsite, we enjoyed each other's company around the fire and ate s'mores and roasted marshmellows. We took several hikes, and spent a lot of time hanging out down by the river, which was a 1/2 mile from our campsite. There was nothing more memorable than lying on the banks of the Navarro with some of my closest friends, staring at about a million stars and the glorious Milky Way. I had forgotten how in Mendocino the lack of lights made shooting stars come all night long, and the sky and air is so clear and clean. In the morning we packed up camp and headed to Elk, where we had a picnic lunch on the Greenwood Beach. Something about the Elk Beach is so relaxing. I need to go back there with a full digi cam battery and snap some shots too... it is an absolute photographer's dream. Driftwood is scattered all along the beach. Greenwood Creek flows into the ocean with a fierceness, and is generally warmer than the cold surf. Lush foliage surrounds the beach on the cliffsides.

Elk is truly a healing place. When I moved there feeling torn and lost from LA's wicked falseness, I was able to truly discover my path. Whenever life gets too crazy, I can always go back there and feel safe. I knew I needed to move away when I did, because when you live in paradise and you start resenting it, you have no where to go that is more beautiful or relaxing than you already are. Where do you go on vacation, when you live in paradise?