DAY 36- Ave of Giants to Fort Bragg...

I started off the day exploring the Old Town Historic section of Eureka.  They had a Farmer’s Market going on.  It happens every Tuesday from 10AM to 1PM from June to October. I walked around and admired some of the buildings.  There seemed to be a fair amount of repairs being done on them.  I asked a man along the street if they were preparing for a special event or something.  He said no but that they have been doing a great deal of updating on quite a few of the buildings to make them more earthquake proof.  But that there were some that they were unable to repair and that those buildings displayed disclaimer tags in the window.  So if you were in one of them and an earthquake occurred you might be in trouble because the building could collapse.  Well, that’s good to know! 

Photo- Eureka's Tuesday Farmer's Market in Old Historic Town.

Photo- Some wonderful buildings in Old Historic Town in Eureka. 

Photo- Repairs and paint being carefully applied by local tradesman in Eureka.

I also walked down by the dock area just off of the Old Town Historic section.  There was a great deal of activity going on with the birds.  There was a huge group of ducks, gulls, and pelicans diving into the water.  It was like a feeding frenzy.  It was kind of strange.  There was no one around to ask but I did also see some people kayaking around the marina area.

Photo- The Aves of the Giants.

Photo- Inside the Eternal Treehouse.

Next on the list for the day was the Avenue of the Giants.  It’s an older section of Hwy 101 that runs through more of the Redwood forests.  It’s a very scenic section of road.  I stopped and took a couple of short hikes just off the side of the road.  It was very beautiful.  Then, I stopped at the Eternal Treehouse.  It’s a tree house that’s in the bottom area of large Redwood tree.  Then, I drove by a BIG Foot one stop shop that had all kinds of things on sale… too many to list here.  And later, I got to drive through a tree with my car.  Now, how cool is that!?!

Photo- Waiting my turn to drive through the tree.

It was as I was leaving, Chandler’s Drive Through Tree that I asked the gal how much further it was to Fort Bragg.  She said that it was about an hour and a half.  That should have been my first clue.  She didn’t give me the mileage but the time it took.  I got about 2 miles up the road and discovered why the 38 miles to Fort Bragg took you about an hour and a half. There was a sign that said no services for the next 28 miles.  That should have been my second clue!  You could me call me—TOT-AL-LY Clueless!  Let me sum it up this way…. It was an obstacle course in curves. 

The curves went anywhere from 15mph with an arrow on up to 30mph with a curved arrow.  The road climbed and climbed and climbed.  Then, it went down for a while.  But then, it climbed up.  Through the trees I could see mountains of forest land and there were areas where there were huge drops off to the side but I could never get a clear look because the forest was thick.  Then, the road curved more and more while going down.  I saw one cyclist that was pulled off in this section and I imagine that he was resting his hands from riding the breaks.  And I will say too that the road really had no shoulder.  All of it reminded me a bit of the Alpine Loop near Sundance in Utah; only there were no quaking Aspens and you were not going above a tree line.

Finally, I got to Fort Bragg and checked in at a cute bed and breakfast called Atrium Garden Inn.  I was showed my adorable room called the Buttercup which was a lovely mix of creamy yellows and prints.  It had a cute little private bath off to the side of it.  I changed really quickly and I was off to find someplace for dinner.

Photo- The adorable Bed and Breakfast I stayed at.

I found a local pizza place called Piaci’s where the locals go.  It was about a 5 block walk from the bed and breakfast.  I will warn you that it’s standing room only some nights.  I got there on a slower Tuesday night and there were 5 stools that are open.  I took one at a four top table where a couple was already seating.  This is not a place to wait for a hostess to sit you.  I watched one older non-local couple who stood by the door while locals went around them and just sat at available stools.  I ordered an 8” pizza called Nonni’s (wonderful pizza!) and a Heffie. 

As I was eating the couple that was sitting at my table left and three others with a little 2 yr. old girl sat at the table with me.  I met Louise a retired English teacher who had a younger married couple from Dublin, Ireland visiting with her.  It was really nice talking with her and getting to know about the local area and where to go.  She directed me to a local coffee place called Headings that had live Jazz music for the night that was about 2 blocks walking distance. 

Photo- This is a common thing to see in Fort Bragg. 
Their most common closed days are Tuesdays and Wednesdays. 

Headings was another locals place and I was surprised for a coffee like shop, they also served local beers in bottles.  You could ask for a glass for your beer if you wanted.  The Jazz music for the night consisted of a trio with a sax player, a drummer, and a cellist.  Later on in the evening they had another local that played piano that joined it.  It was a lovely way to finish the evening.  I walked back to my bed and breakfast.