Mendo and Fort Bragg

Mendocino was lovely. The town is so picturesque and serene. The locals are very laid back and friendly. They all seem to have frizzy/curly hair. I think it may be because of a combination of carefree lifestyle, ocean air and windy weather. It’s just my opinion, which probably isn’t accurate at all. The whole town atmosphere is so relaxing. Alex and I could have probably spent more time there. We walked around the town and went into a few shops. One jewelry store we went to had some beautiful jewelry and I was tempted to buy something, but I refrained. I really don’t need to buy anything extra that I don’t need. We walked into a local Jam and Preserves shop where all the jams are made in Mendocino. The guy behind the counter was very inviting. He had every flavor of jam out for sampling. We tasted a few and they were delicious, but I wasn’t really looking to buy anything. Then I saw that they also made all kinds of different mustard's. We did need some mustard, so I thought it might be a good idea to get some. Then I found out how much it was….$10.50, for only a small jar. That is way too much, even if it is locally made. The guy behind the counter could see that I thought it cost too much. He then told us he was not from Mendocino and he came from the place where Johnny Appleseed was from and if we could guess the State he was from then we could have the mustard for free. I didn’t have a clue where Johnny Appleseed was from. I knew I probably had read about it at some point in my life, but it wasn’t coming to mind. After naming about four States he said we had one more guess and then the offer was off. Then Alex said “Massachusetts?” Yep, that was right and now we have a delicious jar of Mendocino mustard, free of charge and it’s the kind that has whole mustard seeds in it. It has a very strong flavor to it, so I think it will go a long way. If you put too much of it on your food then it over powers the rest of the food.

Of course the ocean scenery was beautiful. The sky was blue and the sun was shining bright. I think most of the northern pacific coast will look similar to Bodega and Mendocino coast. 

We were going to make our way to Eureka after leaving Mendocino with maybe a short stop in Fort Bragg, but we just decided to stay in Fort Bragg for the night. I love that Alex and I can be very flexible with our travel schedule. It really takes the stress out of time constraints when traveling. 

Fort Bragg is totally different than Mendocino. They are about 10 miles apart from each other and they have two totally different vibes. One of my travel books said that Fort Bragg is more of a “blue collar” coastal town and less touristy than Mendocino. It isn’t kept up as much when it comes to historical buildings. In Mendocino it seems like every building has just been freshly painted and in Fort Bragg every building seems to need a fresh coat of paint. For my Sacramento peeps, Mendocino is like the Fab Forties/East Sacramento and Fort Bragg is the Oak Park(minus the gangs and high violence) of the Northern Coast. I did get a few good pictures of downtown Fort Bragg that looked nice. 

We visited a Four Square church in Fort Bragg Sunday morning. We saw that they were going to have a potluck after the service so we had to go when we found that out. Free food is a definite must! It was a rather small church, maybe 50 to 60 people total. It looks like they are heavily involved in the community and they meet up with other local churches of different denominations for various activities. I thought that was really neat. I didn’t particularly agree with the pastor’s sermon, but the worship was awesome and the people there have a heart for the Lord and helping those in need. They didn’t announce the potluck after the service and I thought maybe they weren’t having it. People started leaving and Alex and I stood around for a while and then the Pastor invited us to the potluck. Score!  Most of the people in the dining hall were not in the church service and they looked homeless. We found out that the church potluck every week was for the homeless.  I thought that was awesome and again I thought of my sister, Elizabeth, and how much she would love to be a part of something like this.  I was really touched how this little church had such a big heart for the hurt and broken people of their community. It was a beautiful experience and the food was pretty good.

The Bus has been treating us pretty good so far since the oil incident. We have driven through some pretty scary and curvy roads. Alex is a good driver and he is extra cautious when taking tight corners.

After Fort Bragg we stopped by the Drive-thru tree park and stayed at an RV park in the Humboldt Redwood Forest. We drove through the Avenue of Giants and it was spectacular! 

After one week of traveling it hit me that this is my life right now. I mean, it seems so crazy to be living like this, traveling from place to place and living in a VW Bus. Before leaving on this adventure, I thought the idea of traveling all over was so adventurous and exhilarating. Don't get me wrong, I love what Alex and I are doing, but when I think about not having a home to go to that is stuck to the ground, it makes this whole trip seem so much more of a reality and an experience in life that is going to change Alex and I. It's been fun so far and I miss everyone in Sacramento.