Wednesday, March 24th
The Forests and the Beaches of the California Coast!
Wednesday morning we leave Cloverdale, California to begin the trek home. We had been distracted by our lost passports. We had lost them in Barstow, California, and by the time we found out, we were a full days drive( 6 hours including winding coast road) away in San Simeon, and weren’t about to turn back. It would cost us a day and a half.
Thankfully the person who they were turned into somehow got ahold of Phil’s dad, who in turn notified Shari, who sent us a message via email. What a shock. We had been so careful, and I thought I must have lost them in Vegas, after all you know what they say...
Anyway, we had been without internet connection as the hotel we were at in Carmel had lost their internet connection. Eventually we had made arrangements with our contact person in Barstow to courier our passports to us in Eureka, which is where we had planned to be on Tuesday, March 23rd.
Unbeknownst to us, you cannot mail, courier or transport passports which are no yours. It is illegal and known as document trafficing. Who would have known?! I guess it is for identity theft& security, so it makes sense.
We have a beautiful drive planned ahead of us to Eureka, California on the #128 through redwood forests to the #1 along the coast of California. This drive takes you through groves of Redwoods, and then along the beautiful coastline. Such a beautiful drive. We pass through Mendocino, which is a beautiful little coastal town. Very tiny town with the majority of homes being heritage homes from the 1800’s, right on the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean.
The grey whales migrate along this corridor staying close to the shore as they have calves with them. We stop at the tourist info centre which is a home built in 1854, which has the most beautiful view of the ocean. In this little town of 4 blocks either way- there are at least 5 Real Estate offices! Almost everything is for sale. Summer must be coming!
Our next stop is Fort Bragg, and we stay here for lunch, and some beachcombing. Phil was doing some research on the area and found that they have a beach called “Glass Beach” This town, some time ago dumped their refuse and garbage into the ocean! Cars, barrels, motors, and almost anything you would toss. Also included was dishes, bottles, and glass and clay and porcelin wears of all different types. Over time, the crushing waves have turned and tumbled this broken glass into little and big pebble pieces along the beach. The beach sand is literally colored with green and brown and white glass mixed in with the sandy shore.
What a gift this was. We beachcombed for about an hour. We did not find the rare yellow, red and aqua colored glass, but found alot of the green, brown and white class. Lucas and Phil even found pices of what looks to be old dish wear - frosty blue, pink, and dark green and brown on clay. The whole experience was just wonderful. We filled our little bag of glass, shells and treasures and made our way northward to Eureka.
Upon arriving in Eureka, we were all waiting to get into the “nice part of town.” It did not come. Eureka, California has got to be one of the worst looking towns I have ever seen. It is really run down-nothing of any beauty except the coast and the ocean which was out of sight once you got into town.
Not surprisingly, our hotel was much like the town. Generally, over our travels across Canada and the US, we have never been in a hotel quite like this. I must preface by saying Super 8 Hotels, being really affordable, and having continental breakfasts, really suit us as we just need a (clean) place to sleep and something quick to eat in the morning. This was not the usual Super 8. It was not super at all!
My first indication that all was not well was when we entered our first room #106 which was supposed to be a non-smoking room. Phil, Lucas and I all have allergies, so we really feel it when it is not non-smoking. Well, as soon as I opened the door, the smell just about knocked me over. We quickly made our way back to the office and let them know we needed another truly “non-smoking” room. The front desk clerk got really defensive and said “ someone who just stayed must have smoked as we never have complaints” It smelled like it had been smoked in for years!
Off to our “new” room and I say that loosly! Our new room #121 smelled also of smoke, but I did not need to pick myself up off the floor. We quickly dropped our bags off, and left the hotel to find something to eat. We were advised to eat at the Sea Grill, where we had a super fantastic salad bar, meal and service. It was just terrific and hit the spot.
We go back to the hotel, and on closer inspection, we find mould on the walls and ceiling of the bathroom. I thought to myself “ well, I just won’t touch anything”. Phil goes to turn up the heat cause its really cold in the room, and the heater does not work.
On closer inspection, the little gage is broken, so we cannot turn up the heat. Eventually after some fiddling, Phil thought he got it going because something was coming from the heater. This “something” was the strong smell of gas and not much else - no heat. I take a look at the actual heater and find mould, grime and dust about a quarter of an inch thick all over the heater. I did not look in the beds as I was afraid to.
So what is a person to do? I walk to the office to explain that the heater does not seem to work, and it smells like gas in our room. He promptly told me that he has never had a complaint in all the years he has worked there, and they had 45 rooms full. I just wanted some heat. He said when the maintenance guy came he would get me a space heater, but did not know when he would arrive. I go back to the room, and Phil and I discuss our next move. We cannot stay here.
We walk to the office and say to the clerk that the room is unacceptable and explain to him all the problems. He then goes into a tirate that they have never once had complaints about their hotel, and that if I have been in 2 rooms and was not satisfied, then there was just no pleasing me. ( his exact words)
Funny, all I was asking for was the usual expected clean room with heat, he thought, I guess, I was asking for all green M&M’s with unlimited bottled water, a foot massage and turn down service with chocolates on my pillow. I was asking for the basics, and somehow this was an impossibility.
After much discussion, he then says “ I have your money, I do not have to make you happy” “ we can check out anytime, but he will not return our money” but “ if we were to stay another night, he would discount the second night by $10.00. Yep, that is exactly what he said! I know - funny isn’t it! I did not even want to spend the 1st night there, why on earth would I want to spend another?
Well, we made our way to the Clarion Hotel, which was the only one in town that looked new and promising, without our money, and it was the best decision. Clarion gave us the much anticipated and expected clean room with heat. What we did not expect was the free bottles of water, Internet connection with no passwords needed, and a 50 item continental breakfast in the morning, all this came with a smile as well as well as a clean bathroom and shower to boot! What a novel idea. A hotel where there only reason for existance is to provide a clean bed and room were able to deliver. I love Clarion Hotels!!! We slept well, had a great shower and clean up in the morning ( you can use your imagination for this) and we had a great breakfast. What a delight!
We come home the I 5 and freeway all the way to the boarder. After spending so much time In the Redwoods, and along the coast, it is a welcome feeling to drive the straighter roads, and have the rest stops every 25 - 45 minutes. You can count on a clean bathroom, and an easy off and on the interstate. I imagine the many hundreds and thousands of truckers feel the same way! For people taking road trips, the American highway rest stops are so wonderful!
