youngtom2910

My partner and I decided to drive from the Monterey area up to southern Oregon and back. We went last week. We tried ti drive 150-200 miles most days.

the first night we went to sonoma. We stayed at the Sonoma Creek Inn, which ended up being a motel-but is was conveniently located and fine for what it was. (There was a Fairmont down the street for those interested in more luxury.) We arrived in the late afternoon, and the clerk recommended a restaurant/bar by the name of "HopMonk Tavern." It ended up being quite a find. The weather was perfect that afternoon/evening, so we ate outside on the quite attractive patio. the staff were quite personable. We has a beef ragu, which was surprisingly tasty. After dinner, we walked around the sonoma courthouse square, which was quite attractive and hand a number of restaurants and hotels.

The next morning we ate breakfast at the coffee shop next door, the Creek side Cafe. Very good breakfast. We even splurged and had a milkshake.. We took route n12 west to get to 101, and on the way we went by a number of wineries, such as St. Francis, Chateau St. Jean Kunde and others. We went up 101 to the entrance of the "Avenue of the Giants" turnoff. This 30 mile stretch has lots of redwood viewing opportunities. We stopped at the information center and got directions to the Founders Grove ,which was quite impressive. We then continued to Ferndale to the Gingerbread Mansion Inn. We were tired from a day of driving and appreciated their late afternoon snacks and wine. Ferndale is a small but lovely Victorian town. We walked around on Main Street and decided that the mexican restaurant named Tuya's was the place for us that night for dinner. We had a chardonnay from a vineyard called "Old Growth" that was very goof-there is a tasting room in Eureka.

The next day we explored eureka a bit-which seemed economically depressed and fairly depressing. We continued up 101 to around Crescent City. There was a redwood information center before Crescent City, which we found helpful and informative. At Crescent City we took199 East to look at Jedediah Smith Park redwoods, turning left at Walker road to look at redwoods. We then continued up the coast into Oregon to Brookings. My partner showed me something she has discovered on an earlier trip. Apparently a man in the japanese army during the second world war took off from a submarine off the coast of Brookings and had dropped some bombs in the forrest around Brookings. this did not cause significant damage. anyway, at some point in the early 1960s the soldier contacted the mayor of Brookings and told the mayor he would like to come to Brookings and apologize for his actions. It apparently was quite controversial whether the city should receive him. They ended up inviting him to Brookings where, among other things, he presented the city with a ceremonial Japanese sword.. He and his family continued to have various contacts over the years. The sword and various newspaper clippings can be found in the library. We then went to Tu Tu tun Lodge in Gold Beach for the night. This is a wonderful place to stay-the high point of our trip. There are only about 20 rooms. The lodge is located on the Rogue River about 5 miles outside of Gold Beach. The landscaping is beautiful. We had a room with a large balcony that faced the river and the opposite large forrest. We spent a lot of time on the balcony. The Lodge offers a prix fix menu for $70, which we decided to try. The Lodge has tables inside and some are on the outdoor patio, where we sat. We enjoyed the relaxing meal with a tasty scallops presentation.

We stayed 2 nights at the lodge. They also serve breakfast.. It's quite relaxing at the lodge. There is a bocce court and some kayaks are available to guests. The next night we went to Spinners for dinner in Gold Beach.

The next day we left the lodge at about noon and retraced our steps to Ferndale and the Gingerbread Mansion Inn. 101 between the Oregon border and Eureka frequently is a 2-lane road with lots of curves. Also, there are places where road work is occurring, so it effectively is a one-lane road at times. Driving is slower than you would expect for 101. We enjoyed the snacks and wine at the Gingerbread Mansion, sand then at Tuya's again.

The next day we drove to Geyserville. As the day continued, it got hotter and hotter. It approached 100 by mid-day. We had a late lunch in Ukiah. By the time we got to the Geyserville Inn in Geyserville, we just wanted to hang out in the pool. I wish we had explored the Coppola winery and restaurant, which was not far away.

The lasr day we drove to Monterey, which was pleasanrly uneventful. Our cats forgave us for being gone.

Moderator1

Trip Report tag added

MichelleY

Thanks for the report!

MoBro

Sounds good! A friend's relative owns Hop Monk. I've never been there, though. Glad you liked it.

We recently visited Healdsburg, which is also a cute town with lots to do.