I feel so Lewis and Clark! Having spent my summers at Atlantic beaches and the Gulf, the deep blue waters and unpredictable surf of the Pacific are a treat. Our inn in Ft. Bragg is just a couple of blocks from the famous Glass Beach. Years ago, this area was a dump, literally. Folks from the lumber company and the town tossed all kinds of things over the cliff. Decades later, the junk is gone, and the broken glass has been sanded and smoothed by the surf.


Ft. Bragg is a working town, home of the award-winning North Coast Brewing Company. Down the road is Mendocino, quaint, beautiful, and expensive. We’re talking pay $800 grand for a 2/2 in the village expensive. But it does have a very cool independent record shop (Red Rooster Records–support small business! They take internet orders!) and gorgeous gardens. Here’s one we spotted next to the local vet’s office:

And although Mendocino was gorgeous, we had to take offense at this:

Come on, people, this is good money we’re spending! Besides, can we help it if our surf temperature is double yours? As the kids at my favorite high school would say, “don’t hate.”

Of course, no big family vacation with the attendant big price tag can’t go by without the big finish. We decided on this:

On the drive back to SF and the airport, DH took a impulsive detour to the Mendocino Wine Company so the kids could see how wine is made. Their wines include Big Yellow (Cabernet), SketchBook, and Zig Zag Zin. I not much of a wine drinker, but I have to admit, this was cool stuff. Plus, they are the first carbon neutral winery in the U.S.

Frick and Frack will have the best “What I Did on My Summer Vacation” essays ever!