We recently stayed just outside Cloverdale, California at a Thousand Trails Park. Wow… what a tiny and somewhat difficult campground to maneuver through. Anywhooo… this is in Sonoma County…. part of the heart of wine country. We came through this area back in fall and thought it was just absolutely gorgeous. Now it’s spring and we love it even more. We have definitely put a pin in this area for potential places to live once we settle back down and quit traveling, plus San Francisco is close and that is a BIG bonus! We did some sightseeing while in the area but we also just did a lot of driving around and enjoyed the scenery with it’s large amount of wineries and acres of vineyards and the amounts of grapes growing is just crazy.
One day we drove over to Highway 1 and followed the coast along a very beautiful but twisty, steep, and narrow road to Fort Ross, originally Fortress Ross, a former Russian establishment on the west coast of North America. Lots of history here and I found it very interesting. The buildings are all still there and in good condition. You can go inside most of them. Very beautiful place as it’s not far from a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
We also drove back over and spent the day at Mendocino Botanical Garden and Glass Beach. Mendocino Botanical Garden is located in Fort Bragg. I really enjoy botanical gardens so this was a treat. We oohed and ahhd over the amount of different plants and tress that were here. There’s a nice little walking trail all through the gardens and also leads out past the deer gate to a more uneven path and on out to a grand overlook of the Pacific Ocean… which is never a bad thing let me tell ya. Then we went over to explore Glass Beach, which I have had on my list for a long time. We were suppose to have seen it last fall but due to fires in the area… we had to go another route and missed it. Glass Beach is a beach in MacKerricher State Park near Fort Bragg, and gets it’s name from the abundants of smooth sea glass. The glass is leftover from a time when this area was used as a garbage dumping site for the town. After several decades what was biodegradable degraded and the metal that was left was removed and sold for scrap or art. Over time the tides and waves have smoothed the glass and made for a very interesting sight to see. Now don’t take any with you as a souvenir because it is illegal to do so… although I’m sure people still do it anyway.
We also went to the Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Factory. They have a free tour you can go on. They do a very nice job of showing you the process of making a jelly bean. I really loved this… way more than I should have. 🙂 Lots to see and smell and then of course there’s the gift shop… which we spent way too much money in. How can you go to the Jelly Belly Factory and not buy some Buttered Popcorn jelly beans I must ask?!?!?!