My Gram woke me early — much earlier than my usual weekend wake-up — for a brisk walk along the bluffs. The wind was blowing but the sun was out, and, bundled head to toe — yes, it was chilly, but still better than Gram's Michigan — we admired the frothy whitecaps and the magnificently blue water. We wandered along the footpath, and a passing hiker squealed that she'd just seen a whale. "Oh, I'd love to see a whale. I never have," my Gram said. We kept our eyes on the horizon, and I was sure that I spied something wild in the water, but it turned out to be only bobbing heads of kelp.At breakfast, Gram nearly busted our budget. She has quite a sweet tooth — and everything looked scrumptious at Garden Bakery. After she ordered two coffees, a nut tart, a sweet roll, a piece of pie, a cookie, and a piece of strawberry cake, I had to cut her off. We couldn't even eat half of it. She gave me a guilty smile as she wrapped up the leftovers for later.
Well fortified, we hopped into the car and headed north to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, where Gram took advantage of the discounted senior admission. The 47-acre park has outstanding plant collections, stretching from the highway to the edge of the sea. We especially liked the colorful heathers and the brilliant Japanese maples. At the edge of the bluffs, visitors get beautiful views of the ocean and headlands.
We continued on to downtown Fort Bragg and the North Coast Brewing Co. The 16-year-old brewpub is an institution in town. On Saturdays, there are free tours of the brewery across the street, where massive vats turn hops, barley, and yeast into tasty brews such as Red Seal Ale. Afterward, we headed to the restaurant for pints, a salad, and a barbecued pork sandwich.
I was ready for a nap, but Gram wanted to see Fort Bragg's Glass Beach. At the site of a former dump, gem hunters can spy all kinds of brilliant, wave-polished beach glass. We walked along the sand, looking for pieces of discarded bottles transformed into gems by the ocean. Even after this jaunt, Gram's energy hadn't flagged. On the way back, she wanted to stop at Russian Gulch State Park to see the waves fill the massive blowhole on the cliff; it almost looked like some earth-size whale spout. We also wandered along the pretty Fern Canyon Trail under the redwoods.
Back in Mendocino, we strolled around town, admiring the quaint white clapboard houses and cottage gardens, then browsed galleries at the Mendocino Art Center.
To rest our feet, we stepped into Patterson's Pub, where I had a pint and my Gram had a soda. The menu looked good, so we ordered dinner — fish and chips for me and a Reuben for Gram. The fish was excellent, with crisp, flavorful batter, and Gram pronounced the Reuben "as good as any Reuben I've ever had." When you're 86, that's saying something.
DAY 2
Coastal headlands
Wake-up walk
Free
Garden Bakery
Pastries and coffee
$16
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
Beauty by the sea
$13.50
North Coast Brewing Co.
Brewery tour and lunch
$25.28
Glass Beach
Hunting for sea-polished gems
Free
Russian Gulch State Park
Wave-watching
$6
Mendocino Art Center
Gallery browsing
Free
Patterson's Pub
Dinner and a drink
$31.74
