The Travelling Cryptographer

Point Cabrillo Lighthouse, from a field full of poison oak.

Complete with Fresnel lens.

 

The Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens.

A bit like a fairy tale …

that extends to the coast.

And has trees that fight stubbornly against the wind.

Probably my best meal on the trip was mostly grown here,

and consumed here.

 

Caspar Beach, across the street from a cramped little RV park.

With a father who clearly remembers being able to ride in the back of a pickup. (It’s fun; I remember.)

At the start of the solo portion of my journey, I made a friend.

 

(At least, I think we were friends.)

 

He rode with me to the artsy cafe, where I had my last decent coffee,

and pondered some ceiling poetry.

Laird winery, with pretty scenery.

And where if you know to avoid the standard drunkard’s Independence Day tasting, you’ll enjoy the wine. Make sure to request the Red Hen Chardonnay and Mast Ranch cab. The latter is especially useful for expensive good cheer. 

 

Martinelli winery is worth a visit if you want delicious, albeit expensive, wine. You should sit in the back room of an old hop barn for a private tasting. Apparently I was distracted, as my camera sat neglected.

 

DeLoach winery, on the hand, has no personality, in either the wine or the people. One might hazard a guess that the mysteriously scentless wine has cleansed out the last vestiges of spirit from the sommelier. How does one even make wine without any aromatics? Impressively flavorless. The scenery is pretty, but I wouldn’t want to tempt you to go there by providing a picture.

 

Russian River Vineyards. The owner decided to keep the bat haven above its wine storage.

People recovering from DeLoach can enjoy wine with flavor,

and then wander the farm.

(Even the parking has personality.)

Every good road trip involves unplanned destinations, I’m told. After arriving at a trailer repair place in Willits that stopped working on trailers 8 years ago, a rather apologetic fellow provided me with an ordered set of two business cards.

As it happens, the ordering was correct, given that Phil of Parshey’s worked me into his schedule the next morning, and would have seen me earlier if his workshop and parking lot weren’t already full of trailers. Phil also told me of a nearby fairgrounds to spend the night in Ukiah. The second shop never bothered to call me back.

Upon reflection, I think perhaps the appearance of the business cards should have clued me in.

Since I’m on the subject of trailer repairs, I’ll also point out that Vinnie’s Northbay Airstream repair in Santa Rosa is excellent (and another one-man shop).

 

 

Graffiti Bridge. 

 

The Arb. Where you can mistake three birds for two.

(Here. Try again.)

And where someone is always grumpier than you are.

 

Moller Skycars. Full of futuristic thinking …

or maybe circa 1980s futuristic thinking.

 

Lonely Bicycle Parts.

 

The place in Winters that is perfect for an Airstream cafe.

It even already has a piano.

And the fact that, well, everything is Ag.

 

But not so much my RV space. Goodbye, Davis.