Great story. We stopped at Chandelier Grove on the way back up the coast in 2016. My wife wasn't all that impressed with the drive though tree at the time but it was something I wanted to show her. I had been there as a small child in 1951 then again with my dad and my sisters in 1962 I passed it in the dark on my way up the coast in 1968 though. I think the trinkets in the gift shop are in the same bins that they were in 1962 as very little ever changes in that place.
Great trip! Did that in the family truckster several years ago with my wife and two youngest. Cut over from 101 at Santa Rosa to Bodega Bay then all the way up to Cresent City. Would have loved to do it in my hot rod, but since it only holds two, I am sure my kids would have complained about being tied across the hood like deer!
Hello, Wow, what a great day to be outside on that highway up the coast. Great photos of the road trip. My wife and I have been on that particular highway many different times on our coastal California road trips. There were different stops on the different journeys to the Pacific Northwest, driving back down to the Bay Area and then So Cal. Each time we stopped at different locations and had a great time as usual on that rugged coastline. The red 65 El Camino was the main road tripping vehicle, but there were a couple of times with my wife’s little sporty car. The location and photos never get old. Since we don’t have a definite lighthouse in So Cal, we were impressed with the giant one sticking out on the point. A couple of times, it was rainy, foggy and windy. But, yes, like your photos show, it can get sunny on that portion of the coastline. 3 in the Corvette? On those curvy coastal roads? Again…Wow! My wife had read some history about the California coastal areas north of San Francisco. So, several of the road trips along with our photo shoots included, had us taking the great winding coastal road to Fort Ross. The photo as posted looks exactly as we saw it back in 1966. Early in the mid morning was clear and sunny. Yes, we were there on a clear, windy day for our long ago visit, with only a few others that braved the cold wind. “This place was also, very eerie. Most of the time, there are other people wandering around. But, the buildings, fort structures, the cliff side, are fairly empty and it always seemed that something was following us. Some of the photos came back with odd things showing up. (they were trashed, because of photographer error or…) These days, it is easier to show what it was like… maybe it wasn’t photographer error after all, but… spooky things…” While we were wandering around, it just felt odd. Empty at first, but when I took a photo of the corner tower, the color slides just did not come out as planned, once we got back to So Cal and had them developed. Only a few actually survived the “error-in-the-photo” purge and it still was creepy. 1966 eerie Fort Ross emptiness... Yes, a little “ghostly” and creepy. Jnaki It is a cold, blustery, and mostly foggy area of Northern California. Built right on a cliff top with the rough shoreline and radical ocean currents below. It is an odd place, as it will be somewhat sunny, then in the next 30 minutes, fog rolls in and it will seem like winter, even though it is in the middle of summer. As different as it is to sunny So Cal, it is one place we have been many times and it never gets old… only we do. The memories and album photos keep the brain active with images from a long time ago, 54 years at the beginning. Nice road trip and photos…
Looks like a great trip! Thanks so much for taking us along! And, definitely love the vette as I have probably mentioned before somewhere here...
That's one way to get there from here, we can go up through the Valley to Calistoga, then over Petrified Forest Rd to SR, runs right into River Road that will take you to the coast thru Guerneville, Monte Rio and Duncans Mills- comes out just south of Jenner, at the bridge over the river. There is a restaurant at the south end of the bridge that is where they filmed the attack scene for The Birds. The other way we can go is thru Petaluma (Paradise Road!) going thru Valley Ford to the town of Bodega where the school is, then Bodega Bay- don't miss lunch at Lucas Wharf- much more fun than The Tides. Up to Jenner- right by the "gas stop" is a bed n breakfast place that has a bunch of cottages and is a great getaway. IIRC there's only one original building at Ft Ross, the rest is fairly accurate reproductions
Great fish n chips at the little hole in the wall restaurant at the north end of Bodega Bay, can’t remember the name. I always walk next door to the kite and souvenir shop and buy some salt water taffy and a simple balsa wood glider like we had as kids. I put them together, date them and hang ‘em in my shop.
If you really want isolation up there check out the Lost Coast, north of Shelter Cove, east of Ferndale. Steep, rough, windy road leading to the ocean, not for lowriders. Once you get down there miles of empty coast. There is a general store in Peoria, maybe even gas. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Coast I'm used to romping around these areas on motorcycles, but after 25 years of strapping my wife's dead leg to the footpeg and wheelchair on back we've decided to count our blessing and add a couple of wheels.
Yep, that place has changed hands a few times, but always good. The kite shop is cool, lots of yard art. Forgot to mention in Monte Rio, in addition to the Pink Elephant Bar, is the infamous naughty rich guys playground, the Bohemian Grove
On the way home yesterday we stopped at a flea market. I had been leaving a spare key in the trunk lock during the day since I had to get the wheelchair out everywhere we went. Got back to the car, no key in the lock. Flea markets aren't always the most honorable of places so I'm thinking someone swiped it. Walked around to the door, there it was. Restored faith in humanity.
The Jalopy Journal
