Circling the U.S. Chapter 50: Stranded in Mendocino

Saturday, October 26 - Tuesday, October 29, 2019
We arrived in Mendocino at three o'clock and they hadn't shut down the power yet. We stopped for pizza, internet, and beer at a little cafe. Then Rob decided we really should find a place to stay in town and we remembered one place had a room available. He called and the room was still available so he booked it and paid for it.

A booking mistake turned into a huge win for us.

When we arrived at the Nicholson House, Jessica told us that our room had been double booked and was not available for us. We just stood there, waiting, as she tried to work some magic on her computer. I said, "All we need is a place to pitch a tent." Rob said, "I need a room."

Jessica said, "We'll figure something out." And she did. The property next door, the Sweetwater Inn, is owned by the same couple, so she put us into one of their charming little cottages. We had a kitchen, eating and living room area, and television. We had access to the spa with a hot tub and sauna. Jessica gave us a small bottle of wine and said we could still come over for breakfast in the morning even though we weren't technically staying in the bed and breakfast inn. We settled in at 4:30, showered, and by 5:00 Rob had on game 4 of the World Series while I plugged into the internet.

A few minutes before six o'clock we walked over to the spa. And just as we entered the building the lights went out. The woman at the desk wasn't going to let us in. I understood about the sauna, but what about the hot tub? "The water will still be hot," I said. When she found out we'd already showered she relented.

There was an enormous naked man taking up half the tub. I could have handled the enormous part without the naked part, or the naked part without the enormous part, but sharing a hot tub with a fat naked guy just didn't do it for either of us. We didn't stay long.

Rob had asked Jessica for a dinner recommendation and she suggested the restaurant next door, the Luna Trattoria. The lights were on; they had a generator. We were seated upstairs, the perfect place to listen to the guitar player singing old sixties and seventies songs. Then, before we even had a chance to look at the menu, or order a glass of wine, the lights went out. We sat in the dark, with only the candles on the tables for light. The music had stopped and everyone sat quietly, waiting A young man from a table nearby was escorted downstairs. The chef came up to talk to some customers. He spoke with a heavy Italian accent and I thought, "We've come to the right place. If they get the generator fixed."

Then the lights came back on and when the young man came back, everyone applauded. He saved our dinner.

We shared an appetizer of sliced eggplant and a caprese salad. Rob ordered lasagne and I had linguine and clams. Everything was superb. We each had a second glass of wine.

We ordered a piece of dark chocolate cheesecake to share for dessert. But when it came I took a bite and told Rob he'd better order his own piece.

Rob said it was the best meal he's ever had. It was pretty terrific, a great way to celebrate 38 years of shared athletic endeavors.

Sunday morning we went to breakfast. Instead of Jessica's famous omelettes, we had hard-boiled eggs, yogurt and granola, lots of fresh berries and fruit, pastries, and a pumpkin cake. It was all delicious. We talked with the other guests. Some had booked their stay for a vacation; some were wildfire evacuees.

We checked the news on the fire. It wasn't under control and new areas had been ordered evacuated, including Sebastopol where my cousin Eric and his family lived, and Bodega Bay, on the coast. Our plan had been to bicycle to Bodega Bay then head inland to Sebastopol. I talked to Eric's wife, Amy. Their family was in New York City for a wedding, returning Tuesday night, but probably not to their home. It looked like we'd do best to stay put, if we could find an affordable place to stay.

We asked Jessica about staying another night and she said we'd need to talk to the folks in the office of the Sweetwater Inn. We were their customers now. And they gave us enough of a discount on our little cottage that we could stay another night. And on Monday morning, when the situation hadn't changed, we stayed a third night.

The owner had hooked the cottages up to a generator so we had running water and internet. We had our camping stove and plenty of food. We spent our three days with no power going for walks, browsing the shops and art galleries that opened, and reading. I worked on my blog. We felt very lucky to be stranded in Mendocino.

Mendocino has an incredible shoreline of cliffs and rock formations.

I took this picture when we went for a short ride along the coast just north of town.

The local natural foods store has taken up residence in an old church.

Old wooden water towers are sprinkled throughout Mendocino. Some have been turned into restaurants or housing, others left alone.

On Monday afternoon, as we were returning from a walk, we met four bicyclists in the town park. They'd been camping in Van Damme State Park, which hadn't closed after all. All were from the UK but not traveling together. Anna and Kurt are on the left. That's Brian and Jody on the right. Their journey is extraordinary. Brian rides a hand-cycle. They ride about 30 miles a day. Jody, Brian's close friend, said that when they come to a steep hill she gets off her bike and gives Brian a push, then gets back on her bike and keeps doing that until they get to the top. 

They told us that Will had just caught a ride in a pickup truck to San Francisco. We found out much later that wasn't quite true.

Monday afternoon Rob borrowed Jessica's guitar. As he played he noticed hummingbirds flying in and out of the garden in front of our cottage.

That's Jessica. Her cheerful attitude never wavered during the power outage.

The only reason there isn't a long line of cars waiting for gas is because there's no gas. That's why the grocery store was closed on Monday morning. The generator ran out of gas.

The Sweetwater Inn is owned by a local couple about our age. We were extremely grateful for the discount they offered, allowing us to pass three days here when we could have been miserable waiting out the fire and power outage.