A Wonderful Weekend in the Redwoods (long)
DevraWolf
Northern California. We left Friday mid morning and drove through heavy rain
showers. Along the highway, trees colored yellow and orange for fall were
interspersed with evergreens, creating a water-washed landscape reminiscent of
Thomas Kinkade.
We arrived about 3:00; as we were registering in the lobby, they were
bringing out afternoon tea and scones. People were scattered around the room in
comfortable chairs, playing checkers, working at jigsaw puzzles, just chatting.
We decided to take our things to the room then come right back to partake of
the relaxing atmosphere and warm up with a little tea. In the room we were
tickled to find a crystal decanter filled with sherry, and two crystal glasses.
We unpacked, then returned to the lobby with our books, although we didn't get
much reading done. Other lodgers were extremely friendly, and we engaged in
conversations ranging from the latest mystery novel to an incredible estate
sale down the road. We considered getting directions to the estate sale for
Saturday morning, then decided we'd rather spend the day exploring. We had
dinner reservations for 6; dinner was pricey but wonderful. My favorite was the
appetizer of polenta with chantrelle (sp?) mushrooms in a creamy garlic sauce.
Yum!
Saturday we woke early, dressed quickly, and packed up two cameras for our
morning walk. Found the trail reccommended by the bartender the previous
evening. The path wandered through the mountains, following the South fork of
the Eel River. We took the trail very slowly, stopping to appreciate the mist
settling on redwoods across the river, fronds of tall forest grasses bent
nearly to the ground with the weight of dew drops, boulders polished by river
water leaving their surfaces as soft as silk. We found a small path off the
main road that led to a hidden meadow surrounded by oaks and other trees. I
dared E to let me photograph her nude in this setting, and she took me up on
it! We used half a roll attempting tasteful shots of her playing in the trees
and laying in tall grasses. I hope they come out. I hope the local photo shop
isn't scandalized!
We returned to the inn for a heavenly breakfast, then back to the room to pack
up the telescope. On the morning walk, we'd discovered an osprey nest, and were
hoping to see someone living inside. Went back up the mountain with the
telescope and one camera, found the perfect overlook, and set up the equipment.
The nest was abandoned, but we had fun experimenting with the new telescope.
Took pictures through the scope, then with a regular lens, just for reference.
E laid back in the grass and watched fluffy clouds drift by while I tested the
limits of the telescope. After a while we packed up and continued back up the
trail again. Took a couple different turns, lots of pictures (no nudes this
time), and marveled at the difference between early morning light and early
afternoon. The colors were different, bringing out new contrasts, highlighting
trees and plants we'd missed in the morning.
Returned to the inn about 2:30, changed out of wet jeans and headed back to the
lobby for afternoon tea and reading. Did a little more reading that afternoon,
but still met a few people. We were signed up for a Murder Mystery dinner, and
the lobby was full of conversation and speculation around this event. Back to
the room again about 5 to change into our finery, and returned to the lobby at
6 for the wine reception, which was the beginning of the Mystery dinner.
The Mystery was great fun. The hostess of the evening was in character as a
dizty long legged blonde dressed in a black patent leather mini dress with big
hair...along the lines of a dame in a Sam Spade novel. As it turned out, she
was seated at our table for the dinner, so although she was running around the
room quite a bit, we got a bit of a side show. She stayed in character all
night, although she dropped some of the ditzyness when we were talking with her
at the table. She was extremely funny, both on stage and aside, and she was
very good at jumping on random statements from the audience, returning with
puns or ditzy answers. Neither of us was remotely close to figuring out the
mystery, but we had a wonderful time--made even better by our own private side
show!
During the dinner, we ate way too much, drank some terrific wine, and stayed up
way too late. Fell into bed around 11, which is a good 2 hours past our
bedtime. By this time, E was feeling a little sore from our long walks during
the day, too.
Woke up Sunday very stiff. Packed up the camera again (this time with a macro
lens) and took a short walk just to loosen up. This time we took a little
different direction.The inn has a formal English garden, where we experimented
focusing on roses with dew drops, then on the dew drops themselves. Found one
spot where the redwood skyline was reflected in a dew drop; I hope those
pictures come out, too!
Hit the road about 11. Sunday was bright and clear, and the difference in
light made the scenery a completely new experience from two days ago. What was
watercolor on Friday was bright acrylics on Sunday. We spent much of the 2 1/2
hour drive in relaxed silence, watching the trees and the vineyards bright
orange with autumn leaves.
dev
shoes that aren't steph's shoes, but have certainly been inspired by her
writings to attempt one of their own
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B B
>Last weekend, E and I escaped for 3 days to a beautiful inn near
>Garberville in
>Northern California.
[ snipped rest of weekend in heaven ]
What a lovely experience, dev. Thanks for sharing. I love the redwoods,
though I have never been to the Humboldt area, only to the John Muir.
>dev
>shoes that aren't steph's shoes, but have certainly been inspired by her
>writings to attempt one of their own
bb,
socks that appreciate dev's writing and the breath of fresh air.
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Nicole Landau
DevraWolf wrote:
<snipping wonderfull post about a wonderful weekend>
Okay, now I'm starting to think that I need to go to the US sometime,
too...
Ali, doesn't the area sound a little like the Dandenongs in autumn? Of
course the Dandenongs are smaller, and the trees are different, but for
a moment I was sure I could smell autumn in Australia... :)
Thank you very much Dev.
nicole
tired feet that feel all cozy and warm now
--
"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment'
is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast:
the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."
-- unknown
remove spam. from addy to reply!
lastoutlaw
> Last weekend, E and I escaped for 3 days to a beautiful inn near
Garberville in
> Northern California. We left Friday mid morning and drove through heavy
rain
> showers. Along the highway, trees colored yellow and orange for fall were
> interspersed with evergreens, creating a water-washed landscape
reminiscent of
> Thomas Kinkade.
Wow, dev this sounds like a beautiful "getaway".
Thanks for sharing this wonderful experience. :-)
lastoutlaw
BT/chef boots