To Crescent City

February 8, 2024

For a refreshing change, there’s little news to report from today’s five hour drive to Crescent City. Navigation was simple - two miles from the motel we drove up the ramp onto US 101, and our next navigation point was the turn into the parking lot of our motel in 300 miles. We nailed it, even throwing in the navigation challenges of a stop for gas in Willets and another at the Redwood Cafe in Fortuna for an early afternoon breakfast of French toast, bacon and coffee.

It was a smooth, easy ride the whole way, with light traffic and decent weather. Scenery was fine, reminding me again of what an exceptional and diverse place California is. The only annoyance came from driving through the lengthy sprawl of Eureka, a city that irritates me for some reason, and getting stopped by seven stoplights.

We checked in at the Lighthouse Motel right at three, and both went out again almost immediately - Rachael for a four mile walk along the harbor and I for a last shot at finding a few more birds before leaving California. And I did find some, leaving me with 43 birds for the state - more than I added last spring, and a surprisingly good number given the weather conditions we dealt with.

For dinner we went to the Chart Room, a restaurant Rachael scoped out on her walk. It’s halfway out the south jetty, with nice views west across the harbor and back to the adjacent pier heaving with barking sea lions. A nice place to sit and enjoy the sunset, but I think next time through we’ll go back to the nearby Crescent Seafood, a fish market that serves up meals as well.

The view south across the harbor to Whaler Island at the end of the south jetty.

The Battery Point light, lighting the way since 1856.

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