Mendocino - Part 2
Mom, dad, sis and I made the trek to Mendocino on Sunday.
We detoured briefly through Cloverdale, CA, a town of about 8,000 people nestled on the side of Hwy 101. Cloverdale also serves as a gateway to Hwy 128. Hwy 128 is a winding 2 lane road which leads through a variety of country flats, mountainous ranges, and finally through thick Redwood Forests before spitting you out onto the oceanside road.
We stopped for lunch when we reached Mendocino and then briefly toured the town. It turned out to be much smaller than I expected, but made up for it with its incredible old world charm. Gingerbread Victorians, cape cods, and other miscellaneous mid-1800's style homes dappled the misty landscape, all the while dwarfed by the much larger backdrop of the surrounding shoreline.
Vast and layered was the only way I could think of to describe the depth of the surrounding sky. It was so incredibly intriguing, almost magical. Dark and swirling, streaks of light peering through cracks in the cloud layer. Heavy and light, airy and misty, humble and wise. As if it were living. This was a place in all earth's sky where ocean meets land, and the currents battle for a turn to caress the shore.
Before heading out of town we walked about a quarter mile down the road to see the last parcel of land the family still owns on Palette drive. Grandma named the street herself back when grandpa was subdividing the original lot they had purchased. Grandma's vision was to have a home by the ocean. That dream sadly was never quite realized.
A few miles south of Mendocino we stopped at the studio of artist, Bill Martin. A former art teacher and artist known for his unique fantasy pieces. One of Bill's works caught dad's eye back in the 1970's but he was unable to purchase a poster at the time. It was only recently dad managed to track down the original artist and inquire about purchasing a poster. The posters unfortunately have been out of print for almost 30 years but Bill luckily was able to offer up my dad his last limited edition print.
The original painting is circular and the print is as well. It's surrounded by white circular double matting accented in black and finished off in a black square frame. Bill signed his name in pencil below the print on the mat.
Bill was an interesting guy. A little eccentric. I spent a great deal of time looking out the windows of his studio onto the beautiful oceanside tundra, winding down to the sea below. What an excellent place to retire to.
I don't know that Mendocino is a place I would ever want to live. It's far removed from most major cities and sustains itself mostly through tourism and real estate. But, there is something about it, something quite calm, something quite captivating.
We detoured briefly through Cloverdale, CA, a town of about 8,000 people nestled on the side of Hwy 101. Cloverdale also serves as a gateway to Hwy 128. Hwy 128 is a winding 2 lane road which leads through a variety of country flats, mountainous ranges, and finally through thick Redwood Forests before spitting you out onto the oceanside road.
We stopped for lunch when we reached Mendocino and then briefly toured the town. It turned out to be much smaller than I expected, but made up for it with its incredible old world charm. Gingerbread Victorians, cape cods, and other miscellaneous mid-1800's style homes dappled the misty landscape, all the while dwarfed by the much larger backdrop of the surrounding shoreline.
Vast and layered was the only way I could think of to describe the depth of the surrounding sky. It was so incredibly intriguing, almost magical. Dark and swirling, streaks of light peering through cracks in the cloud layer. Heavy and light, airy and misty, humble and wise. As if it were living. This was a place in all earth's sky where ocean meets land, and the currents battle for a turn to caress the shore.
Before heading out of town we walked about a quarter mile down the road to see the last parcel of land the family still owns on Palette drive. Grandma named the street herself back when grandpa was subdividing the original lot they had purchased. Grandma's vision was to have a home by the ocean. That dream sadly was never quite realized.
A few miles south of Mendocino we stopped at the studio of artist, Bill Martin. A former art teacher and artist known for his unique fantasy pieces. One of Bill's works caught dad's eye back in the 1970's but he was unable to purchase a poster at the time. It was only recently dad managed to track down the original artist and inquire about purchasing a poster. The posters unfortunately have been out of print for almost 30 years but Bill luckily was able to offer up my dad his last limited edition print.
The original painting is circular and the print is as well. It's surrounded by white circular double matting accented in black and finished off in a black square frame. Bill signed his name in pencil below the print on the mat.
Bill was an interesting guy. A little eccentric. I spent a great deal of time looking out the windows of his studio onto the beautiful oceanside tundra, winding down to the sea below. What an excellent place to retire to.
I don't know that Mendocino is a place I would ever want to live. It's far removed from most major cities and sustains itself mostly through tourism and real estate. But, there is something about it, something quite calm, something quite captivating.