Thursday, May 8, 2014

Biking, Brews, and Bloggers

 

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We’ve been having a great time in Fort Bragg. On Tuesday Tom took us mountain biking on some very nice single track off Caspar Orchard Rd. Not too many roots, no rocks, and some fun ups and downs. Those are the kind of trails we like.

Yesterday we went for a shorter ride on Hare Creek Logging Rd. Jim was having problems with hills on our previous ride but did a little better yesterday. What doesn’t kill you has got to make you stronger, right?

We also visited the Point Cabrillo Light Station just down the road from Fort Bragg in Mendocino. It was cold and windy on the coast but we bundled up so it wasn’t too bad.

The lighthouse opened in 1909. It is now part of the California State Park system and has been restored, along with the head lightkeepers house and a couple of cottages that are now used for vacation rentals or events.

There is also a great little museum about the history of the lighthouse, and another building that houses an aquarium with all those sea creatures you only get to see by diving.

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Just north of the lighthouse is a California sea lion colony, which we could hear long before we could see them. We hiked down to the coast to get a closer look, and at one point they got all excited and started jumping into the water and moving around on the rocks. It was quite a noisy show.

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And to top off our day we met up with Brian and Leigh (Aluminarium blog) at North Coast Brewery. Great beer, pizza, and company. It was a fun evening and we’re planning to meet up again for happy hour tomorrow, unless they change their minds.

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And I think we found one of the best beers we’ve ever tried, Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale. Strong but smooth and a little sweet. Jim just had to buy some to take home!

7 comments:

  1. Is that arugula on the pizza? It looks really good. Glad you got to meet up with the Aluminaria, I enjoy their blog (and yours) immensely. This part of California is very attractive.

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  2. Perfection!! What could be better than this and blue skies, too!! Well...maybe a hike!!

    That is an adorable lighthouse. It would make a great house with a view!

    I can just imagine the noise those sea lions created. Love watching those guys:)

    Great dinner company! Someday soon I hope to meet up with Brian and Leigh and you and Jim. Leigh supplies me with many of my recipes. We've all been blog friends long enough. It is now time to meet up:)

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  3. I am really enjoying your trip up the coast. Your pictures are simply beautiful and you find the most magical spots. Wish I'd been Aluminarium. I'll have to look them up. Pizza looks yummy. I'm curious about the green too...spinach??

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  4. It would take a long time for me to get tired of views like that!

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  5. The green stuff on that pizza IS arugula. That was Debbie's pizza, the Lucia, which contained "Tomato sauce, burrata cheese, caramelized onions, fried garlic, arugula and basil oil".
    Ours was excellent, too. We just made our own with pesto, carmalized onions and roasted red peppers. Simple but one of the best non-cheese pizzas we've eaten.

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  6. What is it about sea lions that they are always yelling at each other about something? They always make me laugh :-) Love the lighthouse - that "window" around the light is beautiful.

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  7. "unless they change their minds" - you guys crack me up. Hope to see you this week!

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