NorCal Road Trip Day 5: Charming Towns, Free Bouquets & Our Leisurely Journey to Wine Country

We didn’t want to leave the Lost Coast quite yet, so we took our time. 

While grabbing breakfast at The Greene Lily in Eureka, we enjoyed a carafe of the most delicious mango mimosas we’ve ever tasted. We also saw someone with a face mask boldly emblazoned with the “Power G” of the University of Georgia. It turns out they were from Georgia and set to begin their freshman year at UGA this fall. We congratulated our fellow Dawg and were encouraged to see that others from Georgia were here exploring lesser known California destinations, too!

After checking out of The Inn at 2nd & C and greeting Max (the dog who came to work with a hotel employee that day), we grabbed some coffee at Los Bagels and lingered a bit longer, exploring many small shops and a local bookstore (one of our favorite things to do). When we came across Just My Type, Eureka’s local paperie and letterpress, we marveled at something we had never seen before. 

Visible from the sidewalk through a front window was a woman working a vintage 1920s press. We watched her work for a few minutes as she carefully and swiftly placed labels onto the press just in time for the linoleum block to stamp them before she swapped it out for a new unprinted label. Her speed and accuracy was so perfect that her arms seemed perfectly synced with the timing of the press. 

It turned out the labels that were being printed were packaging for Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate bars, which we recognized as the chocolate bars we purchased earlier on our trip in Philo. Like so many things in northern California, Dick Taylor chocolate is locally produced. The entire region was so independent and self-sufficient. It was so refreshing to be in a place where local brands and products seemed to be the most prominent. We ended up purchasing several locally designed cards and stickers, as well as two pieces of redwood art created in-house with the linoleum blocks and the printing press. 

See the vintage letterpress at Just My Type in action below!

After that, we left the charming, scrappy town of Eureka and made our way south on Highway 101. Since we’d cut Redding from the itinerary in favor of a second night in Eureka, our next stop was my dad’s house in Santa Rosa. After all of the road trip hustle and hotel stays, we were looking forward to visiting family and enjoying a slower pace the following day. In the meantime, we decided we would start our journey but remain open to activities we didn’t get a chance to do earlier in our trip. 

We drove through Ferndale, a small dairy town situated in a beautiful valley. Its main street was lined with colorful buildings and elegant Victorian architecture. On that sunny day, it felt like we were cruising through a scene from a postcard. The town was buzzing on this summer weekday afternoon as people streamed in and out of the dozens of shops and eateries that dotted the road. If we had more time, we definitely would have walked around more in Ferndale. But, we chose to press on, knowing we at least got to see the town’s reputed architecture. 

We were in for a sweet surprise when, on our way out of town, we passed the cutest little white cottage. On its front sidewalk, dreamy bouquets of flowers were carefully constructed and left in a rustic wheelbarrow. On the front of the cart, a sign read “Free”. We picked out a bouquet and hit the road, uplifted by the unspoken kindness and sheer charm that Ferndale offered. 

After our detour, we got back on the highway but stopped again in Fortuna for lunch. We leaned into the leisure and joy that came with just letting go and taking our time. Each town we stopped in was special in its own way. Armed with a camera around my neck, I snapped photos to capture the feel of that sunny day in Fortuna. We stumbled across a farmer’s market, grabbed lunch at a local Mexican spot and admired the town’s retro clocktower. 

Did I mention there were beautiful flowers everywhere too?

Since we ran out of daylight on Rebecca’s birthday earlier in the trip, we took advantage of the fact that we were again driving through Humboldt County, something we would not have done had we gone to Redding. We got off Highway 101 and took the scenic 32-mile drive south on the Avenue of the Giants. With redwoods standing tall on both sides of the car, the road felt narrower and the margin for error slimmer. At some points, it felt like our car might collide against one of the massive trunks that appeared to protrude into the driving lane. It was an absolutely breathtaking ride. 

When we came across the drive-thru Shrine tree, which was something I’d originally had on our list of things to do, it was the perfect cherry on top. While it felt a little gimmicky to pay money to drive through a hollowed out tunnel in a dead redwood tree, it was really fun to have that experience. By the time we got back on the road, the fading sunlight told us it was time to stop lollygagging and kick it into high gear. 

We arrived in Santa Rosa late and crashed. We needed all the rest we could get to prepare for the next day.

All that wine wasn’t going to taste itself.