June 2022 Westport Beach Trip (a few months late posting this trip)

06-13-22 Monday

Westport Beach, CA

Campsite #175

Jeeps in Parking Lot: 1

Drive Time: 4.5 hours

Miles: 207

Arrived: 5:30 pm

Barry Steps: 11,100

Jacqueline Steps: 10,227

We are spending the week in a Tsunami Zone. Back at Westport Beach for the week. We were here October of 2021. If you remember it rained the whole time. This week looks like we will have nice weather, mid 60’s and low 50’s at night. It was windy the whole drive here. It’s crazy windy now at the campground. Our site is closest to the beach. I booked this when we were here last year and was able to get it. Awesome site and we can see the beach from our coach or just sitting outside. 

Barry got us all hooked up, I did all the indoor stuff and TRIED to lite the pilot light in the oven. It was being stubborn!! The minute Barry walked in I was able to light it. I don’t think it likes me but whatever! Lasagna for dinner tonight. 

We plan on a fire tonight for s’mores, which means Barry had to drive to the store for firewood. The idea of building a fire gets him excited. I think he’s a pyro at heart. Just an FYI – most campgrounds and state parks do not want you to bring your own wood. This prevents any diseases or bugs being passed to an area. Personally, I think this is a great idea. Especially with that darn bark beetle that it is destroying our pine trees. 

We didn’t eat ‘till 8:00 pm. The lasagna was yummy and filling. After dinner we walked to the beach to see the sunset. We walked the farthest we could walk. The tide was coming in so we couldn’t walk around some of the rocks which caused our walk to be cut short. We headed back to the other end of the beach, watched the sunset, collected some dried barnacles, and observed the creek and the ocean meet each other. I stood there for a few minutes and was mesmerized by the water flow. It’s so calming. We walked back to our RV, put the barnacles on our table to dry and walked around the campground. 

This campground has great tent sites, some are deep into the woods and covered by trees. So private. Most of the sites for RVs and trailers are close to the beach which means we are close to each other. Our awning is on the other side of our coach from our neighbors, and somewhat private. The campground is full and lots of kids and dogs. Nice walk and we were able to get our steps in. 

Back at camp and changed quickly into my PJs, finish up this blog, and nighty night. Sweet dreams all. 

06-14-22 Tuesday

Westport Beach, CA

Campsite #175

Jeeps in Parking Lot: 1

Barry Steps: 11,350

Jacqueline Steps: 11,382

We slept in a little today and it felt great. Needed to recharge. We both sat in our front chairs and watched the beach...just watched it. Adults, kids, and dogs started moving toward the beach. It was funny to watch the parents trying to juggle the towels, toys, chairs, and whatever else they needed to haul to the beach. After a while we saw two kites go up, a red and blue one. It’s been ages since I saw someone flying a kite. 

Breakfast was not much. I wasn’t hungry so I just had a banana. Barry had cereal. After our so-called breakfast we walked to the office to ask about making reservations for next year. The process has changed. You now have to fill out a form requesting the site you want next year and a backup site. We were informed the owner is tired of taking so many phone calls and only wants the form filled out. The attendees told us they are getting so many requests now that more people know about them. The owner is not going to institute a system online to make reservations. So much for wanting more business. We will see if we get this same site in July next year. We want to come when it’s a bit warmer. 

We took our little sheet of paper and walked around the campground with the map and circled the sights we liked. Returned the sheet to the office and walked back to camp and dropped off the clipboard we were using and headed for a walk along the beach. The tide was out so we were able to walk further than we did yesterday. We only saw one other set of foot and dog prints once we passed the point we stopped at yesterday. Once we walked as far as we could Barry decided to walk in the water and go around a rock to see what was on the other side. I couldn’t because I had shoes on. He said nothing but a huge cutout in the rock from the water and you couldn’t go much further. 

We headed back since we were getting hungry. We walked to the other end of the beach where the creek meets the saltwater. Lots of activity on the beach, kids digging large holes, dogs playing and kids dodging the surf. Nice to see families out with their kids. 

Back to the RV and I made sandwiches. Yummy!! After lunch we made a list of things we want to do tomorrow since we are going to Fort Bragg. Just hung out the next few hours and enjoyed the sound of the surf. 

Dinner was BBQ'd turkey burgers, and they were delicious. I haven’t had a turkey burger in ages. We also had a bow tie pasta salad with sundried tomatoes. 

As it got close to sunset we were sitting outside and watched everyone from the campground head to the beach to watch the sunset, including their dogs. Once the sun set, they all headed back to camp. Very entertaining. 

Barry built a fire and we enjoyed it for a while before making s’mores. We made them with Ghirardelli dark chocolate caramel squares, OMG the best. We enjoyed the fire until it was almost out. Can’t wait to crawl into bed. Goodnight all. 

06-15-22 Wednesday

Westport Beach, CA

Campsite #175

Jeeps in Parking Lot: 1

Barry Steps: ?

Jacqueline Steps: 6,625

First things first, bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns...Yummy! Nothing like breakfast cooked on a camp stove. Today, we’re off to explore. We started out the morning heading south to Caspar RV Park. 

Caspar RV Park is the sister park to Westport. We thought we would check it out as a potential spot to stay but we will NOT be staying here. Seemed to have some long-term campers, no internet or cell service. The park is not kept up very well. One thing we noticed right away is no trees like at Westport. The store is stocked well. You have to walk across a road to get to the beach which is small.

We drove through what seemed to be the only neighborhood around the Caspar area. There was an old fashioned looking church. Most of the houses in the area where all custom homes with gates, rounded or sloped roofs, and just odd shaped...interesting.

Headed back north to Noyo Headlands Park and hiked down to Glass Beach. This is a natural wildlife and marine preserve. We watched seals basking in the sun on one of the large rocks. Through the binoculars we could see how large they were. In the early 1900’s this area was used to dump trash. The ocean broke up glass bottles and now deposits them along the beach. Most of the glass is the size of a pearl or smaller. We collected glass, shells, broken abalone shells, and a few great looking pieces of driftwood. I have a glass container my grandparents gave me for Christmas one year and I want to turn it into a terrarium. Had a great time collecting stuff. 

On our way out of the Glass Beach area we saw a new microbrewery called Overtime Brewery. It was in this cool funky building. We decided to stop and try their beers and get a munchie before we headed to North Coast Brewery for an early dinner. If you’re ever in Fort Bragg, Overtime is on Elm Street. THEY HAVE ROOT BEER ON TAP! I LOVE root beer on tap. It’s one of my favorite drinks. We ordered some calamari strips, Barry an IPA, and me...Abita Springs ROOT BEER. The root beer was so creamy and delicious. Calamari Strips were huge and delectable. they serve them in a pint glass. I don’t think I’ve had calamari strips that huge. We left with crowlers (32 oz.) of root beer and IPAs. 

We headed to North Coast Brewery...CLOSED, hours are Thursday through Sunday only. We walked across the street to their store to get Barry a long sleeve tee shirt and we also picked up a bag of Old Stock Ale Beer Brittle.  Got a tip from the salesperson to try a place a couple blocks down called Piaci Pub & Pizzeria. I had a Caesar salad (dressing was kind of sweet) and Barry had bison lasagna that was delicious. Dozens of beers on tap and the pizzas looked yummy. Looks to be a local hangout, also outdoor seating. 

From here we drove around the old railyard area and a subdivision that was close by. The railyard must have been active in the early 1900s.

Headed home, built a fire, opened the Beer Brittle and wine, enjoyed the sunset, talked about how fun the day was. 

06-16-22 Thursday

Westport Beach, CA

Campsite #175

Jeeps in Parking Lot: 3

Barry Steps: ?

Jacqueline Steps: 5,956

Last full day. I slept until 9:30 AM. Our bedroom is like a cocoon, and I love it. Just a banana for breakfast, not hungry. 

Barry wanted to take highway 1 north to 101. It was 27 miles and he wanted to see what the road was like. It might be a different route home. On our way to Westport we drove highway 20, which was too windy for us with many hairpin turns. We headed out about 11:00 AM. 

The road followed the coast then headed east into the dense forest. I know I’ve said this in other posts, but you don’t realize how big California is until you drive it. It was a beautiful drive with thousands of young redwoods. Once in a while I would see a large redwood. The forest management company had done a great job of thinning trees by the road. Every now and then I could see an area that looked like it was logged. How in the world logging trucks made it through that road is a mystery to me? The road was narrow, VERY windy, bumpy and not a road we would drive our RV on. About 50 minutes later we made it to highway 101. 

The town of Leggett is at highway one and 101 intersection. According to the website there should be a few places to eat. What a joke. The website was so outdated. There was only an old gas station and we stopped and filled up. Next to it was the “world famous Leggett market.” Famous for what, not sure. Oh, almost forgot you can drive through a redwood tree at some park but not our thing. The gas station attendant told us if we head north on 101 we would run into a place called The Peg House. The only place around for miles but the food is really good...uuummmmm. Our only choice was to find the The Peg House since we were starving. 

 

Peg House was only about a mile up the highway and we pulled in. We parked in front of the store and followed the sign to the grill around the left side. The place you ordered reminded me of one of the little food shacks at a county fair. The eating area had a dozen clean picnic tables and a stage at the end with 3 guys performing, a bass player, lead guitar and a drummer, no singer. The lead guitarist also played an alto sax. What a great little place. To the right of the cemented patio area where 6 plastic water troughs (used for horses) filled with flowers and veggies. Gorgeous garden area and it also had a few tables. We ordered a grilled chicken sandwich, sauerkraut dog, bag of chips, cider and beer. Surprising the food was tasty. We would recommend anyone stopping her. They have a somewhat large menu to choose from. After we ate, we wondered into the store. Stuff everywhere, lots of hippy type items, clothes, cold drinks, snacks, jewelry, toys for kids and just weird stuff. I found a toothpick holder just like one at the cabin. I have never seen one anywhere else (see photo below) and I had to buy it. Barry picked up a hat and L/S tee shirt. After wandering around for about 30 minutes we paid for our items and headed back to Westport.

This photo is from Amazon.
I guess I didn't take one.

 

                 

On the way back I saw a deer climbing up a hill. His antlers were about eight inches long and still covered in velvet. Throughout the drive I saw wild foxglove and rhododendrons along the side of the road. Both plant’s colors were fuchsia, but I did see a few white foxglove. 

We stopped at the cemetery next to the entrance of the RV park. Sad to say it's not maintained. 

                                                                                               

                          

My dapper looking husband

Once back at the RV we discussed how crazy the road was. Oh,    and we saw a few bicyclists. There is no way in the world I would  ride a bike on that road! CRAZY! We picked up the RV a bit since   sadly we are leaving tomorrow. Later we changed into a bit more   nicer clothes and headed to The Westport Hotel & Old Abalone Pub   for a nice dinner to end our week. 

We were the only people in the Pub for about 30 minutes then more   people arrived. What a great place. The pub is beautiful inside. We ordered the petrol sole special, flat iron steak and a    bottle of Husch Chardonnay. We walked toward the back where the parlor and breakfast dining area are for the hotel guests. The stairway to the   rooms is simple and elegant. The gardens in the back where pretty   with green grass. We both loved the place and hope we can stay here in the future. Our server brought us a book, “Belonging to Places”   about the area. She said we could buy it down the street at the   market. While we waited for our dessert (it took an extra 15 minutes) I walked down the street to purchase the book. Darn it, they were sold out but the gentleman told me where to purchase online. I took pictures of the cover and the title page so I could order it. The person that authored the book was/is an archeologist from the area. Aaahhhh...dessert, Berry Crisp a la mode. It was sweet and tart at the same time and soooooo delicious. I’m glad we shared. 

Garden Area behind the Inn

 

Breakfast Area

Bar and Restaurant

I still have not ordered this book

How our check was brought to us

                

Our server also told us right across the street is stairs that lead down to a beach. We had no idea and you can’t see it from the road. We decided to walk over and check it out. You walk through a small meadow, over a very small footbridge, down a path to the stairs. Steep stairs to the bottom. The beach looked so pristine. We wanted to take the stairs but didn’t think our knees could take it, we decided to pass. Hopefully next time. Once back in the jeep we took the street behind the hotel and around the block to take a photo of a church and the tiny post office connected to the store, so cute. 

View from the meadow by the stairs

Back at camp Barry built a fire and we sat and enjoyed our last evening with a glass of wine. We talked about the adventurous day we had. The weather was cool but not damp or cold. We enjoyed the fire until it was done. We put away a few more things in prep for tomorrow and went to bed. I’m sad we are leaving tomorrow. I could stay a few more days and take those stairs.  

06-17-22 Friday

Westport Beach, CA

Campsite #175

Jeeps in Parking Lot: 3

Up early and out before check out time. Smooth ride home. If you have a few minutes watch the video below. It shows the road we have to drive to get in and out of the park. Barry is driving the RV and I'm following him in the Wrangler. We hooked up the Wrangler at the top of the hill and if you watch the video you will see why. We hit a bit of traffic in Emeryville but not much. Home by three o'clock and unpacked before dark.

Copyright © 2022 by Jacqueline Threet Henderson, Jacqueline's Jaunts. All rights reserved.