Hey there folks, not sure if any of you remember me from all the rad North Bay meets I put on a couple years ago, but I’m here for some questions! I’ll be flying back home to Ukiah, CA for my brother’s graduation from Sonoma State, and planning to take a day trip out to the Mendocino Coast during one of the other days, probably Sunday. Looking for a few suggestions/recommendations as to where we should stop on by.

Route planned: Take 253 from Ukiah over to Booneville, stop by Navarro Winery to grab some grape drank for lunch, follow 128 out to the coast. Have lunch at one of the state parks along the way, or wait for a beach on the coast. Follow Highway 1 north to Mendocino and Fort Bragg, then taking Highway 20 over to Willits and then south home.

So along that route, which parks, wineries, beaches, restaurants, shops, and the like should we visit? I know the lady friend likes taking hikes, so heading through one of the parks would be nice.


Thanks for the help,
David (Mr Hox)

PS – No need to recommend awesome roads to carve, as we’ll be taking my mom’s Honda Civic hybrid out to the coast. Plus I’ve already driven (almost) every single road in Mendocino County.


Oh, and here are a couple bonus pics showing my car at the last Bay Area meet I put together (Mini TSD rally out to the coast), and how it sits today up in Seattle after coilovers, HID’s and some other goodies were added:




And now...

 

I don't know that area, but nice pics!

 

Thanks man! I gotta say, I do miss the roads down in the north bay. We have a few nice mountain passes in the Pacific NW, but all are a good 30min to an hour away.


So far I'm deciding between Van Damme, Jughandle and McKerriker(sp) parks. We plan on stopping by Navarro along the way out from Boonville/Ukiah.

 

haha wow those first two pictures are like 2 years old. You can spot my car

your looks pretty nice dude. Didn't you have a couple vw's there for a little while?

 

Ha, I remember you. Yeah, those pics were old as I moved up to Seattle back in 2007. Hope you guys still have plenty of meets in Sonoma County. Thanks for the compliments, never had VW's but am finally picking up an old Austin Mini Cooper that I prob babbled about at meets in the past.



So... any recomendations for beaches/parks to see in Mendo?

 

dude i think i remember pming you about knowing some of my family that use to own sunny donuts. but have a safe and fun drive around the area.

 

Van Damme State Park FTW!!! Great park. Stayed there a bunch when vacationing with the family back in the day.

-Brian

 

Beer

http://www.avbc.com/

 

I was just going to post that! Anderson Valley rocks! Just don't order the sampler if your drinking it yourself!

 

Or DO!

-Brian

 

Best subaru meet I have ever been on was up to mendocino co last summer. We were gone from morning till night basically but I have never drivin on such awesome roads. We need to get another meet like this again.

 

Ha, yeah! Miss those guys. The people who run the shop now are not nearly as nice...


I've already dragged the GF to plenty of microbreweries and beer tastings/festivals up here that its time I started to jump into the wine world. Do love me some AVBC though!





And it looks like Van Damme will be the way to go. Fern Canyon was awesome as a kid, so I can only hope it still holds true.

Any small restaurants worth trying in Mendocino?

 

haha yea they moved to north carolina but daniel poeng is still around the area. i believe he is a chef at a restaurant now.

 

That is awesome! Last I heard he was still at Sonoma State. But good to hear he's doing something.




Bump for suggestions!