Originally a Pomo Indian settlement, a lumber town was established on this site in 1852. The town was originally called Meiggsville, and then Big River before finally settling on Mendocino, named after Spanish navigator Antonio de Mendoza. Many of Mendocino’s early non-native settlers were from New England which is definitely evident in the architecture. In fact, several episodes of the TV show Murder, She Wrote were filmed here, and Mendocino stood in for the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine. Quite a few films were made here as well, perhaps the most memorable of which was James Dean’s 1955 classic East of Eden. Today, Mendocino is one of the most charming little towns along the California coast and attracts a wonderful mix of artists, tourists and small-town enthusiasts like myself. I thought it was cool that the town still has many of the original wooden water towers, built before the town had a central water supply. My favorite places to photograph were definitely the stunning old Masonic Hall with it’s beautiful statue called Time and the Maiden, the old Mendocino Beacon Building, the unique water towers and of course the gorgeous coastline. I hope you enjoy these photos from stunning Mendocino, California.
Hello Everyone!
It is so nice to be back writing in this space again after entirely too long. It has actually now been a couple of years since I was keeping up with this blog on a regular basis, but that is all about to change. I am back in California, back in my van Shadow Catcher, and back on the road. To all of you who have been sticking with me for a while, thank you from the bottom of my heart. To all of you who have subscribed to this page in the last couple of years (and probably forgot that you did), welcome! I’m glad you’re here and I hope you will stick around for a while. I usually put out this newsletter on Thursdays and offer an update on the week of travel behind me and plenty of photos of the places I have been. This week will be a little different as I want to update everyone on what’s been happening in my life these last couple of years, and it’s not really a cheery topic. I promise it will be lighter from next week on. But for this week, here we go…
I first went to Cumberland Island National Seashore now almost 30 years ago. We went on our 8th Grade class trip on a tour that included Charleston and Savannah, and perhaps our favorite at the time, Kings Dominion amusement park near Richmond. I’ve often thought about Cumberland Island and how much I wanted to go back. Since I was there, I’ve visited 320 or so units of the National Park Service, but Cumberland Island has eluded me. Because you have to get there and back by ferry, it takes more than a few hours of commitment and at least enough planning ahead time to make a ferry reservation. But finally I made it back to the wild island off the coast of Georgia, and it was spectacular. One of my friends asked if it was as beautiful as she remembered and I told her one of the most beautiful things about a National Park site is that it doesn’t change much - that is, in fact, the whole idea! So while I am older and bigger and perhaps a touch wiser, Cumberland Island is much the same…
South Bass Island is a tiny little 3.7 mile by 1.5 mile island which sits 3 miles off the coast of mainland Ohio and is surrounded by Lake Erie. I love islands and have lived on several in my life, and am particularly fond of those not connected by road. They are neat little pockets of culture and I always enjoy visiting them. Accessible by boat or air, South Bass Island is often called Put-In Bay, and has been referred to as the “Key West of Lake Erie”. While that may be a bit of a stretch, it is a really neat place with some great bars and restaurants and some interesting history. I enjoyed visiting the fascinating Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial, which commemorates the naval battle for Lake Erie during the War of 1812. While I was there in the off-season and on a chilly and rainy Monday, I still had a really great time on the island and wanted to share these photos from my trip. While not as off-the-beaten-path as the trip you may remember I took to Daufuskie Island in South Carolina (read that story HERE), Put-In Bay is a really cool place and definitely one you should visit if you are in the area.
