Humboldt County

Why Humboldt Should Be Your Next Roadtrip

August 26, 2016 By kimwheeler No Comments

The past week we took a small four day road trip up to Northern California. We are in Northern California you say? Well, I mean the very north, Northern California, Humboldt County.

This area of amazing natural beauty, often referred to as being behind the ‘Redwood Curtain,’ is a 6-7 hour drive north of the Bay Area and yet remote enough that most Californians have never been.

Long ago in the era of the family road trip, the ‘redwoods’ were something one did with the family, preferably in a station wagon and most likely in the 1970’s. Now the luxury of time and long family road trips seem almost a bygone era. People want to get to their destination via plane and fast. To all those who have never done a real road trip of multiple days, this is your spot! Do you want to see ancient redwood forests, fern canyons and foggy beaches with a few VW buses thrown in? Humboldt has all this and more!

Flights can be expensive costing as much as a trip to Hawaii and prior rail services that connected here have been sadly been retired. Car is the way to go and it’s a pretty drive.

Leaving from the Bay Area, stop in one of the cutest town on the way up, Ukiah for a lunch.

Our favorite bakery Schats in quaint downtown Ukiah.

This Dutch bakery has at least 40 sandwiches on the menu and makes fantastic bread and sweets. I think The Verdict is the most popular sandwich on their amazing Sheepherder bread. (Did I mention they are across from the courthouse?) Afterward pop into the wonderful Mendocino Book Company around the corner with it’s expansive selection of books, cards and all kinds of lovely things I just can’t find elsewhere.

Back on 101 you’ll pass through some other small cute towns like Willits and Laytonville, and follow the aptly named Eel River which meanders along the highway for a large part of the trip.

Our first stop is always our Arcata.

We were lucky to stay in Arcata at our stepmom Marguerite’s home. She has an amazing yard with a sunny deck and apple trees and backs up to the redwood forest.

She could run a Bed and Breakfast she is an amazing gourmet cook and host. I never want to leave.

We picked tons of sweet organic apples and helped set up for a big family dinner the next night.

Isn’t this pretty?

Her front doors!

Arcata where Marguerite lives is a college town, home to Humboldt State University and is perhaps the most charming of the three with a historic main square and a thriving funky cool artist community.

A great weekend in Humboldt can be kicked off at The Arcata Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning! I love this market with fabulous sellers, and an interesting mix of people from students to garden nerds and organic farmers to new age hippies.

The fruits, vegetables and plants are amazing! I was just wishing we had more room to take some of these home in the car.

The people watching at this market is 20 out of 10!

I loved this cute student’s ensemble- fair isle sweater, heart glasses and Bernie bag!

Dreads are a popular look up here for both men and women.

Kale is just the right accessory for your hippie chic look!

My oldest son bought a Bonsai tree from guys we call the Bonsai nerds. They gave us the lowdown on everything we need to ever know about those little trees. Some wonderful honey sellers here too.

Pitcher plants and goat’s milk handmade soaps!

They always have an art project going on where anyone can participate. This one was being run by Boy Scouts.

People were working on paper floating lanterns here. This guy’s overalls were so Humboldt.

Love it.

Many impromptu picnics.

There’s also a hula-hoop area where everyone from toddlers to seniors are giving it a go!

While at the market check out the shopping around the town square.

The Garden Gate has inspired and beautiful items locally made.

Giraffe bud vase anyone?

This trip I bought some thick striped raw linen dishtowels there that I’m crazy about.

They also sell some amazing comfortable chairs that are popular to try out as you can see.

Plaza is another must and one of the best curated stores I’ve ever been in! Gorgeous home goods and they are famous for their hand poured colored glass tableware which has a cult following it’s so unique.

In Arcata two lunch spots are great, Rita’s authentic Mexican food on 8th right by the plaza and also Cafe Brio, a wonderful bakery and restaurant if you can find a table. Coffee from Jitter Bean Coffee Company, also on the plaza is a requirement before a stroll through the market!

Another must while in Humboldt is Los Bagels, something you won’t find anywhere else- a combo Jewish/Mexican bakery cafe with the best organic bagels you’ll ever have. It was begun 32 years ago by Dennis Rael who came from a multi-cultural Jewish and Mexican family. It soon became a Humboldt institution that everyone loves. We never miss a chance to go here and get a slug- their long seeded bagels, and fresh creme cheese. They also have challah, empanadas and fresh guacamole and more bakery items plus great artsy T-shirts and bags. There are two more locations, one in Old Town Eureka and on the Humboldt State campus.

I had to have this cute white shopping tote, one of many fun things they sell.

Eureka is the largest town in Humboldt, is famous for it’s Victorians and it’s cute Old Town. It sits on the waterfront of Humboldt Bay and has many nice seafood restaurants and cute shops. The Carter House is one very nice hotel to stay in here with it’s pretty Victorian buildings.

Interesting note-Eureka is the home of the original Restoration Hardware which began as a supply spot for the many Victorians being renovated and sadly is no longer there or anything like the original store. This pic is from Wikipedia as I did not get to Eureka this trip, but shows how charming it is. While in Old Town check out HollyGoLightly, a darling vintage boutique and also Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate.

Trinidad is the cutest little secret beach town in California …At least that’s what Sunset Magazine said and I agree.

Trinidad was a historic whaling port and it’s also where my husband Max grew up. It sits in a bluff overlooking the prettiest little harbor. There is still a population of around 400, about the same as it was when he grew up here in the 1970’s.

It reminds me a little of East Coast Beach towns.

Now however, it’s a bit more upscale with many beautiful vacation rentals, inns and three cute cafes. This pretty one below is Trinidad Bay Bed and Breakfast which overlooks the harbor.

It is a great little village to walk around.

The Beachcomber Cafe is my favorite spot with it’s organic fare and green ethic.

Those cool bikes parked in front belonged to biking backpackers.

Food is organic, local and delicious. The breakfast bean bowl was tops. Bring your own cup for coffee here. They don’t do paper cups, but you can buy a to go glass for a dollar.

A walk around Trinidad brings you to a few cute shell shops and to the harbor with another landmark spot, The Seascape. It’s right at the bottom of the harbor and you can watch the fishing boats go out if the fog isn’t too thick. Their traditional fare is actually tasty and it’s a cozy spot on a cool day.

Trinidad State Beach is the walk to do here and it begins with a pretty trail down to the sea.

This is where my husband played all day as a kid in these woods!

Banana slugs may be sharing the trail…

The fog blows in and out all day here in the summertime so dress warmly and in layers. It’s magical this mist!

Patrick’s Point is another great coastal trail in Trinidad if you have time. Agate Beach is also a favorite spot to find agates.

The beach below of the Trinidad lighthouse is also lovely, seen below.

Most of these beaches require a little hike down a trail so bring good shoes with you.

If you have an extra day, drive up the coast an hour to the town of Orick to see Lady Bird Johnson Grove, some of the most remarkable old growth redwoods ever. Here’s a pic I took a few years back at LBJ..

Seriously!

Not far from there is Fern Canyon, a stream canyon through fern covered walls where Jurassic Park II was filmed. Both are worth adding another day to your trip and fortunately are close to each other and can be done in one day.

This shot in Fern Canyon from a few years ago on the same trip…

It’s a blast to walk along all the boards through the creek and along the canyon. You need shoes that can get wet here.

For lodging near to all this in Trinidad check out View Crest Lodge, which has spacious rooms for families and good prices and is central to all these spots north and Trinidad.

Trinidad has a very famous and unique restaurant, Larrupin’ Cafe. Wonderful local food and a beautiful cozy decor make it a perfect ending to a weekend up in Humboldt!

For more information visit this Visit California site which has a good overview of the redwood parks as there are so many.

The coast redwoods are the tallest living things on earth and really have to be seen to be appreciated. No photos can capture the beauty or the smell of the redwood forest. I hope you all get to see this amazing part of the world one day. The little towns that surround this area are charming too and feel a bit like another place and time, which I love and highly recommend as a getaway!

Kim

Photos all Northern Cal Style, except where noted.

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Behind the Redwood Curtain II

August 17, 2012 By kimwheeler No Comments

I’m finally getting to Part II of our trip up to the top of California, Humboldt County. If you read Part I, you got to see all the primeval Redwood forests and more we visited. This part is all about where we stay and other fun landmarks…

This yard is part of the amazing Redwood retreat we get to call home when we are in Humboldt visiting Max’s family. This house belongs to Marguerite, or Muffy as she’s known. She’s Max’s step-mom and like a mom and grandma to us all. Max’s dad died many years ago and they bought this home together. She welcomes us all to stay at here at this resort that she calls home and be spoiled. Included in this group besides our four is Max’s sister Amara, her husband Brian and Max’s mom Fay, who lives in nearby Eureka. We all takeover Marguerite’s home and she lets us run amok!

As you can tell her home is beloved by many. Including dogs like Josie and Bella who love to pay fetch a million times and relax…

Marguerite in her custom designed gourmet kitchen, where she is always cooking up amazing food.

We all pitch in and assist with some fabulous meals she makes. We hang out on her bar and have our morning tea and coffee while she cooks us up stuff like this:

The day before we left she made a new blueberry scone recipe from Cook’s Illustrated here. I have never seen scones made this way and wow!

Did I mention she got the berries from her backyard? Arcata, where she lives has the perfect climate for growing berries. To say it’s lush, is an understatement!

Behind this tangle of vines and roses, there is an old growth redwood tree trunk that was supposed to be made into a hot tub by Max’s Dad before he died. It’s back there somewhere.

If you forget to trim for a bit, things can get a bit Amazonian…Nothing a few grandsons can’t fix. Yes, they are happy to use machetes! Oh yes, it’s all very safe they kept telling me.

Guess we won’t be playing ping-pong today. When vines attack!

Hey look what we unearthed…

There is just so much loveliness in this yard. Plus fruit!

Marguerite and I like to hang out on the patio and look at recipe books. We were loving this recipe here in a cookbook we found at Los Gatos’s Happy Dragon thrift shop. So sorry I don’t have the original credit, but you can zoom in on this… Doesn’t it look yummy?

Everyone else likes to just relax out while the sun shines. She lives in Sunnybrae, a part of Arcata that is a bit more inland and gets more sun than most parts up there.

Petting large dogs who think they are puppies…

Max and his mom, Fay.

Max’s sis Amara and Grif.

We cook some more.

Piano by Griffin.

Dishes by Josie! ;P

I just love Marguerite’s cooking library she has which is adjacent to the kitchen. Love to have that someday. It’s fun to browse all her books!

Her home is filled with things from her travels. I love her shell collection from many of her dive trips around the world with Max’s dad.

She also has souvenirs from trips to so many far-flung locations. Her most recent was Myanmar and Cambodia with her boyfriend Bill. Did I mention she’s a high school teacher too? She just won an award last year for all she does to help students in need. She also founded the Vance Cafe in Eureka last year a non-profit place to help special needs kids get work experience. I don’t know how she does it all!

Anyway, no trip to Muffy’s would be complete without shopping and Amara and I were anxious to get to a Humboldt institution, Holly Yashi. This store is so fun. They have gorgeous jewelry made on site in their workrooms. They also sell lovely home decor and accessories and greet you with an espresso drink at the door if you wish. They had me at cappuccino! Do not miss this stop if you are up here!

The men were happy with the coffee and some kind of yummy Beligian cookies and spread they sell called called Biscoff. We all bought a jar of the spread.
Sooo good!

There were all kinds of darling shops in downtown Arcata like this garden stop, Eden.

My personal favorite is The Garden Gate. I could spend days in here. The selection of merchandise is clearly chosen by someone with fantastic taste. From garden tools and pots to divine umbrellas, books, toys and jewelry, and handbags -it’s all covetable!

I want these cups!

And this book about Normandy!

I have an umbrella obsession and finding full size beautifully made ones like these is rare.

Some folks found the yard furniture section near the books..

Arcata also boasts some deeply groovy shops…

Unfortunately, Funk Shui was closed when I was there! It could have been an experience. 🙂

Arcata is just cute with bits like this roundabout with tiles and pretty plants.

And speaking of cute, I thought this was quite…

And no trip would be complete to this area without a stop at Los Bagels. With locations in both Eureka and Arcata, this landmark produces some of the best bagels you have ever had. The slug, (looking like you would presume), is one of their signature bagels. They also serve Larrupin sauce which is another Humboldt specialty, a kind of mustardy spread. I personally like the Eureka location below. The art inside is quite fun.

While Arcata is a evolving and hopping college town with a main square, Eureka is a small version of San Francisco, with it’s hills and Victorian lined downtown. It’s very charming and fun to wander through. I always like to check out the resale store HollyGoLightly. It’s got the cutest selection of vintage dresses. Eureka below.

HollyGoLightly.

I hate heading home. I really like the slower pace of this whole area. It’s a bit like being in another space/time continuum.

On the way back down 101, you’ll encounter many burl shops along the way. They can do anything with those logs. Check out this burl (the knotty growth of a tree) fountain. Watch out Bellagio!

How about a nice surfing bear for your beach house? Just to make the neighbors jealous? 🙂

There’s an awful lot of these too.

Here’s to hoping what’s behind the Redwood Curtain stays that way. The less discovered, the better!

Kim

All photos property of Northern California Style 2012.

Road Trip-Behind the Redwood Curtain-Part 1

July 27, 2012 By kimwheeler No Comments

Lady Bird Johnson Grove. I think the fog makes my photo look like a painting.

The redwood curtain is what they call the redwood thick highways that lead up to and border the very Northern part of California and separate it from the rest of the state. This area is a true dichotomy, a mix a liberal hippies and loggers. We just returned from our yearly trek up to the top of California, to Humboldt County about 300 miles north of San Francisco. My husband Max grew up in Trinidad, a beautiful small beach town up there. His step-mom Marguerite, lives in the college town Arcata and his mother in the Victorian lined and hilly Eureka, both in Humboldt. We stayed there and met up with his sister Amara, from Washington. It’s a long 7 hour drive above the Bay Area, but so gorgeous. Each time I go, I appreciate even more the beauty of this very unique area. Funny though, how most Californians have not been up to Humboldt. Ask anyone and they know where it is, but it’s the rare person who has actually been up here.

Since the drive is a bit of a haul, I try to find unique spots to stop at on the way up. Heading out you know it’s going to be a nice day when you cross the bridge and the fog’s burning off.

My latest find is the town of Ukiah. It’s about at the half-way point of the drive. They have a bakery I am in love with. Schat’s is a treasure! It’s been run by a Dutch family that has been in the bread business a long time. They have the most fresh and amazing sandwiches. I had a caesar salad wrap- yum. Also they make artisanal breads (amazing!), baked goods and Peet’s coffee. Get off at the Perkins Street exit in Ukiah off 101 and follow the signs to downtown. If you head up that way on a Saturday check out the darling farmer’s market, The Mendocino Bookstore and a cool shop called Habitat.

Schat’s

Driving up 101 you pass through wine country (that’s a whole post itself), and hit the rolling foothills covered in oak trees. That’s the beginning of the North Coast Redwoods and the towns of Willits, Laytonville, Garberville and others. It gets a little funkier and you start seeing lots of shops like this…

All your tie dye needs can be met up this way 🙂 In Laytonville.

This is also where you start to see lots of, “indoor gardening,” and solar stores and the beginning of hitchhikers! Yep, they are still around all over up here. One scruffy group of hitchers had a heart on their cardboard sign that read, “We don’t bite!” OMG! I just wish I had the camera for that. My boys were like,”What??”

The whole thing brings me back to my childhood days driving to Santa Cruz with hitchhikers all over highway 17. I am here to report the 1970s are still alive and thriving up in the North Coast! That is not an exaggeration. Folks are still embracing peace, love and the braless look up there big time too. Not that I was looking, but you know sometimes it’s like you just can’t help noticing how umm, natural everyone is up here. It’s a bit different….People we have left the bubble!

Trinidad, Max’s hometown, is an historic whaling port. We always make a trek and hike around the village, it’s beach and port and the trails off the ocean. This visit I was keen to check out this organic cafe that opened across the street from my husband’s old grammar school, The Beachcomber Cafe.

It’s a groovy spot opened by three gals that serves organic and all local produce. Lovely scones, muffins and homemade granola and so much more are served here! No paper cups to go here for their fantastic coffee, but you can buy a jam jar for $1 that you can return later. I love that! Locals also have a wall for their running tabs. Live music was happening on Sunday morning. It’s a very unique and fun stop. Don’t miss this in Trinidad. You can wander around this village, it’s trails, the beaches and the seaport. Some snaps below.

A trail along Trinidad State Beach above.

Can you believe my husband grew up across the street from this beach? This was his view out the living room window. He says he didn’t appreciate how cool it was to watch whales from his windows all the time!

Walking toward the port -and below the port and it’s sailboats. Below the port.

Last summer my boys went to surf camp at Moonstone Beach. It is also in Trinidad and a great beach to learn at because of it’s shallow entry. The only thing is you’ll need to wear a full wet suit. Even in summer!

Past Trinidad, about a half hour North is Fern Canyon, part of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. On this trail, you follow a stream for about a mile over footbridges and logs. The walls all around you are up to 80 feet high with ferns and waterfalls. This is where Jurassic Park 2 was filmed. It’s truly one of the gems of Northern Cal and possibly the world. I don’t know of anyplace remotely like this. These pictures just don’t do it justice. It’s hard to see the waterfalls in them.

Following the creek…and crossing the footbridges they put out in summer.

Guess I should have packed more snacks… I don’t think redwood sorrel counts as a vegetable!

It’s so wet here people do their graffiti on moss!
Do you know that redwood is so resistant to rot that a downed redwood tree can survive hundreds of years on the forest floor and may even sprout new trees? Really!

About ten minutes away from Fern Canyon is Lady Bird Johnson Grove, an old growth redwood forest. It undoubtedly has some of the oldest trees on earth here. Redwoods shoot up and do most of their growth in the first 100-200 years. Then they drop their lower branches. After 1000 years they begin to expand their width. You can see from the sizes of these trees they are VERY old.

The hike here is about a mile total flat, but you are at 1200 feet up. You literally feel like you are in the clouds. These trees are awe-inspiring. You cannot see the tops of them. When they get high enough they form a canopy or some call it a cathedral sort of grove. Lady Bird Grove has one of these. Unfortunately my Nikon battery was dead! All my photos are from the iPhone. Not too bad though..

You can see the massive size of these trees standing next to them…

And looking up! Can you believe this was a phone camera? Very foggy that day.

Some hijinks with Max’s sister Amara and her husband Brian!

We found hobbits too!

My husband could not resist!

Our crew..

And Max’s step-mom Marguerite and her son Patrick.

The forest here is filled with wild roses and rhododendrons!

Next up, I’ll show you the rest of the trip!

I just love sharing this very undiscovered part of Northern California!

Kim

All photos Northern California Style.

Humboldt Style

June 25, 2012 By kimwheeler No Comments

Italian Vogue

We are leaving next week for a trip to Jackson Hole and the Grand Tetons and then down to Utah for dear friend’s wedding. I was thinking of all the possibilities of what to wear to this event when we got the groom, Justin’s email detailing the activities of the day. He is renting out the lodge of a gorgeous ski resort and many guests are camping out there. They are being married by a pastor from the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Serious! It’s real, check it out. I thought it was Justin joking. Justin and his fiancé Laurie will be in, “costume,” and he encouraged others to dress comfortably for scavenger hunts, star-gazing, roasting s’mores and more. He said he’d probably be changing into Carhartts later. Hmm, I wondered, “What the heck is Carhartts?”. When I googled Carhartts it said flame resistant work wear, i.e. plaid shirts and the like. Huh? All the high fashion possibilities for this event just crashed and burned!

A Carhartts look for Fall. WHAT??? You can see from the background they know their customer!

Okay, I have some knowledge of this stuff. My husband grew up in Humboldt County, in the little beach town of Trinidad, 7 hours North of the Bay Area. This area of California is often referred to as behind the Redwood curtain. It’s a place where even few Californians ever venture. Carhartts is the uniform up there give or take a pair of birkenstocks and a tie-dyed T. It’s a unique area of the world that is a mix of hippies and lumber jacks. When I met my husband Max he only owned shorts, Ts and wore Tevas with socks. I kid you not and he was a late 20-something engineer who was going places. One day I’ll do a post on Humboldt, but suffice it to say that Justin, his family and all his friends are from up there. They also happen to be the kindest, most fun and loveliest group of people I have ever known. All of them.

Reese Witherspoon in a Carhartts type of plaid.

So I’ll work the California nature girl/grunge look I guess. I can do that. It will also be right for the first 4 days we are spending in Jackson Hole and the Tetons. I’ll have to incorporate some of my own things with the flannel shirts!! Some possible inclusions:

A vintage looking denim skirt

Cargos for hiking and a Prana yoga top plus my woven necklace from my friend Etsuko in Japan and my J Crew Timex.

Maybe if I add a boho type scarf they won’t look too preppy?

Gotta have my stripes! A shout out to my pal Kim from How to Love this World, who always inspires me with her love of all things stripes also. Just check out her very chic blog for inspiration!

…I could always add one of my son’s plaids on top!

Because this is a casual wedding, maybe I’ll wear this Roxy stripe dress above with a J Crew cardi and bauble necklace.

And I’ll take this.

And why not? ( This T was a gift from my husband. ;P)

I’ll need some deet apparently. 🙁

As my friend June said, “You can leave Louis Vuitton’s at home.” I crack up at the thought.

Bringing my Feed bag for sure…

And my union jack tote from Boden.

Of course a few pairs of Toms and hiking shoes.

I think this Michael Kors bracelet my husband just bought me has an earthy vibe so I’ll bring that too.

Here’s a few of the styles from Humboldt I snapped on our last trip.

Kale just adds that extra oomph to an outfit…

At the Arcata Farmer’s Market, men in skirts and women who may have time traveled from Sherwood Forest. This was just a random sample, but you see what the vibe will be at this occasion!