Eureka! Visiting Uncle Dave and the Redwoods

EUREKA!!! We arrived from Coos Bay to Eureka on September 6, 2018, and we plan to leave tomorrow am September 12, 2018, to San Francisco, which is approximately 250 nm away give or take. It will take a little over 2 days.  We are excited to continue South after almost a full week in Eureka. Our extended stay was due to the ominous gust forecast around Cape Mendocino and Point Arena that would improve by tomorrow.  Stephen has some family here so that was a bonus and the Redwood National and State Park is nearby and provided us with a great scenic detour.

We have been staying at the Woodley Marina and it is a lovely little marina with nice amenities and professional staff.  Unbeknownst to us, the National Weather Service has an office that we could walk to as well from our slip and that was definitely a welcomed surprise! The office is very amenable to folks coming in to see their office space and encouraged us to pick their meteorology brains. We told them our next sail plan and we were able to review the different weather models and get a personalized forecast to aid with our departure planning.

Before I just head right in our Eureka visit, I have to backtrack and mention 2 little gentle souls who touched our hearts. On our last journey here to Eureka we had 2 tiny visitors. They were small birds that befriended us but seemed to be a long distance from home and not the usual pelagic birds we had been seeing in the Pacific Ocean.

Stephen's new friend! We think an American Redstart - This little guy flew onto our boat and into the cockpit when I was on watch. We were in the middle of passage so I was quite stunned to see this kind of bird greet me.  Stephen just woke up and we were about to change shifts for the watch. As I was telling Stephen about him, I also saw another bird through a porthole while Stephen was in the galley making coffee getting ready for his watch. So then I realized there were 2 birds and one was outside on the deck. When I woke up he had the little yellow bird on his finger and had blown up my cell phone with video and pictures of himself with these 2 birds - ha ha ha! I am only posting a few of the pics...

So the sad part of this story is we had these guys for a few hours with us on our journey to Eureka but they did not make it. They did fly in and out of the cockpit during their time with us and we found the little yellow guy outside and appeared he had injured himself. Eventually, the orange and black bird just slept by the other bird and did not wake up. We think they may have been blown offshore and were exhausted and starved. We were so sad they did not make it and I kept thinking we would give them a new home in Eureka with grass, bunnies, flowers, and trees ( thinking this was more of their scene).  We had a little burial ceremony in Eureka and wish their birdie spirits well. 

Stephen's Uncle Dave came for a morning visit on Soulstice.

Stephen's Uncle Dave with us at the Eureka Friday Night Market - Great Food, dancing, and music!

Channel mark on the lawn at the Woodley Marina in Eureka - gives you an idea how BIG these things are just dangling in the open water. 

So the National Weather Service has their office right here on Woodley Island and we got a personalized forecast by Alex Dodd, marine forecaster for the day. 

Statue on Woodley Island that is also next to a memorial for fishermen lost at Sea. 

A home on Samoa Island that I appreciated their decorative efforts. Woodley Island is also connected Samoa Island by bridge and I liked to run out there. They have the last surviving Cookhouse in the West.  We did not eat there but I thought that was pretty neat and it reminded me of the Amish style food restaurants in Pennsylvania.

What the heck??? $3.25 per pound!! Yep we bought some! A couple from Redding comes every year and buys $500.00 worth and does some serious canning. This was from a fishing boat on B dock and we were staying on A dock - very convenient :). 

Amazing sushi by Chef Stephen with our Tuna - this was sooo delicious! 

I hopped aboard the fishing boat so I could get a lesson in how to filet a Tuna! This is so when we catch our own I know what the heck to do with them.  

The Redwood National Park - So we decided to explore the Redwoods since the Gust forecast around Cape Mendocino and Point Arena looked ugly for a few days (35-40 knts- uggh!).  Also the car that Dave and Kelly rented to go surfing we used instead to go hiking since the sighting of a Jaw's like dorsal fin in the surf changed Kelly and Dave's mind about surfing in the area. 

The amazing thing about our hike is that included a coastal walk, waterfalls, redwoods, blackberries to eat, ferns, douglas fir and hemlock trees. The variety of the ecosystem on such a small scale was incredible. 

Post hike smiles

And.... we found the Lost Coast Brewery! I was always a Great White fan but they have a double IPA called Fogcutter that I found quite yummy and a good bang for your buck at 8.7% ABV.