Summer Trip Stop 2: Eureka

We like to stay near Eureka because some of our favorite beaches are here. Last year, we spent four night in Fortuna and four nights in Eureka. This year, we did the same. We stayed in the same places we stayed last year, because we liked both of them.

Stayed at: Redwood Coast Cabins and RV Resort

Beaches:

We have several favorite beaches in Eureka. Gia's most favorite is Samoa Dunes. There is a small beach on the inside (not ocean facing) that is calm and has a gentle slope. 

Our next favorite is Mad River Beach. It is on the north side of town, probably really in Arcata.

We stopped at a new beach this time, and we really liked it. Clam Beach. I think it may really be in McKinleyville.

All three of these beaches are a good 15–20 minute drive from Eureka. But Gia was excited to visit any of them.

Dinner: Our favorite restaurant in Eureka is the Humboldt Bay Bistro. It is amazing food, but they are pretty expensive. Because of the expense, we mostly made our own dinners in camp on the other days. We missed going here last year because I tried to contact them about bringing the dog, and we never heard back. This year, we made contact and they offered to set us up in the patio with a heater.

I had the catch of the day, which was halibut. Mary had filet mignon. They brought steak tips for Gia. We also ordered the Caesar salad, which they make from scratch right at your table. He explains everything and is quite entertaining. We topped it off with creme brulee, one of the best we've ever had.

Gas: The best price on gas in Eureka is at Costco. We usually get gas the day before we leave town. We have sometimes get gas with the trailer attached, but we're particular about the stations where we will do that. On another trip two years ago, we damaged the rental trailer slightly while navigating a crowded Costco parking lot. 

On the way from Cloverdale to Eureka, we got gas at the casino in Redwood Valley. They have a special RV section that is usually not crowded. And they have the best gas prices in the Ukiah area, not counting the Ukiah Costco, which has an easy parking lot, but the store itself is hard to get to.

Summer Trip Stop 1: Cloverdale

We stayed here just one night. The goals were 

• to have a relatively short drive, 
• to stay somewhere we can get to before dark, and 
• to gain forward momentum toward the rest of our stops. 

Typical road trip protocol is to get as far as you can the first day, but we had a few limitations. When renting a travel trailer, it can take some time to wait in line, sign everything, then get connected. Sometimes this takes a while. So we didn’t know exactly what time we’d be leaving. (We got to Cruise America around 11:30 am and we were on the road by 1:00 pm.) 

Also, we had to drive through the Oakland maze, which we always find disorienting. And we had the dog with us, which sometimes means we have to make extra stops for her to go pee or take a breather.

Also, when hauling a trailer, you definitely want to arrive at your destination well before dark so you have time to set up. Have you heard of the 222 rule for RVing? Limit your travel to 200 miles per day, check in to your campground by 2 pm, and camp in the same spot for at least 2 days. 

On our first trip with a trailer two years ago, we didn't leave the rental company until almost 6 pm, and we had a three hour drive ahead of us. We arrived around 9 pm and it got dark as I was setting up the trailer. No fun.

Stayed at: Cloverdale Citrus Fair. We held PACE square dances at this location in the early 1990s. So I knew the area. We stayed in a large fenced parking lot that had a gate with a code. It was all paved so easy setup. They have full hookups, restrooms, and showers. They had a doggy lawn where Gia could do her thing. 

Ate at:  Zini’s Diner. I couldn't find any suitable restaurants in the gluten free app, so I just looked on Google Maps for something promising. This diner had Joe's Special on the menu, so I called them. Most diners will make you a breakfast that has gluten ingredients. But can we bring the dog? The temperature was in the 90s. They let Gia come inside, which surprised us. The employees all loved her. She had a hamburger patty. They seated us in a part of the restaurant where there were no other customers.

Summer Trip 2023 – Overview

We traveled from our home in the Bay Area to halfway up the Oregon coast and back. We fell into the same routine every day: 

• Make coffee and breakfast, 
• Take Gia to the beach, 
• Come back to camp and have lunch, 
• Take a nap or run errands, 
• Take Gia to the beach in the late afternoon / early evening, 
• Have dinner in camp or somewhere fun.

We rented a travel trailer from Cruise America in Newark, California. We towed the trailer behind my Toyota Tundra.

Our two tasks each day were to 

1. Find a suitable beach where Gia can run “off leash,” and to 
2. Find a place in town where we can have a nice gluten free dinner. 

For finding dog activities, we use apps like Dog Trekker and Bring Fido. For finding gluten free food, we use an app called Find Me Gluten Free.

This is just an outline of our trip. I hope to add details in subsequent posts.

South to North portion:

• Cloverdale
• Eureka
• Crescent City
• Coos Bay
• Newport

Leaving Newport, we turned around and headed back south. We traveled the same highway to get home, passing many familiar sights, until we turned off at Willits to get to Fort Bragg. Later we turned off again at Santa Rosa to get to Bodega Bay.

North to South portion:

• Florence
• Port Orford
• Klamath
• Fortuna
• Fort Bragg
• Bodega Bay

Mostly we stayed four nights in each location.