Fort Bragg Highlights, Drive through a Tree, and Overnight in Eureka

After breakfast at your hotel, journey north along the coast to a stunning botanical garden, a tidy jewel box amidst the wilds of the North Coast. Please note that, like many other businesses in the region, tickets MUST be purchased in advance. Stroll amidst the dahlias in the dahlia garden (springtime) or the heath and heather. Don't miss the natural area and coastal bluff where benches are placed for you to sit and listen to the ocean's waves uproariously crashing into the rocks below. It's rather thrilling!

Plan a quick stop at the Ford Museum. It provides an overview of Mendocino's history as a lumberyard for the west coast and makes a great point to understanding the region.
The museum is open every day of the year until 4 pm.

There are a couple of places in town for sushi but Taka's seems to have a line on the freshest seafood, somehow securing the freshest uni and abalone pulled from local waters. Check the specials board to see what came in that morning and order it.
Open for lunch, 11:30 am - 3 pm; dinner 4:30 - 9 pm. Closed Wednesdays.

Be sure to check the size of your vehicle before attempting to pass through a hole cut into the base of a coast redwood. Though times have changed, trees were once cut like this to attract automobile tourists and the tree remains a popular stop for tourists. This might be your strangest Instagram moment of the trip.

The Eureka Visitor Center is open every day and provides a good overview of the activities and events going on in the town at any time. Stop in during open hours, 10 am - 5 pm. If you arrive too late, check in first thing in the morning.

Lost Coast Brewery made its name for its excellent beers and a stop here is a chance to try most of them (there's a menu item known as "10 tasters" for trial), plus house made root beer. Dinner is a casual affair, like a burger or fish and chips. Portions are ample but try and save room for the stout ice cream float. That is why you came, right?
Open daily, 11 am - 9 pm, later on Friday and Saturday.

Considered a gem of old town Eureka with exposed brick walks, dark red curtains and terrific ambiance, The Siren's Song is a great spot for an evening nightcap. Check the website for the live music schdule.

Set in Old Town and built in 1888, an overnight at a restored Victorian is just the thing to finish off an afternoon exploring the town's history. The rooms are retro-fabulous and there is a parlor lounge (Phatsy Kline's) on those nights when you just want to stay in.
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