There’s something magical about a forest with tall trees, ferns and moss, and the sun streaming through…
The Forest Near Trinidad State Beach
Happy New Year!
The first day of 2018 was gloriously beautiful in Trinidad! The sun shone, and it was good…
Here’s to an excellent year ahead! Happy new year everyone!
This shot looks like an ad for a car, and it made me wish I could get a shot of my own car in this spot? Maybe someday…
New Years Eve in Humboldt County
A crowded beach day in Humboldt County…
Moonstone Beach
Moonstone Beach
Moonstone Beach
Moonstone Beach
Luffenholtz Beach County Park
Luffenholtz Beach County Park
Trinidad, California
Trinidad, California
A Rainy Day in Trinidad, California
If you come to Trinidad, just know that you’re more than likely going to encounter some wet grey days.
When the sun does come out, it’s glorious!
But you aren’t guaranteed sun every day, or even every other day.
Some days it’s just grey, and wet, and a little dreary…
And if I can find some beauty on those days? Then I know I’m doing something right!
Looking south from Houda Point, towards Arcata and Eureka, California.
Ferns and moss on the black rock this part of the California Coastline is known for.
Trinidad Head is almost completely obstructed by fog–you can just make out the base of it, in the distance. This was shot from the Luffenholtz Creek access to the beach below.
Above Luffenholtz Creek access to the beach.
Raindrops on one of the few remaining wildflowers, even though it’s the middle of winter here.
There are still a few wildflowers left, even in December.
Luffenholtz Beach County Park
Another shot with Trinidad Head almost completely hidden by fog, taken from the south.
I think this may be known as Camel Rock…
Carson Mansion and the Pink Lady
Carson Mansion was built by Northern California’s first major lumber baron, and is arguably the most famous Victorian house in the United States. How many Halloween decorations have you seen, with a haunted mansion that sort of look like they were based on it?
It’s also one of my favorite houses, and I was super excited to see it for the first time, and even more excited to come back with my camera, and finally get some images of it.
Built from 1884-1886, the Carson Mansion is located in Old Town, Eureka, California, right on the water. It was the home of William Carson and his heirs until 1950, when the remaining family left Humboldt County. They sold the Carson Mansion to a private club for $35,000, and the Ingomar Club still exits today, and has done a wonderful job maintaining the house for almost 70 years.
The Pink Lady, sits across the street from Carson Mansion, and was built in 1889 as a wedding gift for William Carson’s oldest son. It too is a magnificent example of Victorian architecture, and is part Queen Anne, with some Eastlake, Italianate, and Stick features, and was designed by the same architects, Samuel and Joseph Cather Newsom of San Francisco.
The Carter House is a replica of the Murphy House, a home built in 1885 in San Francisco, which was lost in the San Francisco earthquake in 1906. The Carter House was constructed in 1982, using the original plans by Samuel and Joseph Cather Newsom, which had been discovered in San Francisco. Newsom and Newsom are the same architects who designed both the Carson Mansion, and the Pink Lady, and the Carter House is located just a couple of blocks away, in Old Town, Eureka.
This historical image was shot in 1902, by an unnamed National Park Service employee, and shows how the Carson Mansion looked almost 20 years after it was built. Eureka is still a great place to ride a bike!
Trinidad California, Before the Storm
Trinidad Head, California.
Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse
Probably the best plan is to just not park on the beach!
Little Head is the miniature cousin to Trinidad Head.
These guys must love fishing to brave the wind and cold, and later the rain…
The pier in Trinidad juts out between Little Head on the left, and Trinidad Head on the right.
Beside the pier, between Trinidad Head and Little Head is the tiniest sliver of beach…
Holy Trinity Church
Trinidad Eatery and Gallery
Trinidad Bay Bed and Breakfast Hotel
Looking north, toward Pewetole Island, in Trinidad, California.
A very old boat, in Trinidad, California.
Little Head from the pier, looking toward the bay.
Carson Mansion on a sunny day…
An iPhone image of Carson Mansion on a sunny day… Now I really know I’m in Eureka!
I’m Moving!
California is a big beautiful state, and I’m a fifth generation Southern Californian. I love my sunny beautiful state! But in the last decade I’ve become heat sensitive, so I started to look for alternative locations where I could live a more normal life, year-round. I found Eureka, in Northern California fairly early in my search–it has some of the coolest summers in the entire United States *and* it has a lot of authentic Victorian architecture, including the most recognized Victorian home in the United States, which for me is a huge draw! So while it may seem sudden, and completely unexpected to even those of you who know me well, I’ve actually been considering moving to Eureka for over seven years.
Why this summer? I graduated law school in May, and my plan was to put down forever roots in my old hometown of Fallbrook, in San Diego County. I love Fallbrook more than I’ve ever loved any other town! And it breaks my heart to imagine never moving back, but this year the heat has been brutal, and I’m tired of living a compromised life. I want to feel good all the time. I want to enjoy summer again. I just want more.
So I’m headed to Eureka. I’ll leave at the end of this month–just me, my tiny house, my cats, and my VW convertible. I’m excited and sad and scared and happy all at the same time. It’s definitely going to be an adventure!
Redwoods and the ocean? Could these photos be any more Humboldt County? Maybe! But in this case the first image is a redwood tree in Idyllwild, and that’s the beach in Malibu, so Southern California, rather than Northern California. But to me it’s proof that some of what I love about where I live now, can be found where I’m headed.
Wish me luck!