Spring Break Trip-Day 1

One day, in the early part of March, I heard about a beach in northern California that possesses large, rounded rocks that were positioned in a straight line. Known as Bowling Ball Beach, it is located just south of Point Arena. I found some pictures of it online and was fascinated. Right then, I came up with an idea to take a Spring Break trip to the coast and see this beach and maybe see what else is in the area. From here, the itinerary expanded to include Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, Cataract Creek waterfalls in Marin County, and staying at an inn with ocean views (and more). You can view the info, photos, and videos for the waterfalls here. The only Spring Break trip that Britt and I have ever taken was to Puerto Penasco, Mexico (drove from Phoenix) with her father and girlfriend while we were in under-grad. Therefore, I thought that it was time for us to take a nice Spring Break trip. We both enjoy visiting the beach (Britt more so) and being able to bring our dog so that we can watch her run away from waves. What Britt didn't know is that I found a nice Inn in Point Arena and was able to reserve their best ocean view room which includes another very nice feature (more on that later).So, on the morning of March 19 we left home and headed towards Cataract Creek northwest of San Francisco. On the way over Donner Pass on I-80 there was just enough moisture on the highway to allow salt to be kicked up onto our windshield, however not enough water to dissolve it. No problem, as long as you have enough washer fluid. However, no washer fluid was coming out of our sprayers and after a few tense miles of sticking our noses to the windshield to see we decided to stop at a gas station. We thought that we were out of washer fluid, but upon inspection we found the reservoir completely full. Therefore, the lines to the sprayers must have gotten frozen and by the looks of everyone stopping at the gas station, we weren't the only ones experiencing this problem. We figured the engine heat would defrost the lines and we would be okay (we had no other option). Our clean windshield lasted about a minute after getting back on the highway and we were relegated to tailgating behind trucks and semis during moist sections of the road to get enough water on the windshield to clear off the salt for about a minute and then repeat the process. This lasted until we descended below ~3,000' elevation (Donner Pass is 7,056'). After that the sprayers worked perfectly and we sped along with clear views.We passed through Fairfax, which seems like a nice town, before turning onto the Bolinas Road towards Alpine Lake and the trailhead for the Cataract Creek trail. Cataract Creek possesses many waterfalls along a very short and easy, although somewhat steep, trail. For these reasons, this trail is very popular. However, we thought that since it was a weekday and March that we wouldn't see very many people. At the trailhead we found quite a few cars (to our disappointment) despite it being a Monday. Nevertheless, we proceeded up the trail. Quickly, we came to a point where we could hear and vaguely see a waterfall on the East Fork Cataract Creek across the southern arm of Alpine Lake from us. Along this section of the trail were numerous Trillium flowers (left), which made Britt excited. After this, the trail reaches the bottom of the first waterfall along Cataract Creek. The scenery here it truly beautiful with vibrant green colors in every direction. Wooden stairs and a steep section of the trail follow the creek up along this first waterfall. There are several places to stop and take some pics of the first four waterfalls which could be considered one continuous waterfall. Here, again, were lots of Trillium and Shamrock. Above the fourth waterfall the trail crosses the creek on a footbridge before climbing up to the fifth major waterfall and then the sixth along the creek. Next, is a fairly level section of trail which separates the sixth and seventh waterfalls. There are a few small cascades along this section of creek but nothing to get excited about. Before reaching the seventh waterfall, Britt found a few more flowers including Forget-Me-Nots and a white flower that she has yet to identify.The seventh waterfall (below) is a nice sliding cascade surrounded by ferns with a large log resting to its side. Just upstream of this is another, smaller waterfall (#8). Also, near the seventh waterfall, Britt found a few Fairyslipper flowers. We next passed by the ninth and tenth waterfalls before stopping at the eleventh and last waterfall. I waded through the creek and took a few pics before crossing back over to join Britt and Penny. From here, we turned around and headed back down the trail. On the way, we stopped at the tenth, ninth, sixth, and fifth waterfalls to take pics. The fifth waterfall is really nice as well with a large pool between its larger tier and smaller tier. We finished the trail back at our car and the only bad thing about the hike was finding a tick on Penny's head (more of that to come later).Back on the road, we jumped on US-101 and headed north before taking CA-128 to Boonville. At Boonville, we took Mountain View Road to the west. By now, it was raining pretty hard and there weren't really any views from the curvy and steep road. By the time the road intersected with CA-1 we were passed ready to be off of it. Now, it was only a matter of a few miles to Point Arena and the Wharf Master's Inn. Point Arena is a decent little town of ~450 people. I was excited for Britt to see the room. She was impressed with it. In the rain, we walked through the little garden and fountain area behind our room's building, heard the ocean waves crashing in the distance, and walked up the stairs to our room. Once inside, there is a view of the ocean through the windows and door on the other side of the four post bed. The door leads out to a private deck, which is about five feet from the bed and has views of the ocean and pier below. Against the wall across from the foot of the bed is an electric fireplace and at the opposite end of the room from the deck is a jacuzzi tub. We've camped near the ocean before, but this was our first time, as a couple, staying in a hotel room with a view of the ocean.Since we arrived at the Inn after dinnertime, we were starving. So, we walked down the steep path to where there were a couple of restaurants next to the pier. We decided to go for pizza and pasta at Pizza 'N Cream. My pizza was great and Britt enjoyed her spaghetti and garlic bread. Britt even got free ice cream because it was "pasta night." This definitely made her happy. Now it was time to go back up to our room and relax for the rest of the night in the jacuzzi and comfy bed.One quick note about the person I reserved our room from: He suggested that we get the great room that we got and he got us as many discounts as possible, including only charging Penny for two nights. Also, as we were getting ready to go to bed we remembered that we had forgotten to stop and get milk for cereal (for me). Britt, therefore, went to the front desk and asked directions to a grocery store. Before finishing his directions, he paused and went into the backroom. Britt heard some rustling through bags and he emerged with a carton of milk from his grocery bags. Britt asked if he was sure it was okay, and he said to not worry about it. Nice guy.