Adventures in Travel Writing: A Weekend Roadtrip through Northern California

The great thing about being a travel writer is that you develop a one-track mind — your brain is always looking for fun and adventure.

Recently, I was invited to testify at a Senate hearing in Sacramento (I’m also a political activist). Sensing opportunity, my “travel writer’s brain” kicked in, thinking, “How can I piggyback this trip onto a new travel adventure?”

Then it hit me. I’d never been to northern California, just a few hours’ drive from Sacramento. So I did my due diligence and created an itinerary for a long weekend on the northern California coast.

Getting an early morning start, my journey began with a drive west from Sacramento to Point Reyes, a seaside preserve separated from mainland California by the San Andreas fault. Near the visitor center is Earthquake Trail — a path that runs on top of the infamous fault line. I walked, skipped, and jumped on the fault zone, but alas, no seismic activity. I took a short break on a very unique tree bench before moving on to the coast.

The Sonoma Coast drive along Hwy. 1 from Point Reyes north to Mendocino was an event unto itself, 132 miles winding along a rugged, craggy shore where the wind whips and smacks the wildflower-laden bluffs and unusual rocky formations protrude from the sea. Because of the volatile weather, the horror movie The Fog was filmed here. Although the drive takes four hours, it actually seems like a fraction of that, due to every turn revealing yet another breathtaking vista.

Day two began in Mendocino, the postcard-worthy seaside town perched on cliffs overlooking the Pacific. More Victorian New England than California, Mendocino is best known as Cabot Cove, Maine, from the TV series Murder She Wrote. The village covers six blocks of small shops and cafes and a beach walk to view the sunsets.

There are no hotel chains in Mendocino, but instead a variety of B&Bs. My stay at one of these, the Agate Inn, did not disappoint. From the dramatically draped king-size bed facing a working fireplace to the view of the curving brick courtyard paths and the ocean-hugging cliffs beyond, I can’t imagine a more romantic getaway.

Next up, one of the most spectacular drives in the West: Humboldt Redwoods State Park. I’m not all that much of a nature buff, but I have to admit the soaring redwoods lining the Avenue of the Giants were truly magnificent. I’m talking crick-in-the-neck, try-to-find-the-treetops enormous, including a tree you can drive a car through!

After communing with the giants, I drove through King Range Pass, an exciting albeit torturous thoroughfare of 23 miles of hairpin turns which I nicknamed “Dramamine Drive.” This one-hour drive is the only gateway to secluded Shelter Cove on the Lost Coast.

The last day of my impromptu adventure was spent exploring the Lost Coast. Located where three tectonic plates meet, this area is more remote than lost. When engineers tried to continue coastal Hwy. 1, the harsh topography refused to yield. This lack of access makes it the perfect destination to chill or test your survival skills on the many treacherous hiking trails. Even Black Sands Beach is extreme, with rogue “sleeper waves” smashing the rocks and the beachcombers who turn their backs on the sea.

Late that afternoon, I bid goodbye to the untamed coast to drive south. After a margarita, steak dinner, and walk in Old Sacramento with my “travel tank” now refueled, I was more than ready to dazzle the legislature in the morning.

And now that I’m back home, several publications are interested in publishing my travel writing.

I can’t imagine a more exciting life!

[Editor’s Note: Learn more about opportunities to profit from your travels (and even from your own home) in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel.]