Our second visit to Mendocino

Fort Bragg/Mendocino is a nice place to visit. Being on the coast, it can be very windy there, as it was this time when we went in April end of 2011. Last time we went there in mid-March to celebrate our 2nd Anniversary in 2008. 2 nights/3 days are enough for a relaxing stay in Mendocino.
This time, we stayed at Pine Beach Inn in Fort Bragg. It had a private beach and a Thai restaurant inside. Even though the restaurant had good ratings on Yelp, I did not like it.

Places to visit:

1. Point Cabrillo light house: It is little further from Fort Bragg, towards San Francisco but it is a must visit. They let you climb to the top of the lighthouse which has scenic views. No elevators inside!
2. Glass beach, Mendocino.
3. Botanical Gardens, Mendocino: Expensive for its worth. I would not go there again. It is like a big park with not many interesting things.
4. Glass-making factories/shops in Mendocino
5. Point Arena lighthouse/ Russian Gulch State Park
6. Small town of Noyo which has a harbor as well.
7. Van Dame State Park: Only good for camping

Recommended pizza restaurant in Mendocino: D'Aurelios, 438 South Franklin Street, Fort Bragg. Mom-pop restaurant with good service and excellent pizza.

On our way from Sacramento to Fort Bragg, we took a little detour and stopped in a small city: "City of 10 thousand Buddhas." To reach there from CA-20, take ramp to Ukiah and merge onto US 101-S. Then take exit 548A to merge onto CA-222 E/Talmage Rd and continue onto Bodhi way. It is around 10-mile one way extra, if you are going to Mendocino via CA-20. It was worth the trip - Small, peaceful, traditional village with a Buddhist temple and schools/colleges inside the little village. It is called so because there are 10 thousand Buddhas inside the temple. The vegetarian restaurant inside is open only for lunch which we missed.

The hilly roads to Mendocino are very winding (around 30+ miles). Dramamine would help for those who have motion sickness:)