Day 18, July 3, 2010
Before we left Willits this morning, we were talking to a couple that had returned this weekend for her class reunion. The lumber industry had closed down in that area and growing marijuana had replaced it as the main crop in Mendocino County. She referred to it as the marijuana capitol of California. Also, I saw this license plate on a car. Why would this be on a plate??? Isn't this why we rebelled against the British?


What a difference a day makes. Yesterday it was chilly and today is so much different. Floyce is shopping in Healdsburg, CA and it is warm. Healdsburg is a quaint little place in the middle of wine growing country with lots of shops. We decided to go into The Flying Goat coffee shop for a cup of latte’. Ooooh! It was pretty strong.
The terrain here is so very different; from volcanic rock formations and giant trees just 100 miles north of here to arid hillsides with brown grasses and few and shorter trees. Driving on south we are getting closer to Napa valley and there are vineyards for miles and miles.
On the way to visit a few wineries we stopped at Calistoga and walked through The Petrified Forest. After the petrified forest, we spent most of the afternoon driving through some of the many wineries where Floyce could buy souvenir wine glasses, ending up in Sonoma and Napa Valley.
Floyce & I had talked about going over to Carmichael to see Dorothy Swarner my mother’s only living cousin and at about 4:30, we took off. Dorothy is 92 years young. We met her and had dinner at Sizzler’s & I ate waaaay too much. We took her back to her apartment, found a LaQuinta motel where we will spend the night. Tomorrow, we plan to go to church with Dorothy, eat brunch then head for San Francisco.