Highway 101 - Northern California / Southern Oregon... (The Morning of Day 3)

Our 2nd night we stayed on the ocean. I rented a room at an old motel along Highway 101 called the Crescent Beach Motel. It's located just a few miles South of Crescent City, CA We arrived at our room after dark. It was really neat to walk down by the beach and listen to the ocean for a little while before we ran to town to find a place to eat dinner.

We could see all of the lights from the harbor and Crescent City and it was easy to pick out the Battery Point Lighthouses in the distance. The ocean was just roaring. It sounded like a giant freight train. The 'Man-Child' told me it was louder here than anywhere he had ever been. He attributed it to the water crashing into all the rocks and outcropping landscape in the area. He woke me up at about 3 a.m. to look out and see that the tide had risen and the water was actually just outside our motel room.

I woke him back up at about 5 am to go with me down to the beach and watch the sun come up. I was a little intimidated. It's hard to explain how loud it was. I don't know how to swim, so it was kind of scary being that close to a body of water that I had waited 40 something years to see. The 'Man-Child' is a scuba diving instructor, so it was nothing for him. He understood and took me for a morning walk along the beach.

I was so impatient waiting for the sun to come up. I realize now that I took about 20 pictures that just came out black ~ ugh...


The "Itinerary" we followed for our trip is in Large / Bold below...

Crescent Beach Motel 1455 US Highway 101 South

Crescent City, CA.

~Check in time is 4 pm to 10 pm. Only!~

The cost is $91.80 

Their phone # is: 707-464-5436

The Crescent Beach Motel is nothing to write home about, aside from the fact that it's the only motel in this area that is right on the ocean. It is very clean. That's all that matters to me when I'm traveling. 

The attraction with this motel is that you can sit on their back deck and this is the view...

The Crescent Beach Motel is an old motel with really old beds, but it was worth the price to wake up right here, right on the Pacific ocean.

There were beautiful views from all directions from the motel deck.

We could even see the Battery Point Lighthouse in Crescent City from our motel room the next morning.

It was a spectacular place to spend my first sunrise on the Pacific coast. I would definitely stay here again if I was traveling this way, just to be on the ocean for sunset and sunrise.

And, they had plenty of parking area to accommodate our pickup and smaller horse trailer.

I don't think I would ever travel up Highway 101 in peak tourist season with an extended length pickup and trailer. It would be a nightmare with what we know now. There just isn't really a lot of room to get into and out of places. I can imagine that the traffic in this area in the summer could be overwhelming. I would think if a person wanted the best experience possible and didn't mind cooler weather, off-season would be the perfect choice. Thanksgiving week was an awesome time to be on Highway 101. It was like having everything to ourselves - no crowds of people anywhere and nothing to wait to see...

Eat Breakfast in Crescent City at:

The Chart Room Restaurant 

130 Anchor Way, Crescent City, CA

It opens at 6:30 am on Wednesday’s for breakfast. It’s right between the ocean and the harbor and if the sea lions are on the harbor, you can see them from the restaurant~!

This restaurant is just 2 minutes from the motel...

We did eat breakfast at the Chart Room Restaurant in the harbor at Crescent City, CA. Everybody should eat here at least once in their life. What a neat little place.

As soon as I stepped out of the pickup I could hear the sea lions. 

It took me a minute to locate them though. That's when I realized, they were everywhere...

A gentleman walking out of the restaurant with a suit and tie told me to get a rope out of the horse trailer, lasso me a few and throw them in the horse trailer and take them home.... Sea Lions in Central Utah. I think there's probably a law against that kind of behavior~!

(But the thought did cross my mind...)

We had a window seat on the harbor side in the restaurant with a wonderful view of the Battery Point Lighthouse and sea lions while we ate. 

And, they have great food~!

Wednesday the 26^th – from Crescent City, CA to Charleston, OR, along the coast is about a 3 hour drive. Leaving early on Wednesday morning gives a lot of time to enjoy the scenery and attractions along the coastal highway.

                                                           

Have to go here---Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor in Brookings, OR (26 miles from Crescent City) — It’s a long, narrow park with 12 miles (19 kilometers) of rugged coastline — it’s named for Oregon’s first parks superintendent. Featuring one must-stop scenic viewpoint after another, the park is also home to pocket beaches and offshore sea stacks, including the dramatic Arch Rock and Whaleshead. The beach at Thunder Rock Cove is considered one of the best of the sheltered beaches on the Coast. Walk the Indian Sands Trail through the unusual sculpted sandstone for views of the coastline and rocky islands. Don’t miss the stunning view at Cape Ferrelo, named for a Spanish explorer who skirted this area in 1542.

We did go to the "Samual H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor" and other fabulous locations along the coast...

Keep following along for the next blog posts about the rest of our trip up Scenic Highway 101

Coming Soon...