Another gorgeous day here in northern California. Today we decided to explore locally within Crescent City. We began our day with a cup of coffee and a walk on the beach across from our hotel.
There was a mist covering the mountains giving the scene such a romantic feel. Even had a few surfers taking advantage of the waves from the first high tide of the day.
We hadn’t walked very far when I saw something coming out of the misty background…I couldn’t believe my eyes; am I in California or Arabia?
Leaving the beach, we took a leisurely walk to the marina. There’s just something about a marina that draws you it.
There were a couple of old wooden boats dry docked in the shipyard near the marina. Hubby really likes these old boats that are full of mystery; if these old ships could talk, oh the stories they could tell! This beauty is named the Neva D.
He did some digging on this beauty and learned that it was 45-foot fishing vessel owned by “Dewey” Gonsalves, a crab fisherman in 1941. The Neva D was last owned by a fisherman named Keith Richcreek in 1957. The Neva D was damaged during a very bad storm caused by a tidal wave and never repaired.
We found a Farmer’s Market that runs every Wednesday, so we stopped in and browsed. It was small compared to the ones we have in Metro-Detroit area, but it was very quaint. Getting hungry, I tried pancit and lumpia from a Filipino lunch stand. Pancit is a traditional dish of noodles, cabbage and vegetables, mine also came with chicken. Lumpia is a Filipino version of a spring roll, it came with a sweet dipping sauce.
This afternoon we decided to check-out the Crescent City Lighthouse also known as the Battery Point Lighthouse. It is only accessible via a land bridge at low tide, so it is important to check the tide schedules before planning a visit. The walk up to the lighthouse itself is only about 200 feet. On either side of the land bridge are rocky outcroppings that form tidal pools. We spent some time checking out the tidal pools but we only saw a few super tiny hermit crabs.
This lighthouse is still in operation today. Talking with one of the two keepers, we learned that the lighthouse is staffed by volunteers. Each couple commits to living on the small island and staying in the lighthouse keeper’s quarters for one month at a time. There is a different couple each month, there’s even a waiting list for couples who want to volunteer.
There is a small gift shop and for a fee you can have a tour of the inside given by one of the keepers. The tour is 30 minutes long; a tour was already underway not wanting to wait that long we decided skip that portion. You are able to walk all around the grounds and there are some spectacular views!
We ended our day with dinner at the Elk Valley Casino where they were having an all you can eat Prime Rib buffet. Hubby got the buffet, but I ordered from the menu sun-dried tomato fettucine. There were some Elk feeding in the fields outside the restaurant that we were able to view from the window by our table.
After dinner we decided to go back to the lighthouse to see what the land bridge looked like at high tide.
The land bridge was totally covered with water and still rising. The tide chart stated that the depth at high tide would be 6.87 feet!
The Wallace Adventure! 