Point Arena

A couple of years ago Sheryl and I took a little vacation to the northwest cost. Our adventure started in a little town called Bodega Bay, California. Years ago Sheryl's sister Sandra worked at a restraunt here. In the end she pretty much ran the place. The name of the restraunt was "The Tides". When we stopped for lunch, Sheryl did not know where we would be staying that evening. While we were eating lunch I gave her a printed card that I had made that explained to her where we were staying. She started to cry. Mission accomplished.

It must have been quite a site in the restraunt. A week or two before we left I was roughhousing with Rocco. I went down and he came up and the top of his boney head nailed me right in the eye; so, as a result, I had a huge shinner. I can only imagine what people must have been thinking. Me sitting there giving her papers of some kind, and her crying. I'm lucky I didn't get punched by someone.

Point Arena was beautiful as well. The actual point, where the lighthouse was, is probablly one of the most peaceful and relaxing places that I have ever been. We spent several hours there watching the tide and listening to the surf crash against the rocks. At one point we were able to visit the old lighthouse and take the guided tour to the top. The gentelman that guided the tour actually worked at the lighthouse. It was one of the last The new Lighthouse began operation in 1908, nearly 18 months after the quake that destroyed the first lighthouse. It stands 115 feet tall, and features a 1st Order Fresnel Lens, over six feet in diameter and weighing more than six tons. The lens is made up of 666 hand-ground glass prisms all focused toward three sets of double bulls eyes. It is these bulls eyes that gave the Point Arena Lighthouse its unique "light signature" of two flashes every six seconds. This incredible optic, that holds an appraised value of over $3.5 million, is set in solid brass framework, built in France. The light structure sat on a steel plate that floated on a vat of Mercury. The tour guid said that you could turn it with the flick of a wrist. It was really cool.

The Warfmasters Inn sits about 100 feet above the water and looks out over the bay. It was a wonderful place to stay. Our patio looked out over the Pacific Ocean and the on-shore breeze carried the smells of the sea into the room.