Three

The next stop is Mendocino. This is where it gets a bit tricky. Mendocino is, of course, part of Mendocino county. This county, however, doesn’t go as far as Cape Mendocino which lies around seventy miles north and is in Humboldt County. Even so, Mendocino is not the main town of Mendocino county but rather small. It became famous for a number of films and TV shows shot here, such as ‘Murder She Wrote’. I don’t know about the English speaking world, but in Germany it also became famous because it was featured prominently in a song by the same name (the English original is apparently by some Sir Douglas Quintet; it remains to be determined whether the English or German lyrics are more horrid).

In reality, Mendocino is quite lovely. Residing on a headland, it is surrounded on three sides by the Pacific. Main Street is the southernmost street with the result, that it has houses only on its northern side. Further south there is a meadow, which ends rather abruptly. Then, a hundred feet vertically down, is the Pacific. Mendocino seems to be quite a tourist attraction. At least each house along Main Street contains some sort of souvenir parlour, mostly galleries. The only non-souvenir related etablisments seem to be Mendocino Hotel and, somewhat hidden, a cafe. Obviously, no audio equipment.

A couple of bends on, the road suddenly grows two extra lanes. Various commericial enterprises announce that I have arrived in Fort Bragg which indeed is the main town of Mendocino County. Established as a fort during the civil war, it was later abbandoned, then re-settled around a lumber operation.

First things first, I check a hardware store -- still no luck. Two miles down Main Street, there is some sort of city center which features a store with a Radio Shack department. Bingo. I park the car next to a railroad depot and finally acquire the long sought equipment. I buy some coffee and a cookie, get back to the car, connect MP3 player and radio, and happily listen to a couple of songs while sipping and munching. The mind now free again, I go for a more extended stroll through the city center.

Apart from the store, there is a museum lodge and a Victorian mini mall, labeled as the Union Lumber Company Store. This company, originally founded as then Fort Bragg Redwood Company, is (or maybe was) the most important cooperation here. Big enough, that the map of Fort Bragg also features the Union Lumber Company Airport. The aforementioned railroad depot belongs to the California Western Railroad, originally a side-show of Union Lumber to haul off their products. It connects Fort Bragg with Willits fourty miles inland. The days of shipping wood by railroad thoroughly over, the line is preserved as a touristic railroad. It is now officially known by its former popular name ‘Skunk Train’ which stems from the gas-powered motor cars used for passenger service. Apparently, they were a bit smelly.

Originally, I had Fort Bragg marked as the destination for today. But it is only two in the afternoon. It is roughly 150 miles to Eureka, which should take maybe four hours. However, there is a highly recommended detour to the Lost Coast, which adds another 50 miles or so. Should be doable but would also mean I would have to rush things a bit. But still, ending the day already is not really an option. So, I go return to the car and manage to hit the panic button again. It is probably not meant this way but all it does is create panic within me, because hitting it again doesn’t turn the noise off, it just changes pitch. After hitting all buttons randomly, it finally stops. If there were a manual, I would start reading it about now.