The "Haunted" Grey Whale Inn and More!

Dear Friends,

I wrote about our visit to San Francisco on New Year's Eve, in the blog about the "Haunted" Queen Anne. (Read) A few days later, Lesli and I packed our bags again and travelled to the coast of Northern California; our destination was Fort Bragg. Please enjoy our journey.

Photo by Kati - Raider at
Boonville General Store
(Jan.03/2018)

Our Second Adventure: My wife had gifted us a two night stay in Fort Bragg's haunted "Grey Whale Inn". We set out on a drizzly day, January 3rd, with excitement. I had never travelled this far north in California; therefore, it became a true adventure. We chose to take the CA 128 West from Cloverdale, to the Coastal Hwy 1, and then head north. The drive to reach our destination took just under two hours. Along the way we found ourselves travelling through small towns such as Yorkville, Boonville and Navarro, which are nestled in Anderson Valley where spooky leafless oak trees stand on the hillsides. Once closer to the coastline, we drove through a forest of giant redwoods (Navarro River Redwoods State Park), standing thick and tall, along with fir and hemlock trees lining the highway. The aroma of the area was fabulous!

The "Haunted" Queen Anne Hotel...

Hello Friends,

Happy 2018! I hope your New Year's Eve was a wonderful time for you and family, and that everyone is in good health.
I travelled south to my second home in Healdsburg, California over the holidays. I could not have been blessed with better weather.

I gifted my wife a New Year's Eve get away into the city. An overnight stay at the "Haunted" Queen Anne Hotel in San Francisco. I had read so many interesting accounts about it; and when I took a look at other "haunted" hotels/locations to experience in the city, this hotel stood out. So I booked us in for the night. The staff was so friendly and open about the "hauntings", we were welcome to walk about and explore, as long as we didn't disturb other guests. Of course there were a few other places I wanted to check out on this journey as well.

We began our trip on the morning of December 31, 2017. With the car full of gas, we picked up a lovely coffee and blueberry scone from the Flying Goat in Healdsburg and headed south on Hwy 101. The sun was shining, a bright blue sky above, and the air was warm. 15C/59F. For this Vancouver girl, it's spring weather, hoodie time; which makes it a great day to go exploring. Our drive into the city was without the usual clog of traffic, and we made it to our first stop in just over 1 hour. Although there were plenty of tourists in the city, it really was remarkable to find a parking spot directly outside our first destination.

Photo by Kati - Mission Dolores & Basilica (Dec.31/2017)

Ghost Towns & Haunted Hotels - Washington USA

Hello Friends,

Recently, Lesli and I packed our bags and headed south across the Canada - USA border into the green state of Washington, USA. We had our sights on visiting the old town of Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula. I've heard stories of haunted hotels, bordellos from the early 1900s, a small ghost town area with a steel mill which closed leaving behind little evidence of it's existence, and the people.. oh yes, I heard the people are truly warm and welcoming.

I also read/heard about an interesting ghost town in the Cascade Mountains. In 1910 two trains were caught in an avalanche and killed 96 people. We decided to put it on our travel agenda of the two day trip.

It was a blue sky day, the air was crisp as we headed out in the morning to make our trip. The "lineup" (I've heard Americans criticize my use of this word, but that is how we say it here in Canada) at the border was a 10-20 minute wait, which isn't bad at all; and after a short but friendly chat with the border guard, we were on our way. We drove the I-5 to the Anacortes turn off, then followed the signs to Whidbey Island, and there we joined our dearest friend Donna in Coupeville for a ride across the northern point of Puget Sound to the peninsula and it's interesting heritage.

Photo courtesy Kati - on the Port Townsend - Coupeville Ferry