Escape the Summer Heat. Visit California's Mendocino Coast

Take a well-deserved reprieve from the summer's triple-digit heat with a visit to northern California's Mendocino coast. A visit here is a step back in time, to a place abundantly embossed with artifacts from California's rustic frontier period. Once known for its rail and ocean lumber-hauling industry, Mendocino coast has blossomed into small bustling hamlets filled with quaint, unique shops and a vigorous hospitality industry. Original inhabitants were called the Bokeya Pomo, the local people of the Central Pomo Native Americans. Later renamed the Manchester Band of Pomo Indians, they have preserved much of their values and tradition of their proud heritage.

As you drive along the Shoreline Highway-the local name for curvy U.S. Hwy 1-you are embraced by a feeling of ultimate tranquility. Open the car windows and absorb the inviting breeze teeming through tunnels of Cypress tree branches overhead. Enjoy a bouquet of fresh Eucalyptus, Pine, Redwood, Fir, and Manzanita trees, complimented by overtones of fresh ferns, purple Echium blossoms and Sweet Pea. Kniphofha flowers, donning bright yellow, orange and red spear-like blossoms, shepherd you alongside the road like day-lit torches. Golden hillsides of pastureland for grazing cows, sheep and horses, flanked with wild Mustard and Cow-Parsnip, yield to a background of lushly forested mountains. Below time-sculpted bluffs is the magnificent Pacific Ocean, alive in hues of Blue Lapis and green Tourmaline. Watch as waves crash over outcrops of rocks and onto the sandy shore in dreamy foam-covered surf. Welcome to one of the most beautiful coastlines on earth.

Your summer vacation can begin from the south on the Bodega HWY, from the east on either CA HWY 20 or CA HWY 128, or from the north on CA HWY 101. Assuming you are coming north from Santa Rosa, take Bodega HWY to CA HWY 1, through Gualala, Anchor Bay, Point Arena, Manchester, Elk, Albion, Little River, Mendocino Village, Fort Bragg, Westport and Rockport on the northernmost side of Mendocino County's coastline. On your way, visit the "Banana Belt," a stretch of coastline from Anchor Bay to Sea Ranch. Rich in summer sun, sandy beaches and topographical elegance, it is the closest point to Hawaii from the U.S. mainland.

Family vacation activities include train rides, mini-safaris, art shows, garden excursions, state park trail hikes, surfing, body-boarding, charter boat fishing, Abalone diving, fine-dining, wine-tasting, beach walks, whale-watching, shopping, camping, kayaking, canoeing, cycling, horse-back riding, golf, disc golf, tennis, dancing, swimming at the new aquatic center, and more. Celebrate summer and fall at the world's largest Salmon BBQ, Fourth of July Street Fair, fireworks show and parade. Mendocino Music Festival, Mendocino Art Center Annual Summer Arts & Crafts Fair, Gualala Arts Auto Show, Art in the Gardens, CasparFest, Art in the Redwoods, Live! At the Gardens, Paul Bunyan Days, Abalone Cook-off & Festival, Hops, Hemp & Harvest Festival, Day of the Dead Festival, Wine & Mushroom Festival, Festival of Trees, Mendocino Thanksgiving Arts Fair and much more. This year marks Gualala Arts' 50^th Birthday, and the celebration lasts all year long. Art aficionado? Mendocino is home to Mendocino Theatre Company, a local performance theatre, which features performance art pieces. Mendocino Arts, located in the Mendocino Village, exhibits a fine collection of paintings, sculptures, jewelry and more.

Is there anything more romantic than a visit to a historical lighthouse? How about a visit to two? The Point Arena lighthouse and museum, featured in the movie "Forever Young" with Mel Gibson, is a must see. Point Cabrillo Light Station, surrounded by a 270-acre nature preserve, is another. A lighthouse vista point is a perfect place to watch the captivating Gray whales as they migrate up the Mendocino coast, making their way north to the Bering Sea, from the warm coastal waters of Baja. Occasionally Humpback, Fin and Blue Whales, as well as Orcas, Sea Otters, Dolphins, Sea Lions and other sea life, can be spotted. Dawn is the best time to glimpse the migratory cetaceans. Mendocino harbors some of the best whale-watching tour companies.