Surprise, Surprise!!! Fort Bragg California

Fort Bragg California - A slow and sleepy, but beautiful town in the coast of northern California (Mendocino county). This is one trip that I will never forget because I managed to get my husband truly surprised for the first time!!

It was our first anniversary and we had not planned anything much for it yet. Thanks to my friend Smita for suggesting this place. I looked up online and found it interesting and decided to surprise my husband.

Our anniversary was on a Friday and I thought it would be nice to spend the weekend at Fort Bragg. I read a forum on www.tripadvisor.com which lead me to this beautiful single room cottage surrounded by 60 acres of tall trees and beside the ocean cliff. I quickly called them and booked it for our anniversary weekend.

On Friday, I asked my husband to come home early from work around 2.00 PM so that we can have a small celebration. I had taken the day off. When my husband left to work, I did the packing and loaded the car. When he came home, we had lunch and asked him to take me on a drive. He started driving and then I told him that we will be driving for the next 4 hours and I'll navigate. We drove north on US 101 and got delayed a lot in traffic. The 4 hour drive ended up being around 6 hours and we finally reached Fort Bragg!!!

By this time my husband had (of course) figured that I had planned a trip for the weekend, but thought we would be staying in a hotel / motel. Until then, we had never stayed in a vacation home or private cottage. We drove past all the motels and I asked him to turn into a small alley. He was a little skeptical and thought I was asking him to take a wrong road. He asked me "Are you sure?" and I confidently said "Yes I am". Then I asked him to turn into another small road. He said "This road says private property!!!". I said "Don't worry. Go on". Then we saw a huge closed gate. He said "There is a gate and it is closed". I said "Don't worry I have the code". We punched in the code and drove past the gate.

We drove a little more and the road took a sharp bend. At the bend, we saw the ocean - sparkling in the setting sun. The glimpse was totally breathtaking. We drove a little bit further and saw the small, beautiful wooden cottage that we were going to stay in. We were totally thrilled and I could see the surprise in my hubby's eyes... for the first time!!!

This property was just beside the ocean cliff. It was beautifully furnished and we loved it. There was a fire ring just beside the cliff and the view from there was awesome. We unloaded the car and settled in. When the sun started setting slowly bringing out the beautiful colors of dusk, we sat around a small fire in the ring drinking the beauty of the setting sun.

The next morning was crisp and air was a little chill. After breakfast, we walked around the property and then took a small trail to the ocean. The whole scenery was wonderful. Then we went "Glass beach". This place used to be a dump station for glass appliances many years ago. Then the area was closed for clean up. Over the next several decades the pounding waves cleansed the beach, wearing down the discarded glass into the small, smooth, colored trinkets that cover the beach today. It was pretty nice to see how nature can reclaim itself - but it does take a long time. I did collect a few glass pieces as souvenir. Then we roamed around in the small dainty downtown for a while, ate in one of the restaurants and called in for the day.

Next morning, it was slightly drizzling. I woke up, but my husband was fast asleep. I walked out into the patio. The fog had not lifted completely yet and it looked so calm and beautiful. I walked out with my camera to capture the beauty of all that I saw for eternity. I took a walk around the property taking pictures of everything I saw, the ocean, leaves, flowers and even the spider web with small droplets of water.

And then, it was time to vacate the property. After brunch, we visited the botanical garden. Being a lover of flowers and plants, I enjoyed a lot! In the vegetable garden, I tasted "Chocolate Mint", a variety of mint plant and loved it. It had the fresh mint flavor and a wonderful chocolate aroma. I have never ever tasted or smelt a leaf as great as that... We also hiked a small trail along the ocean cliff and enjoyed the breathtaking views. Then we drove back home happy and contended. A lazy romantic weekend beatifully spent :)