Shortly after breakfast we leave for the Humboldt Botanical Garden about 10 miles away from Ferndale. The day is overcast (as is every day as far as we can tell), windy and chilly, only about 54 degrees. We are pleased for the overcast because it will make the colors of the flowers more apparent rather than being washed out.
It seems that the Garden is a work in progress. There’s no permanent building and some of the gardens are annotated as “future.” But what they have is very nice and we spend a few hours roaming the garden trying to identify different flowers and shrubs. Some are labeled and some are not. Here’s a little of what we saw –
There’s also a section devoted to plants native to the area and lots of benches to sit on and contemplate the Garden.
Finishing up at the Garden we make our way back into Ferndale to look at the many Victorian houses and buildings. Ferndale was built upon dairy farming and the houses are known as “cream or butterfat palaces.”
In the midst of all this Victorian viewing, we stopped at a vegan/vegetarian restaurant for a fine lunch. I have come to the conclusion that if we stop at a vegetarian or Mediterranean place that I will always find something I like.
After resting up a bit we head down to the tavern where a table has been reserved for us. I think we spend more than most people because as the days have worn on the staff has become more obsequious.
We have enjoyed our stay in Ferndale but are ready to spend some time under sunnier skies.