March 1 – 3 (Shelter Cove): Our Thunder Roads NorCal group was once again welcomed with open arms to The Inn of the Lost Coast. The Inn is in Shelter Cove on California’s Lost Cost perched on a cliff above the crashing waves of the ocean below. There are 18 rooms with the most spectacular ocean views you could ask for. Each room you can step outside your deck or patio to see whales go by or just listen to the sound of seagulls and the ocean waves. As they say, you should come to the Inn of the Lost Coast ‘when getting lost is just what you need’. I know from time to time we all feel that need to just get away; and for Terri and I this is our favorite place to do just that. After we rolled in and settled into our rooms we all headed up to the large meeting room to gather and have a few local craft beers from Gyppo Ale Mill before enjoying some fresh Humboldt crab from Crab e Tom’s in Fortuna. A special thanks to The Inn of the Lost Cost staff and the Cove Rats MC for hosting this weekend’s guests with a delicious crab feed.
Although the non-stop winter storms early in the week tried to put a damper on the weekend, Mother Nature didn’t stop this hearty crew from ‘getting lost’ in Shelter Cove. It is a special trip for us as this group of cohorts has become family after 5 years of making this trek. We visited, stuffed ourselves with crab and tri tip and listened to live music. On a mild winter evening, the party continued into the night onto the deck around a bonfire raging in the large fire pit with flood lights lighting up the waves in the cove below before one by one - we all wandered back to our rooms for the night.
The next morning was relaxing as we started getting around and meeting up in the Fish Tank Coffee shop that is attached to the Inn. It is here that you can order a nice, warm tasty cup of coffee but they also have wonderful breakfast treats to get the day off on the right foot. Later, we jumped on our bikes for a little tour of the cove that included a walk on the beach before heading over to Gyppo Ale Mill for lunch and you guessed it - some more tasty beer. After a little more exploring, we headed back to the Inn. Later that evening, we were treated to an awesome spaghetti dinner that was made for us by Brian of the Family of Humboldt MC. I do not know how Brian does it, but his spaghetti is amazing! We have run into him cooking at several NorCal MC events in the past and there is good reason he is in high demand. Later it was more music and a trivia game with the grand prize was a cool poster of Carlo Lujan – owner of C&E Auburn Indian & V-Twin launching his drag bike down the track back in the day. After that Terri and I snuck off to the lower deck and jumped into the hot tub watching a late night fishing boat and listening to the waves roll in.
Shelter Cove is truly magical to us and we hope that you all get a chance to experience it for yourselves someday. Or you can always come and join us as the cohorts will be heading back to the Cove next March, so give the Inn of the Lost Coast a call to book your reservations today!
Article and photos by Stan and Terri Hill.
