Glass beach in Fort Bragg was once a garbage dump, but after many years, the bottles and ceramics have been broken down into smooth pieces of glass covering this now famous cove. The Northern California coastline in November is spectacular with sun shining on the big waves, and redwood trees soaking up the first rains of the El Niño. It is definitely worth the four-hour drive from San Francisco to get away from the crowds of Thanksgiving, and see some beautiful nature. Russian Gulch state park has the rugged coastline views and the Fern Canyon trail leads to a small struggling waterfall. Banana slugs and winter wrens add some color and sound to the misty landscape of ancient trees and ferns. Many people spend Thanksgiving preparing big meals, watching sports and shopping. I guess as a vegan not-entirely-American, I prefer to spend the precious vacation exploring some new places. Although I have been here several times, there are always new parks, views, birds and small towns to see. I imagine what it was like before the lumberjacks arrived, when the redwood forests were vast and the land untouched. Now Mendocino has art galleries, organic cafes and a nice bookstore among the old 19th century houses and water towers. This is a place to go slow and retire, at least for a few days.