Saying goodbye to Brendan and sunrise was bitter sweet, as this trip was something we had dreamed up and made happen. Now it was nearly over. Hhe was heading back to the UK after being in the USA for a few weeks, back to his family.

I was not done with California yet. We were invited to Mendocino sawmill, two hours drive north of San Francisco. I had met a Swede, Lars Birging, from Jönköping of all places, at the Forest Innovation Summit, so he would stand in for Brendan as my navigator.

We arrived at the sawmill and first got a tour of the nearby forest. It was the first time in my trip here that I had not worn my thermal underwear. It was 30 degrees and I’m glad someone had pointed that out the day before.

We got to see the California Redwoods in their natural habitat and learnt about the challenges they face as well as the legislation required to harvest them.

Next was a fascinating tour of how the sawmill operates. It was my first time to see how a tree gets transformed various wood products. Plenty of automation, coupled with much needed human decision making.

One of the many wine farms along the route

Time was tight, we had to get back to San Francisco as we had an opportunity to pitch to a Venture Capital firm. I had some descent clothes packed for the event, but ended up going straight in with muddy clothes from our forest visit. I thought it added a bit more authenticity :-)

The pitch did not secure any funds but got to meet some Swedish founders based here. It was good to learn and observe how they operate here.