Vacation

[chickenfeet]

We are in Petaluma. The flight down was uneventful and the drive up from SFO was made decidedly less stressful by the GPS. Sunday was mostly spent settling in, buying supplies etc. The lemur's favourite market here is Wholefoods. I can see why panjianlien refers to it as Whole Paycheck.

Yesterday we headed off to Healdsburg and the delights of the Russian River Valley. We tasted at four wineries; Clos du Bois, Trentadue, Preston and Mazzocco. Clos du Bois was very good; excellent wines and informed, friendly staff. Actually they were all like that which reminds me why I like Sonoma so much more than Napa. Mazzocco is amazing. They make a Chardonnay and a couple of Cabs but their real raison d'etre is Zinfandel. They had fourteen Zins available. We tasted four aand all were quite excellent and very distinctive. It's just amazing how they bring out the character of each vineyard. Don't bother looking for their wines in stores. Like some of our Niagara faves they sell out through a combination of mailing list and cellar door.

We lunched at The Bear Republic Brewing Company in Healdsburg. We had brilliant burgers and I had fabulous garlic/parmesan fries with mine. The lemur had the very good lobster bisque. The star though was the beer. They do an IPA called Racer 5. It was amazing. When I described it as being "like Al's Cask on steroids" the lemur looked at me like I was nuts, until she tasted it. They also do a version with an extra hit of hops. It was good but essential balance seemed to have been lost. The Racer 5 definitely goes high on my best beer ever list.

All in all, the food and drink around here is amazing. The net thing to check out will be the seafood.

The only not so good is that, after months of behaving itself, my ankle is being a bugger. I ran yesterday in pain and I'm resting it today. We'll see where it is tomorrow.

Comments

[a-d-medievalist.livejournal.com]

if you ev er get a chance to get as far south as Santa Ynez, try Gainey Vineyards. They used to make a really nice Cab Franc, and occasionally come out with real Eiswein and Bärenauslesen.

[melted-snowball.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you're going up the coast, but I adored the really good brewery in Fort Bragg, too.

[albionwood.livejournal.com]

If you feel up for a longer drive, you might enjoy some of the Anderson Valley wineries, especially if you are a Pinot Noir fan. And if you need to cool off, keep heading west on Highway 128 until you reach Albion on the beautiful Mendocino coast. Just let me know ahead of time so I can prepare a fine lunch!

It's great that you hit Bear Republic, it is a legendary brewery. Racer 5 is something of a cult beer. First and so far only beer I've tried that I thought was over-hopped; the first half of the pint was fantastic, but the relentless grapefruit bombardment wore out my palate before I got to the bottom.

email me - albionwood at wildblue dot net - if you think you might be coming up this way.

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

We are definitely going to head up Mendocino direction this week or, more likely next, and maybe stay a night in Mendocino. Is any particular day better for you?

[albionwood.livejournal.com]

Midweek is generally best for us. We have an unusually busy weekend schedule the next few weeks. Monday-Thursday is best.

Do you need tips for places to stay in Mendo? Many of them book up pretty far ahead, especially for weekends.

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

We think we will head up on Monday and stay Monday night in Mendo or Fort Bragg. Any suggestions on inexpensive accommodation welcome. We haven't thought too hard about things to do but the Fort Bragg Brewery seems mandatory.

[albionwood.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm, "inexpensive" might be the difficult part there... not much on the Mendo coast that I would define as inexpensive. There are a few chain hotels (Best Western, Holiday Inn, Quality Inn) in Fort Bragg, but I wouldn't recommend them if you're looking for charm. When we were coming up here shopping for property, we used to stay at a motel on the beach just north of Fort Bragg, the Surf & Sand (www.surfsandlodge.com, 964-9511) - nice rooms, spectacular views if you got the ocean-facing rooms on the second floor, not too horribly expensive. Walk right out onto Ten Mile Beach. Since then a new hotel has been constructed on the south end of town, the North Cliff Hotel (www.fortbragg.org, 866-962-2550 or 707-962-2500). Don't know anything about it but the location is nice, on a cliff at the mouth of the Noyo River. Down in the Noyo harbor is the Anchor Lodge, about which I know nothing (www.anchor-lodge.com, 964-4283) except it says it has "economy & water front rooms."

Closer to Mendo is the Seafoam Lodge (937-1827), which also has great views but is east of the Highway; in the off-season it has great rates ($88/night) but at this time of year it's probably pricey. In the Village itself, the Mendocino Hotel (937-0511) is a beautiful old Victorian with a lovely restaurant, great location, but I bet it's expensive.

As for things to see and do here, we always take visitors to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens (www.gardenbythesea.org) - we have memberships and free passes for guests. There are numerous excellent beaches for strolling along as well.

Mendocino Village is a charming place to wander around for a while - if shopping is your thing you can do that, otherwise just walk around and admire the pretty houses & landscaping. Several good places to eat & drink - I recommend Patterson's Pub for lunch, it is a true local hangout with a great selection of beers and surprisingly excellent food. Or, go to Cafe Beaujolais for either lunch (very good value) or dinner (expensive but said to be worth it). Mendocino Hotel is also good for lunch or dinner.

Fort Bragg is less charming but does have the North Coast Brewery and a nice little pub, Piaci's, well known among West Coast beer aficionados (and with a nice selection of wines as well).

If you'll be coming up in the morning, we could arrange to meet for lunch in Mendocino or Fort Bragg, then walk it off at the Gardens if that sounds good to you. Or something else, your call.

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

Here's the plan...

Drive up tomorrow morning starting fairly early. We are staying in Fort Bragg (Beach House Inn) tomorrow night and then probably working back south with stops on Tuesday. Meeting up for lunch tomorrow would be excellent if it's not too short notice.

[albionwood.livejournal.com]

Call me at 707 937 double-four double-two before 9 tonight or after 7 tomorrow morning, and we'll arrange a meetup. Would you rather meet at a restaurant, or come out here to my place (warning, lots of slobbery hairy dogs) for lunch?

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

Your place would be great. We'll bring the wine!

[helianthas.livejournal.com]

Hey! I'd love to see you guys.
I'm free Friday (daytime) through the weekend, and again next Friday...

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

Heading into the city tomorrow. We are staying in the Sunset with tentative plans to meet a friend in Berkeley on Friday, probably evening but not sure. You'ld be welcome to join us or we could hook up Saturday.

[helianthas.livejournal.com]

Super! I have tentative plans to watch Heroes on DVD with a friend on Friday (exciting, right?) but Berkeley sounds nice. There's a concert in the park sort of thing with a whole bunch of friends (a bit on the party side) on Sat during the day, but I'm free in the evening, too. Will email my ph#. :)

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

Plans are getting firmed up. We are doing galleries Friday afternoon; De Jong, maybe LoH. Dinner then drinks at the Starry Plough in Berkeley later on. No plans for during the day Saturday but probably won't stay late due to my dislike of long drives in the dark. Can you meet up anytime on that schedule? I'll have my phone; 416 209 8675

[helianthas.livejournal.com]

Starry Plow tomorrow night could probably work -- what time are you heading out there? Perhaps I could get a ride with you guys if you're driving, and then take the BART home if you're not heading back to SF.

Will be so nice to see you both!

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

We'll be at the pub at 7pm. We will be heading back to the Sunset. Not sure if we will BART or have a ride.