Anniversary in Mendocino

As there isn't very much to do in the month of June, biking, walking, art galleries, or Historic House tours are on the agenda. Whale watching happens from November through March.

Quick Tips:

Take some Dramamine if you get car sick. The road to Mendocino is windy either way you choose to get to there - via Highway 1 or Route 128. If you have forgotten your Dramamine, stop for a break in Bodega (via Highway 1), and look for the church that was filmed in the Alfred Hitchock movie The Birds.

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking or biking is the best way to get around the town.

The Inn is made up of three different buildings. The main house is a saltbox cottage and a historic watertower. A full breakfast is included. We stayed in the main house in the Library Room. The room had a fireplace and deep tub for two. It over-looked a small garden. The bed was the best I had ever slept in. We may order it for our own house. First we were greeted by the Inn''s cats. Two very huge farm house cats. They liked to roam around and ask people to pet them or open doors. In our room was a complimentary bottle of wine, a welcome card and cookies from the Mendocino Cookie Company. After the long windey ride, this was a real treat.

The best part of staying at the Inn was the breakfast. We ate breakfast on the porch every day, where we were served items such as home made apple waffles or muffins, baked pears. It was really nice to sit there on the porch and sip your coffee, while listening to a little league baseball game. The porch has a nice view of the field across the street. The Innkeepers were so friendly as well. You really felt at home. Right down to one of the proprietors washing dishes by hand in the kitchen, while talking to another guest. In the parlor at night, cookies or brownies and sherry were put out to enjoy. We took a look around the property and all of the buildings looked nice. There are no phones in the rooms. The phone was in a closet, outside, if you needed to make a call.

Excellent! And it isn't because it was our Wedding anniversary. The service and food were impecable. It is a small restaurant and popular, so reservations are definately required if you want to get in. The restaurant is in a old farmhouse house. They bake their own bread for dining. It was delicious. They also sell the bread. We bought some. We had Sturgeon (fish) for the main course. I am not sure if they always have this. It was great. The salad was ok, as I remember it was just your California salad with goat cheese. For dessert we had what tasted like a cherry tart, with homemade pistachio ice cream. Yum!

This is your typical old house turned into tour place. What was different about it was that the guide knew some strange things about the house. For example: the house is supposed to be haunted by the daughter because she doesn't want visitors to thieve. There is a pane of glass that the daughter of the owner, William Kelley, scratched her name. It is still there. There is another pane with a name scratched in it that is not legible. The main room is so large because hippies in the 60's started a bonfire inside the house, and used the dividing wall as wood. Not your typical tour but interesting nonetheless. The house has much of the original furnishings upstairs and in the library room. You can still smell the must from the old wall paper.

Mendocino was dubbed the New England of California and it is true. Every one knows every one, and you can bike or walk the entire town in less than an hour.

Although it is a small coastal town it is filled with much history. Many of the houses do not resemble the houses that are seen in other towns of California. You really do feel like you are in New England. Most of the coast, although sandy, is not really for swimming. The water was also still a bit cold in June. We biked around the cliffs where we saw people diving for Abalone. We talked to a few folks that had walked up the cliffs to look through their catch, and then went to the beach at the Headlands State Park. People were rowing or kayaking and surfing. I went swimming to try out my new wet suit. The water was so clear. It was a beautiful.

We also liked to bike around the town to just look at the old buildings and imagine what it would be like to live in Mendocino years ago and today. We determined that it would be a great place to live. Now I don't have to fly across the U.S. to get a tast of New England.