Vacation Saturday

I forgot (and I can't imagine how I did that) to tell you about this sign we saw as we got close to our destination. If you're having trouble reading it, it says "ENTERING TSUNAMI HAZARD ZONE". That was encouraging.

Breakfast Saturday morning was at the Mendocino Hotel with an ocean view table. I had French Toast and spicy sausage that literally set my ears on fire. Katherine had an omelette with vegetables, sausage, and avocado on top.  

As we pulled out of Mendocino, I stopped a couple of miles out of town and took this shot across a little bay. That is the fog shrouded town of Mendocino, California.

This, on the other hand, was directly below the cliff I was standing on to take the other picture.

About 100 to 150 feet to the water

OK, on to the wine tasting. First stop was Handley Cellars in the little town of Philo, California.

Handley Cellars

Yup, spent a bunch. Then on to Husch Vineyards. Cute little wine tasting room. It was in Philo also. Short drive from place to place. Spent a bunch there too.

Husch Vineyards

Next was Greenwood Ridge Vineyards. They had a couple of nice ponds right below the tasting room that I thought would be a good distraction for me while the wife did the wine tasting thing, but they had just put some kind of dye in to retard the algae growth and I didn't think any fish that was in there (and they seemed to think there was) would be interested in anything I offered, so I passed. 

Greenwood Ridge Vineyards

We hit three other wine tasting places, but the only other picture I took was the one below. Most of the Anderson Valley (where we were doing the wine tasting) looked just like this. Vineyards as far as the eye could see.

Every place we stopped had multiple award ribbons for their wines. Some of the wineries have been in the same family for several generations. One example is Husch Vineyards where the third generation is now the owners and the little tasting room (pictured above) was a pony barn dating back to the 1800's.

On the way to the coast on Friday, to the wine tasting on Saturday Morning, and on the way back Saturday afternoon we had to pass through Navarro River Redwoods State Park. I took a couple of pictures for you to see. It's an 11 mile stretch of Highway 128 that is carved out of the redwood forest. Some of the trees you drive by are 5 or 6 feet in diameter. The Navarro River runs right through the center of the park. On the way through on Saturday afternoon I noticed several of the pull offs had multiple cars parked, but I resisted stopping and crashing through the brush to see if they were fishing. According to the DFG website the river is C&R with artificial lures and barbless. I'm sure they were, but it was vacation and spending it with Katherine was my main goal. 

Navarro River Redwoods SP

Navarro River Redwoods SP

Back in Mendocino, dinner Saturday night was at the Mendocino Hotel in the Bistro. I had a shaved Prime Rib sandwich and Katherine had crab cakes, both with french fries.

Sunday was a trip to Fort Bragg and our 15th anniversary. Stay tuned.

Mark