Welcome back from your three-day weekend—I took mine a day early and headed up to Mendocino with a friend on Friday (this column won’t write itself on Mondays, sadly). The weekend was a fun one, but also a bit conflicting. While it’s absolutely gorgeous up there (seriously, there’s a stunning view everywhere you turn) and we got so lucky with the weather, I also feel like I just emerged from a time warp—one that returned me to 1987 for a few days—in a town that actually wishes it didn’t have to deal with visitors (how very Bolinas). I have been having way too much fun coming up with taglines for the quirky town, like: “Mendocino. It’s not you, it’s us.”
Although I will say hospitality is alive and well at Little River Inn—where we were hosted for two nights and witnessed quite a familial vibe. Seventy-five years in business (and a made-to-order clam chowder that rocks) will do that.
Some high points of the weekend were actually in the journey itself, like stopping at Diavola in Geyserville on the way up and back (that place is always so impossibly good), and I’m digging the cheese (and eggs!) I brought back from Pennyroyal Farm. Also nabbed some good Anderson Valley wines (we visited Roederer Estate and Navarro on the way home—the valley is such a beautiful location). I’ll be sharing more about the weekend soon, it was as comedic as it was scenic.
Enjoy the short week, and I’ll see you Friday. Marcia Gagliardi
The Little River Inn, all gussied up for Memorial Day. Photo: © tablehopper.com.View tablehopper Newsletter from Tuesday, May 27 2014
