Erinmontague’s Weblog

The fog played in and out all day.

And dang! Now it’s over! We had the best time ever in Mendocino and Little River Inn over the weekend. We arrived around 5:30 – a bit later than I was hoping, but oh well. We made it! The drive is always beautiful – oh yes I forgot, we were going to fly in the Baron but guess what – the Little River Airport was closed for repaving and some lighting work. Lovely timing;) However I love the drive and it made no difference to me, Rob just loves his plane;) We checked in and found that MY SNEAKY NAUGHTY MOTHER had called the day before and put up her credit card for most everything! Oh brother – she is incorrigible. I think it was payback for her birthday party – but you know what? Payback always begets payback soooooo watch out there Mom;)

Hiking on the Mendocino Coast

We drove down the road to the Llama Cottage and upon entering found lovely flowers, chocolate and a really nice note from Cammie the Public Relations Rep. who had actually read this blog and wanted to thank me for mentioning the Inn. (Wow! Someone besides my Mom actually reads my little blog of blather? Wonderful!:) She offered to take us to breakfast but we couldn’t quite hook up – but thank you for the lovely offer!

Our private yard at the Llama Cottage

Went back off down the road to the Inn to the best dinner ever – Calimari, bouillabaisse and caesar salad and yum yum yum… We were loving it. They do have the most wonderful restaurant. We ate most our meals there as we were too lazy and happy to go anywhere else;) Back to the cottage for a soak in the hot tub under the stars. That was nice as even though we have a hot tub that is also outside under the stars – we seldom use it because we have to W A L K way, way over there to get in. Rethinking about where to put the tub when we build the new house – note to self – closer to the house.

The next day we hiked and shopped and ate and visited the Mendocino Botanical Gardens. So amazing – it’s different every time we go, new things in bloom. We stopped by the a festival in Caspar and listened to some music. A very fun day.

The Garden Gate at the Botanical Gardens

What I liked most about Little River Inn:

1. The Food – it is fabulous!
2. The bathrobes hanging in the closet for us to use
3. The privacy of the Llama Cottage – just like home but better
4. The weather – it was perfect. I wore a tank top all Saturday – how often does that happen in Mendocino;)
5. The Llamas – yes, they let us pet them
6. The beautiful gardens and flowers – ours at home are all spent and theirs are still going strong
7. How quick and easy it is to relax
8. The people – all friendly and super nice and helpful – this should be further up on the list as we found everyone delightful
9. The fog horn that we could hear at night
10. The new memories  – the last time we were there it was for my co-workers (Vince Whiteley) and his in-laws memorial service, a very, very sad event. It was very nice to be there for fun and relaxation instead this time.

On our way home Sunday we decided to go over Comptchee – Ukiah road. Neither of us had ever been to Comptchee and well, now I know why – it’s a blink and miss kind of place. Very beautiful though. We saw a large group of cars parked at the local Baptist church, so I know that there are lots of people who live out there. When we got to 101 heading south we decided to stop at a winery that we had never been to north of Hopland – Nelson Family Winery. It was great! We bought a case of their Zinfandel, let’s see how long that lasts;)

We did not take any dogs with us this time – a first! I gotta admit I missed them but it was so nice not to have to TAKE CARE OF SOMETHING/SOMEONE ELSE while trying to relax. Ahhhhh, I can’t wait to go back.

Two Happy Clams