Mendocino
A quaint New England town on the wrong coast.
Mendocino is my favorite short getaway from San Francisco. It’s great for 3 or 4 day weekend or stopping for a night on your way along the coast. You can get there the slow way, winding along the coast on the PCH (Rt. 1) or travel the 155 miles a bit more quickly on Rt. 101 then enjoy the roller coaster twists of Rt 20 through the Jackson Forest (sports car recommended, but watch out for deer at dusk).
It’s a small town, but caters to the tourists so expect art galleries, book stores and fine dining as well as the much loved pubs and atmospheric hotel bars. There are a range of historic inns and resorts in the area, but we always liked staying in a secret guest house of a huge private residence just outside of town and perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. Seriously, don’t trip.
Get out to hike the cliffs while looking for whales — always keeping your eye out for sneaker waves after a big storm rolls through. Never turn your back on the Pacific! The Point Cabrillo Lighthouse is an easy destination for sunset since it is a short, paved stroll from the parking lot and only 3 miles from the town center.
The most interesting thing about Mendocino is that, if you have ever visited any of the small, historic villages of New England, you will have a strong sense of deja vu. And if you are of a certain age you will certainly feel that you know the town well for no particular good reason. This is because Mendocino was built by the same New England whalers that plied the routes around Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard — they built the shingled houses, barns and the tall spire on the local church from 1868. And yes, it was really used for the exteriors of Cabot Cove, the home town of Angela Lansbury during the 12 seasons of Murder She Wrote which certainly had a high degree of mayhem for such a picturesque little town in “Maine”. It has been the scenic back drop for many other films over the years and hardly anyone gets murdered any more.
Mendocino is also right next to the Anderson Valley wineries which are generally more laid back and even kind of counter culture compared to the Napa and Sonoma. When the hippies retired and decided to make wine they went to Anderson Valley and caused it to boom in the 1980’s. Although some of the tasting rooms are just a humble out building, you can still find quite high end wines and beautiful architectural gems along the 15 miles of the wine road along Route 128. There are 30 tasting rooms in this small area which makes it a great day trip from Mendocino (again - watch your intake on when driving the winding country roads).
The cool local climate makes it perfect for Pinot Noirs and a range of whites and sparkling wines. Pinot goes perfectly with pork, duck, salmon and anything with mushrooms. Its a great choice to split a bottle when someone is having meat and the other is having fish. Some reasonable choices are La Crema or Handley Cellars. If you are feeling like you need to spend more I recommend Goldeneye to put on a shelf and drink in a few years with dinner and your best friends. Pick up a bottle of Gewürztraminer from Husch Vineyards to go with spicy Thai food. And something sparkling, perhaps from the Roederer Estate, because life is short and you need to celebrate something right now.
And don’t forget the local craft beer too. Fun to visit the tap rooms of Anderson Valley Brewing for the Boont Amber and anything from North Coast Brewing in Fort Bragg and not too far away in Petaluma there is Lagunitas and their IPA, just because.
