Friday, July 6, 2012





Size Does Matter


Living LARGE by thinking small


We have rented a cottage 
walking distance
to downtown St Helena in the 
Napa Valley

It's sweet and it's teeny 
Less is more
less house = less maintenance=more free time

A narrow staircase leads up to our lofty little bedroom

Without the BIG house responsibilities 
we have been inspired to take road trips , explore and discover..

A perfect way to begin the day is
breakfast 
in neighboring Sonoma at
The Fremont Diner


Fresh eggs laid by resident hens  





or why not bread pudding ?



...and the Tamales- YUM ! for breakfast or lunch






Winding  through the Sonoma countryside 
towards the Pacific Ocean
vineyards give way to old barns and poultry sheds
that dotted the landscape before 
wine became a cash crop



Small towns


Reminders of other times


Chicken Ranch Beach is small and sheltered



...and just down the road
INVERNESS
on Tomales Bay 
the quaint community where
summer homes are handed down 
 from one generation to the next

A "two horse" town



one grocery store and Vladimir's, the local bar 

it even boasts a yacht club 

Here there is every intention to keep things 
small because size does matter


... but I can't imagine that the Inverness
post office will be here much longer




A great overnight destination is Nick's Cove in Marshall
where small individual
cottages hang over the water's edge. 


Small is beautiful

In-room massages are available 
after a day of hiking, fishing,  kayaking , cycling
or even after doing not much of anything

The restaurant serves delicious local farm 
fresh products
and of course
the famous oysters of Tomales Bay


Visit the oyster beds and 
see how they are cultivated

Continue north along the coast road 
and you will pass THE HERITAGE HOUSE
a once divine retreat in Little River, 
made famous by the 1978 movie
SAME TIME NEXT YEAR

Sadly the inn appears to be closed and ramshackle 
a sign of the times
but rumor has it that it has been bought 
and will reopen summer of 2012
Let's hope

ELLEN BURSTYN - ALAN ALDA
star in the 1978  comedy
A couple of strangers  meet at the inn and become lovers,
returning once a year for their romantic tryst

Rent the movie -
it's worth watching  even if you have seen it before

Great  writing -Great acting

If you were not even born in 1978 watching 
it will give you a  window into a past era


The village of 
Mendocino on Bodega Bay
is the quintessential small town 
A Hollywood favorite 
for filming anything featuring  a small,  quaint seaside locale
 either east or west coast - so suspend your disbelief

Shingles weathered by the salty wet air
An old lighthouse leads to safe harbor


ALFRED HITCHCOCK


The thriller was filmed in Mendocino

1963
Starring
TIPPIE HEDREN
(AKA mother of actress Melanie Griffith)

ROD TAYLOR



Hitchcock referred to THE BIRDS
 as the most terrifying movie he had ever made.
You may never look at a sea gull the same way again



ANGELA LANSBURY 
 in
MURDER SHE WROTE
also filmed in Mendocino
The hit television series supposedly unfolding in 
a fishing village in Maine ran for twelve seasons 
1984-1996

Onward to the land of the GIANTS

Folk hero,  Paul Bunyan and Babe his blue ox
A lumberjack of epic proportions

In 1850 there were 2 million acres of Redwood forest in California
Today there is less then 5% left of that old growth.

Reclaimed redwood barn siding 
used for planking an exposed ceiling


Redwoods can live to be 2000 years old giving them 
plenty of time to become columnar giants 

The Giant Redwoods

Redwood trees thrive along the California coast 
which is often shrouded in fog.  
They absorb 30% of their required moisture through their foliage 
and the condensation of fog that drips to their roots.

A fallen Redwood 12 feet in diameter hosts 
all kinds of symbiotic ferns and mosses

Tree trunks so broad that a full size SUV can drive through them
The tallest recorded Redwood is  379 feet tall- 
taller then Big Ben in London


Thinking BIG we confront the dilema

Which way to go next?
Day trips could become more then simple overnights


Prepare to be surprised.

Happy trails
Rela

1 comment:

KAthy said...

How inspiring and what a fabulous journal/journey! I want to get in the car and follow your lead!