Spring

Getaway

anderson valley postcard

Over the weekend, Jeffery and I drove to Mendocino County to celebrate my 25th birthday in Anderson Valley. On the way up Friday night, we stopped in Healdsburg and had dinner at Campo Fina. The restaurant had great ambience with an outdoor pizza oven, bocce ball, and really beautiful landscaping. The staff was super friendly, and the food was pretty good. The meal was mostly small plates, and they didn't have to a cook much, instead it was finished with a lot of of pickled garnishes and arugula. But it was overall a satisfying meal.

healdsburg restaurant campo fina
campo fina bocce ball healdsburg
roses campo fina restaurant
campo fina outdoor pizza oven

We stayed at the Boonville Hotel, which we had heard good things about. It far surpassed our expectations. The staff was amazing, the rooms are beautiful. As soon as we arrived we were upgraded to a suite. And the food...wow. More on that later.

gardens at the boonville hotel
boonville hotel room 4
boonville hotel room 3
boonville hotel room 2

Flowers in every room.

boonville hotel porch and antique car

On Saturday morning, (after a breakfast of homemade granola, local strawberries, yogurt and scones), we drove through the redwood trees to the coast, stopping for a trek to the Navarro river.

mendocino county redwood trees
Jeffery at the navarro river

I finally got a good shot of him. No awkward face.

Navarro River Mendocino County

It was so beautiful inland, and then when we got to the coast it was windy and cold and the water was choppy, but there was still sun and the fog was lifting.

Mendocino coast fence
pacific ocean from mendocino
mendocino houses
mendocino coast wildflowers
mendocino coast

We came back to the valley for lunch and picnicked at the Philo Apple Farm, which pretty much stole my heart.

philo apple farm sign and strawberry starters
Philo Apple Farm products for sale
philo apple farm eggs for sale
philo apple farm greenhouse
philo apple farm jasmine in the greenhouse
apple trees
apple tree blossom
philo apple farm tree arch
philo apple farm flowers
philo apple farm garden

Next stop: Toulouse Vineyard. We were glad to have just eaten, because they were generous with their pouring. The atmosphere was relaxed and everyone was extremely friendly and knowledgeable. They waived the $5 tasting fee with purchase (some bottles were on sale for as low as $16!). We left very happy with a bottle each of pinot noir and pinot gris, both tasty and affordable.

toulouse vineyard barrels
Toulouse wine tasting

We parked back at the hotel, and with a frisbee in one hand, ice cream cone in the other, walked to the Anderson Valley Brewing Company Brew House to taste some beers. We tried all the ones we'd never had and Jeff was extremely fond of the Bourbon Barrel Stout, which is aged for three months in Wild Turkey Bourbon barrels.

Anderson Valley from the Boonville Ukiah road
Anderson Valley Brewing company brewhouse beer tasting

Arms full of bottles in brown paper bags, we walked back to the hotel for eats.

furry flowers in the sun
enjoying a beer at the boonville hotel

We dined at Table 128, the hotel's in-house restaurant. It was the best meal of my life.

It started with a bite of shiitake mushroom in puff pastry and a complimentary splash of rosé...Then there was a curried cauliflower soup with savory bread salsa crumbs and romesco sauce drizzled on top...A mixed baby green salad with slices of blood orange, ricotta salata, savory candied pecans and an apple balsamic vinaigrette...Roast duck leg over shiitake, farro grain and black olive topped with a fennel and fava bean tapenade...And lastly, early strawberry and rhubarb shortcake with warm cream sauce and orange caramel.

All of the flavors were so clear and developed. The soup was simultaneously subtle and surprising. I wanted a whole lot more of the salad, and I could have licked my duck plate clean. The textures were spot on, everything was cooked to perfection. And my shortcake came out with a candle on top.

I went to bed feeling filled to the brim, filled with delicious food, with love, beauty, peace, all those cheesy things and awoke Sunday morning to birds chirping. Great weekend. I'd do it all again.

Wine Tasting at Nickel & Nickel | Napa County, CA

Nickel and Nickel winery
Josh and Katie in Napa
horses at nickel and nickel
winery barn
bare beams blue sky
Joshua drinking wine
red barn Nickel and Nickel
Nickel and Nickel farmhouse and palm
daffodils in the dust
st helena storefronts
panama hat reflection
cutting boards through the window
friends in a bar
smiling katie
katie looking down
josh in a bar
bar stool in the light
Jeffery in a bar
beer and broken iphone

Great friends. Perfect light. Old barns and old trees. Beautiful equipment. Fresh air. Green grass and sunny daffodils. Window shopping. New hat. Cold beers.

We spent 29 hours out of town and it was incredible. Nickel and Nickel is stunning and we learned a lot about winemaking. But I sill prefer beer. And it's particularly nice to have one in a bar with twinkle lights and seating, where you can carry on a conversation and put your feet up. Thank you Josh and Katie for sharing it with us. Here's to many more weekends.

Spring.

flowering plum tree victorian oakland
plum tree blossoms
plum flowering
fruit trees houses
spring tree
pink blossoms
blue house oakland plum tree blossoms pink

And after one rain they are gone.

I was inspired to go out in my pajamas one morning and catch the sun when it was still low. I'm glad I did. I love spring. I love longer days. I love flowering trees and warmer weather. Today I walked past a "wish tree" with the six-year-old I spend afternoons with. She asked me what my wish was. I couldn't come up with one on the spot. I guess that's a sign that I'm in a good place right now. I'm going to go shoot it tomorrow.

I've done a lot of research in the last few days on starting my photography business and I feel motivated and empowered. It's coming together faster than I imagined. I'm excited. It's going to be great. If you live in the Bay Area and like my work email me: thenakedrose at gmail. I charge no session fee, there's no minimum order and prints start at $10. Hi-res digital files start at $15. You buy what you love.

First Day of Spring

daffodils and bernal heights

I spent the afternoon in the outer Mission (new local business feature coming soon!), and I was feeling adventurous, so I decided to walk to the top of that blurry hill (Bernal Heights Park).

bernal heights park

Walking up hills has a way of clearing my head. Good thing San Francisco has a lot of them. As usual, the view was worth the climb.