Sonoma Coast Summer Vacation

We had decided to go to Sonoma sometime in January. We desperately needed a vacation and wanted to go somewhere without family obligations or too many friends. I should change that "we" to an "I" because it really was me who didn't want to have dinner with relatives, friends or acquaintances on yet another one of our supposedly relaxing trips. Soon after deciding on our trip, we also decided to get married - in three month's time! Hence, our relaxing trip alone was morphed into a honeymoon.

It was a beautiful place to go on a honeymoon and we didn't have any more vacation time, so it seemed like the right thing to do. We rented a house - more of a cabin, really - placing our faith in the pictures we saw online. We chose to drive up, staying halfway in Los Banos at a Motel 6 off the I-5, so that we could make the Farmer's Market in Windsor the next day before 1pm. Arriving in Windsor about 10am the next morning, I started to feel a little nervous. What would the house be like? What if I had picked the wrong place? Did I horribly destroy any chance of us having a beautiful honeymoon in Sonoma?

I put on a brave face, bought locally produced vegetables, bread, honey and olive oil from the quaint little market in downtown Windsor and headed to the coast with my husband. We stopped in Sebastopol and grabbed a few necessities at the Whole Foods in town before heading to Jenner - a village of 107 permanent residents along the rugged Northern California coast. The drive to Jenner was gorgeous. Winding roads along the Russian River passed by rolling hills planted to vine - grape vines, for those of you who have never been to the North Coast - which were surrounded by mountains covered with Redwoods, ferns and other foliage. For a person from NorCal who now lives in SoCal, it was a delicious sight indeed!

We made it almost out to the coast in complete sunshine. Seeing the fog roll in, I knew - we were almost there!

Less than 20 minutes later we were turning on the Pacific Coast Highway, ready to begin our honeymoon. The little town of Jenner is located at the mouth of the Russian River, facing the Pacific Ocean from the hills above the highway. We turned onto a gravel road and followed it up the hill until we could not go any further. Turning into the driveway, there were butterflies in my stomach.

We walked up to the small house and opened the door - it was perfect!

The cabin was one big room, with an alcove for the queen-sized bed, a full living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom, as well as a little sleeping loft with a twin bed. A full deck overlooked town and the mouth of the river. The yard below held a hot tub and gardens, completely hidden from the road and other houses.

We unloaded our things - the groceries, the dog, etc, etc, etc - and decided to wander down to the village.

There were a few businesses in the immediate vicinity: a gas station, a real estate office, a café, a kayak rental outfit, and a small B&B with a cocktail lounge/restaurant. Further down the highway in either direction you could find a place to eat if you wanted to go out to dinner. To the south, an Indian restaurant called the Sizzling Tandoor. To the north, an ocean front restaurant serving California cuisine and seafood. Neither turned out to be mind-blowing, but both offered great service and decent food within walking distance and, because they were the only two restaurants within miles, they did the job, especially after wine tasting all day.

To be continued... (click here to read part II)