Mendocino Winter Trip

Oh, the Mendocino coastline! A few weeks ago we made our second visit to this amazing part of the country. The last time we visited Mendocino, in July, it was gorgeous and perfectly sunny. Although we had some clouds, cool weather, and a smidge of rain this time (typical of "winter" on the north coast), it was still as beautiful and breath-taking as ever, and I got to do some things I'd wanted to last time around. We love this little town so much.

We stayed at the dog-friendly Stanford Inn eco-lodge this time- a little bit of a splurge but worth it I think- the rooms were beautiful, spacious, and had a deck overlooking the Inn's amazing gardens and a peak-a-boo view of the sea past the trees.

Captain enjoying the views from our deck at the Stanford Inn

The Stanford Inn

Enjoying a treat in the sun!

There's also a very nice pool and plenty of animals on site, which made for lots of fun for my daughter. Actually, Captain seemed to like the animals too... at first I thought he was going to bark, but then he did a play bow instead.... a Vizsla and a donkey playing? Now that would be interesting....

In addition to staying at the Stanford Inn, another thing I wanted to do this time that I didn't get enough of last trip was a run along the coastline. When Daddy and Nugget 2 were napping, Captain and I bounded out to run through the Mendocino headlands... and we couldn't have been happier. It was a little windy, but the waves were impressive, and I had to keep stopping to take pictures and yell out various phrases like: "Oh my GAWD! SO Beautiful!" "This is so amazing!" Luckily, everyone else on the path thought so too ;)

Of course, a trip to Mendo wouldn't be complete with out some beach fun!

On the way home, we took the long, scenic route on Highway 1. It started out craaaaaaaazy beautiful:

Seriously. It's almost other-worldly. This view actually reminded me a lot of the Australian coastline of Great Ocean Drive- another ridiculously beautiful part of the world. We made a few stops along the way to explore new spots.

Then, after an hour plus of curvy, windy, hilly roads, I started to hate life. I wanted off this blasted Highway 1. Luckily, both nuggets were asleep, but I was green with car sickness. Even driving didn't help, and I just might have said to my husband more than once, "We are never getting on this awful road again." Luckily, we made it to Bodega Bay without me spewing all over the California coastline, and enjoyed a peaceful dinner on the waterfront.

(By peaceful, I mean we got to enjoy a view while my daughter smeared food into every surface she could find, got out of her chair like 10 million times, and threw a tantrum when I tried to get her to eat. At the end of said dinner, an older gentleman walked by and smirked, "Looks like you've got your hands full." lol. Lucky she's adorable.)

Carsickness and clouds aside, it was a wonderful weekend and we love Mendocino! SUCH a great spot for dogs and kids and anyone who loves the great outdoors!