Please share your California mini getaways.

Do you know of any beautiful, interesting or fun places to visit for mini outings of 1, 2 or 3 days? What are your favorite places to go to?

Where did you go, where did you stay, what did you see and where did you eat? What parts did you love and what parts would you skip next time?

My husband and I love to take lots of 1 to 3 nights outings. We have pretty much done up to a 3 hours North and South from our house too many times and need new perspectives. We enjoy all sorts of outings from inexpensive fun local color to break the bank elegant.

Please post your pictures too! Thanks! I was thinking lots of people on here might be interested in sharing and learning of great places to go.

Currently I am planning a trip to Yosemite. Any ideas for that? THANKS

Good idea for a post! I can't wait to see what people come up with.

Here's my L.A. Getaway: Cambria, CA is a cute little village on the Southern end of the Central Coast about 3 hours away from Los Angeles (if you leave at the right time - Angelenos, can you feel me on that one?). It is kind of romantic, but is also just a pleasant town with nice people and is host to a neat garden shop right on the main drag. It is a very small town, but a great day trip or overnighter.

Make sure to eat at Robin's Restaurant, which features a beautiful pergola area with twining vines overhead - a gardener's paradise of a restaurant. They have an eclectic international menu - and everything I have had has been of the highest quality. The prices are reasonable ($16-$25 Entrees) for a culinary adventure - Wines feature Paso Robles, SLO, and Napa/Sonoma wines in particular, but you can also savor something more Continental if you wish.

There are a lot of B&B's, but we cheapskates drive a bit further north to the San Simeon Motel 6 - don't laugh - it's nice for a Motel 6, with clean, bright, quiet rooms. From San Simeon, Big Sur is just a day trip away, and all that lovely coast will take your breath away.

LOL, I just talked to Kell on the phone and also suggested Cambria and I totally forgot about Robin's! We stayed at the Fog Catcher Inn a few years back for an Anniversary.
http://www.fogcatcherinn.com/

I think we already talked about this once on another thread or over dmail or something, but my favorite is The Sea Ranch up on the coast on the Sonoma/Mendocino border. The dog and I take a vacation up there every year, it's a nice place to get away, enjoy views of the ocean, take little hikes on nice flat land (a big plus for me...I hate hiking on hills!) They also have a restaurant, rec center, golf course, and a few other things but I don't know much about those since I've never done any of them. If you're really into shopping/dining/etc though it's definitely not the place for you, it's more about getting away from it all and just hanging out and enjoying the ocean.

I would definitely go in the fall after the fog is gone, I went once in August and it was foggy the entire time. Plus in the fall they usually have "off season" specials even though it's actually the best time of year to go. This year and last year the rental company I rent through has a 4 nights for the price of 3 special. There are a whole bunch of rental companies that rent houses up there, the one I use is Beach Rentals--they're very nice and their prices are a lot better than some of the other companies. http://www.searanchrentals.com/

Tahoe is always nice, we love driving around the lake and stopping for some of the less populated scenic spots if possible. We stayed in a nice Best Western in South Shore and got a lake facing view so the water was a nice soothing sound.
Took a hike atop of the hwy tunnel on the eastern side for this shot.

Here's a shot looking straight down at the cars coming out of the tunnel, it was a difficult shot for me as I was near hyperventilating! Ok, not probably something you'd do but Tahoe is nice!

We enjoyed a sunset casual dinner over looking the river in Tahoe City which is on the north west side of the lake. Burger dinner but excellent relaxing atmosphere as the sun went down.

The ideal cheap fun day from my north Marin home is to drive 18 miles out to Pt. Reyes station. Hit the farmers market for some fresh made cheese and bread, then drive another one mile out to Chicken Beach, launch the kayack for a cruise up the Tomales Bay and have lunch while bobbing along with the current and the quacking ducks.

Total cost for the day is about 8 dollars round trip for gas and 10 bucks for lunch, unless I pack my own.

Another cheap day from Marin is over to Sonoma. Pack a lunch and visit Cornerstone Festival complex then over to the square for people watching and maybe a few shops. - about 4 to 5 bucks in gas.

I've been driving over to Napa Valley a lot these days for a project. On the way home I like to stop in at Copia in downtown Napa to check out the veggie garden. Sometimes I check out some of the wineries to view their landscaping and architecture.
Wine tasting has gotten too expensive these days. About $25 minimum for what they now call 'a flight'. Basically a tiny tasting.
So not worth it unless you are contemplating buying a case or a couple of bottles for the cellar.
Plus I can't stand the idea of having a sip of wine and then getting behind the wheel of a car.
Bring some sparkling water or juice, pack a loaf of bread and hit a cheese shop or the down town Napa deli 'Genova's' off of Trancas and have a picnic lunch amongst the grape vines off of Silverado or on the grounds of any of the many wineries that offer picnic tables.

Another cheap and extremely fun day can be found visiting the San Francisco Botanical Garden. entry is free , views are spectacular.

LOL, Kell loves SF Botanical Gardens, don't think it will fly with hubby though, right Kell?!

We stayed one year in old historic Sonoma Hotel http://www.sonomahotel.com/
packed a lunch from a popular corner deli and headed to a nearby winery with picnic tables overlooking the vineyard to eat.
I heard this is a nice treat of a place to stay too.
http://www.macarthurplace.com/

Jungleman, we do need to go visit Cambria! We have driven through but never stayed. I was thinking of moving there but they do not have a Kaiser and I am stuck with Kaiser till I hit 65. We tend to pay the big bucks on restaurants and try to do more budget conscious lodgings since we do not use all the special activities at hotels.


Yes Liz, we did talk about going North via dmail. I didn't realize the coast was foggy till fall. When in fall is it safe to go? I think we will do Mendocino soon. We have not been there for ages.

Oh Sue, spectacular views. We have been to Lake Tahoe several times. We have friends who have a house there and also another friend would let us stay in her house right on the lake. Boy was that being spoiled. But I do not recall going where there was such incredible views. Next time!

You have Tom so right, Sue. I have somany picturesof his back at least 10 feet aheadofme at all the garden swe go visit. He figuresif he walks as fast as he can wihtout looking tohe leftor right, he will get to go home to the couch faster.

Michelle, I had lots of fun at Copia earlier this year. We went to a cooking class luncheon. They had their garden man come and describe all the veggies we were eating from their garden. I also love Napa Valley. It is such a peaceful and beautiful place! We belong to the Mumms Napa club so we go to all their dinners. I too recommend that as a great day or even weekend retreat.
I have never been to Cornerstone Festival complex so will have to check that out. And Sonoma would be fun to explore more too! Thanks Sue for your suggestions.

Funny you mention the Farmers' Market at Pt. Reyes Station, Michelle. Is that at Toby's? I am thinking of driving over there this Saturday for that and to go to a nursery there I read about in their magazine last week when we were there.

We went to Nick's Cove on Tomales Bay for a couple of days. We stayed in one of their cottages over the water. It was the second one in on the right in the picture.

We had a great time. Very quiet and peaceful. Our bedroom looked right out at the bay.

Our only problem was Liz had not told me how fuggy it was going to be and we froze. The day we left, the sun came out and it was then so beautiful.

What a difference a day makes.

Tomales Bay is truly a great place to visit. And if you love oysters you will be heaven.

Nick's looks really cute! Great view too! Sorry about the fog but it sounds like you had a good time anyway! I like going up to Sea Ranch in early October, it's a bit too late for fog and a bit too early for rain (although last year when I went, it did rain briefly the first night we were there, I think it was the very first rain of the year, but then it was gorgeous the rest of the time). As you get into mid to late September you're probably OK on the fog too, but I wouldn't go too much earlier, one year I went in mid-August and it was horribly foggy, and of course the later you go in October the more chance of having some rain.

Hi Liz. We have reservations again at the end of Septmeber but Tom wants to go to Yosemite instead. I would like to go back so maybe we will do both.

We ate at Nick's Cove 4 times. The reviews I read were mixed but we had great food each time. They had a very casual room and a little more formal room. Same menu.

The next house down from Nick's on the water had a great mural painted on its side by the water.

How fun is that?

I loved the Bay.

We also went to Hog Island for oysters which is about 10 minutes away from Nick's Cove. Hog island is a destination all to itself.

We go here a few times a year. They pull the oysters out of the Bay and give them to you. You walk 20 feet to a picnic table and open them and enjoy. You can barbecue them or eat them raw. We had brought a whole picnic with sausage and tri tip to barbecue and lots of champagne. We had about 5 dozen oysters. Mostly the small Kumamoto which are our favorite. Hog Island has the BEST oysters!

If you want to go on a weekend you need reservations which are hard to get. It gets booked in the summer 2 months in advance. During the week it is easier to get in.

http://www.hogislandoysters.com/ in general

and The Farm on Tomales Bay
http://www.hogislandoysters.com/template1.php?pageId=1&sessionID=mQpF2VqM77Pwe3Se

We had friends meet us there. We always have the best time even though that day it was a bit chilly and so overcast.

Kell,
Yes , the farmers market is at Toby's Feed barn.
I'm wondering about which garden nursery you read about ?
While I was in Pt. Reyes last week I wandered into a small gardening boutique shop right across the street from Tobys and was pleasantly surprised to see that the back end of the shop opened up to a lovely garden courtyard that was stocked with some very nice well chosen plants and garden decor.

I have driven by the Mostly Natives Nursery in Tomales but have not had a chance to stop in and look around.
It looks like it is a nice nursery.

Next time you are out in this region check out the Olema Inn for dinner or the Nicascio Ranch for live music and a pretty good food too. ( I believe it is still owned by restauranteer Pat Kuleto )

Hi Michelle. Thanks for more places to visit! Pat Kuleto is the one that redid Nick's Cove too. http://www.nickscove.com/

I think years ago we stopped at Olema Inn for barbecued oysters. Isn't it a beautiful ride driving around there. So few houses and so much land and water.

I saw their ad in West Marin Citizen. It is Gillyflower Nursery and Stone Sculpture Garden in Bolinas. It must be pretty small for it does not have an internet presence. The ad says it has miniature gardens and dream gardens. LOL. Caught my eye. Have you been there?

Haven't heard of Gillyflower Nursery and Stone Sculpture gardens in Bolinas.

Wonder where it is ?

I was out in Bolinas about a month ago to attend an open house at the Regenerative Design Institute. http://www.regenerativedesign.org/
I left the open house tour early because of the poor presentation and ridiculous ennui - http://deviantdeziner.blogspot.com/2008/06/doctorate-degree-with-no-silly.html

After escaping the psycho-babble/ and 'earn a Masters degree' in a weekend spin, I spent some time tooling around the area exploring .
Loved the Las Baulines nursery . Such a great little nursery and floral shop.

Years ago I visited with Dr. Schwartz in Bolinas , who was trying to establish his garden as a botanical garden.
He was getting on in years but had hopes that his son would carry on his dream.
It was an incredible succulent garden up on the mesa ridge.
I haven't heard any news about its status in years.

It is at 440 Overlook Drive, Bolinas but only open weekends. I gather it is tiny. I will let you know how it is. I am determined to go on this adventure this weekend. I have sat home all week supposedly finishing my spring garden chores and here I sit at the computer goofing off. I run out at 4 PM everyday and go nuts for 3 hours, forcing my husband to make dinner. I never seem to get ahead.

I had to look up ennui. I was thinking I might know it by sound and God love the Internet I found it in audio form in both a female and a male voice. LOL!! But nope, did not know it, never heard it before. I will have to peruse your blog spot further. Looks like a fun read for sure; no ennui to be found there.

I too will do a Bolinas exploration after I go to Toby's and that little shop across the way that you found!

OOPs it is 4:05, time to run out and look like I have been slaving all day.

I also had to look up ennui. lol I like that word alot.

DH and I have been looking for some 2-3 day getaways down here in our area also. We've 'been there, done that' to some many places, so it's kind of hard to find somewhere where we've never been....or that the place has something for both of us to see and enjoy.

Our 41st. Anniversary is coming up this month and we are looking at maybe going to Ojai. We've never been there and always forget about going, except when it's too hot or there are fires burning in that area. Has anyone been to Ojai? Can you give me any pro's or con's on going there? Any info is good.

Kell, hope you find a great getaway.

Donna

Wish I'd seen this 2 weeks ago....DH & I went to Petaluma to drop off some parts for my motorcycle that needed pinstriping, then had 5 hours to kill while we waited for paint to dry. Went to the coast & had a nice drive & lunch (and hit a nursery of course), but would have loved to know which place to stop at for good oysters. Next time!

For anyone headed this way, I recently discovered an EXCELLENT winery that's 10 minutes from my house:
http://www.closlachance.com/

WOW Donna congratulations for 41 years of true love. That is just great. I hope you find a great place where you can really celebrate each other. Ojai sounds interesting. If you go, post some pics and your opinion.

imapigeon, lots of the restaurant workers in Marshall live in Petaluma so it must be a short cross over from there to the coast. We come over thru San Anselmo on (the place Michelle mentioned) and come out in Olema where the Olema Inn (the place Michelle mentioned http://www.theolemainn.com/deecontact.html) right on Sir Francis Drake Blvd is and the Olema Farmhouse is http://www.olemafarmhouse.com/ is on the other side of the road. Both have oysters. I think most places have oysters since oyster farming is so big in the area. There is also Tomales Bay Oysters which is a bit south of Hog Island. Next time we might try there. http://www.tomalesbayoysters.com/

We had a GREAT Saturday. First we went to the Farmer's Market in point Reyes. It was very small but fun. I bought 2 jars of just shucked oysters from the stand Drake Oyster Farm had at the Farmer's Market at Toby's. Drakes Bay Oysters is on the other side of Tomales Bay off Drakes Bay. I really want to go visit on that side too. We had them last night and they were fantastic. Fried oysters!

As I walked around Point Reyes Station I thought I would love to live here. It was such a beautiful day and the sun was shining and the people were happy and the tomatoes were so ripe.

I also went to the little store Michelle mentioned that is across the street. They had a charming little garden in back. I managed to find 2 plants I just had to have. LOL

Then I went south to Bolinas and stopped at Las Baulines Nursery that I happened by. It was much bigger than I thought from the road. Nothing to amazing there but I did manage to buy 2 plants.

Then I went on to the nursery I had wanted to visit. I had seen an ad for it when I was staying at Nick's Cove. The add said it had miniature gardens and dream gardens. Well the concept of dream gardens caught my eye. It was a fun, fun little nursery. Eatdog, yes Eatdog is his name, specializes in mini alpine gardens and succulents. The nursery is called Gillyflower Nursery and Stone Sculpture Garden.

Eatdog's claim to fame is he uses anything he can find to pot up his succulent gardens. Some are tacky and some inspired. All are fun. This was my favorite.

The nursery was located in a lovely spot. I really enjoyed my visit.

Lots of quirky art.

A young man shared a corner of the nursery to do his stone sculptures. He had done lots of stone work at the nursery too. Seemed talented.

Then I drove to a block to the end of his road and shock! There was the ocean!

Lots of funky houses too all over there. Lots of wide open spaces. I would love to live in Bolinas more than most places.

Then we were off to the main event of the day, the Marin-Bolinas Botanical Gardens which was just a few minutes away. It was created by a Dr. Herman Schwartz who died in January. It is quite an undertaking! 14 acres of succulents, euphorbias and aloes. Again in a beautiful setting.

There are 2 huge greenhouses parts of which are filled with plants planted as if an outside garden.

A fun walk thru.

A succulent haven just stuck out in the middle of no where.

And then I had to drive like the wind to get home in time to drive into the SF to have dinner at Aqua. It was their special heirloom tomato tasting menu. It was one of the BEST meals we have ever had.

7 courses of tomatoes done in the most delicious and different ways. Our favorite restaurant is Coi in SF but this menu was in competition for our serious affection. Like Coi, not the typical 4 star fare.

My favorite course was the first one. Not sweet. Tomato and Parmesan Ice Cream Sandwiches
Tomato and Lemon Marmalade.

OOhhh, Kell, thanx for the tour! Now I know a few places I'll hit next time I'm up there! Love the succulents (always) and the snake sculpture. I used to keep chickens and I had rubber snakes all over the yard to keep them out of my gardens. I still have the rubber snakes, even though the chix are long gone. I want to do some ceramic ones, and your photo is very inspirational!

Kell, thank you for the congrats.

Looks like you had a great weekend and found some really interesting places to go. I wish my DH liked going to Botanical Gardens, but he thinks they are boring.

That tomato dish you posted looks soooo yummy. I only eat oysters raw, and LOVE them to pieces. DH won't even look at them. lol

D.

Hi everyone, I've been really enjoying all the tips! My favorite place in the world is Joshua Tree, and it's only 3 hours away from San Diego. I love hiking and meditating, this is the perfect place for both.
Roberta