Pesadero Rocks

Ah... what a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  Tom and I climbed up on one of the many rock outcroppings at Pescadero Beach,  and found a spot just large enough to sit and hold hands. Soaking  up the blue sky and coastal scenery, we simply breathed in salt air, salt spray and let the blue sky infuse us with a big dose of Vitamin D.

 It was perfect.

Happy Monday everyone - enjoy my "beach break" while you run off to tackle another great week!

Pebble Beach ...

No, not the "golfing" Pebble Beach.. .just a small unassuming rocky cove that I discovered yesterday at Bean Hollow State Park.     What a find though - just off Hwy 1, about 17 miles south of Half Moon Bay!

 Deep with sea washed, tumbled pebbles - so polished that they resemble gemstones; all colors of jade and agates!  These pretty little stones have been tossed in this cove for thousands of years and are smooth to the touch, you can even walk through them in bare feet.  I sat here for over an hour sifting through the colors, finding tiny sea shells and one piece of amber sea glass. My friend Patti would know instantly what each stone was but, alas I can only recognize the agates....

Wow.... could not have asked for a more perfect September afternoon.  I am pretty lucky that I am able to  "skip school" once in awhile.

Bodega Bay Wine Tasting

This past Sunday, we decided jump in the car to escape the unusual heat wave (80-90 degrees!) in the Bay Area. Destination? A drive up to Bodega Bay with our picnic backpack full of goodies. Not to mention our new acrylic wine glasses and the rest of our 2003 St. Suprey Merlot.  Do you think anyone will notice if we are drinking wine at the beach?

From our house, it's a short jaunt up 101,across the Golden Gate up into Marin County, exiting off of the freeway into Petaluma. Then we simply follow the signs to Hwy 1 and Bodega Bay.  

The beauty on the Northern California Coast just can't be beat! And, what drive on the Sonoma Coast is not complete without a stop for some wine tasting?   (Actually, I have to confess ... this might have been our first stop of the day!) We were on our way to Bodega Head when we spied "Gourmet Au Bay" along side the road  - this little shop is "Sonoma Coast's only waterside wine bar, bottle shop and gift store", owned by Bob and Sissy, who really know their wine!

Gourmet Au Bay is located right on Hwy 1 in the middle of Bodega Bay - just look for their sign, next to the pink and white striped saltwater taffy shop.  We stepped into a welcoming shop, extremely well stocked with all kinds of luscious-delicious wine,  just waiting for us to have a sample!

Bob and Sissy have a unique idea called "Wine Surfing"; first choose 3 wines to sample from their daily menu, then your glasses are slipped into a carefully crafted "surfboard", then you carefully carry your surfboard of wine out to their beautiful view deck right on the bay!  We had a wonderful time meeting people and enjoying the outstanding California ocean sunshine.  I wish you were there to see the incredibly blue, blue, cloudless sky. Bodega Harbor was silk smooth - not a ripple, except for the playing of the sea lions and a few harbor seals gliding by to give us a show!

The big surprise for me, was also how Sissy and Bob had incorporated all kinds of cute, fun beach gifts mixed in with their wine selections and pretty coastal wine glasses.  Can you see the hand-painted colorful buoys on the wall between the variety of candles? (Cute boy in the black t-shirt is Tom!)

Bodega Bay Beach Signs

Flip-Flop wine coasters!

Had such a great time - can't wait to go back and try more new wine varieties while sitting in the sun, waiting for a chance to spy some more sea lions!   Make sure that you stop on your next Bodega Bay trip - cannot recommend highly enough.   Here's their website for all the details - http://www.gourmetaubay.com/index.html

Oh, what did we buy? A 2005 Syrah from Jus Soli, Sonoma Valley and a very nice light Fess Parker 2009 Chardonnay, and yes, we did drink the Syrah at the beach with our cheese and french bread - worked well with the chocolate pudding too!

In Search of a Secret Sea Glass Beach....

We have been searching for nearly a year for this secret sea glass beach. Narrowing it down to a rumor about a  specialty art glass factory near Davenport , we finally stopped on Sunday and we simply asked at the Davenport Gallery -  someone actually showed us where the trail down to the beach was!  (btw, great gallery)   Grabbed our picnic lunch, and headed down the steep trail, across the train tracks and then down to the sandy beach. Tom and I were so excited, we might actually find some awesome chunks of  colorful sea glass!  Well, it was not exactly that easy.  Got down to the beach and there were serious, very serious sea glass hunters on the beach. With shovels and wet suits!  The beach is totally sandy, no shells, no rocks and no sea glass - unless you have a shovel and are willing to dig down a foot or so.. Oh mi - was not prepared to dig for gold! Not a great day for beachcoming, so decided to simply walk on the beach, play in the tidepools, enjoy the sun,  sit in the sand and eat our ham and cheese sandwiches, gooey brownies, and share a diet coke. Not such a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon in May...(Especially with my cute boyfriend!) P.S. We have lots of fully-outfitted picnic baskets for your coastal adventures! Check them out in the "Outdoor Fun at the Beach" category - these also make wonderful wedding gifts!

The BIG Move....

Am finally moved to California.  What a monumental task this has been!

*Sell the house (took almost a year!)

*HUGE garage sale and multiple trips to Goodwill, Saint Vincent DePaul's. Gave living room furniture to Jeff and Kristy...

*move temporarily into my parents beach house, and my childhood bedroom for 6 months (the last 3 weeks with no furnace!).  That was just a little weird...

*baby steps with a new business - start ordering inventory (what was I thinking?????)  Coastal home decor inventory shows up by the truckloads...

*Find an apartment/storage unit/UPS store/grocery store/Post Office/etc in California... still looking for a car wash

*Load the U Haul (again, what was I thinking???) with boxes of unopened Caron's Beach House inventory, a few pieces of my left-over furniture, my precious beach cottage dinnerware (nothing matches!), favorite home decorating coffee table books, cookbooks,  antique glasses and plates, PILES of sea glass and shells (couldn't part with those)   How did I get so much stuff??

*Drive 2.5 hours the first night to a beautiful Econo Lodge in Kelso, Washington,  AFTER loading the truck.  It was a deal! $39.99 for the night and included free wifi AND breakfast!  Me driving the truck, Alex driving the car and the 17 year old black cranky cat. (+ cat box)

*Leave Kelso at 6:30 am,  and drive 15 hours to Belmont, California. Stopped for Burger King breakfast in  Salem, gas in Eugene (love how someone else puts gas in your car in Oregon!) KFC in Yreka, gas in Redding + chocolate and bad gas station coffee. Listened to anything that would come on the radio while rattling along on I-5. (that's right, I listened to lots of country music and old rock and roll!)  Up steep, windy, beautiful mountain passes in Southern Oregon and Northern California, while trying to get the truck to go even 50 miles an hour.... Many many hours driving through farmland in California, while the sun set on acres of emerald green fields.

*EXHAUSTED!! Thank goodness Tom had pizza and red wine waiting when we got here. Had a few tears....

Ready for my new life here, whatever it might look like. Excited about finally being able to market to my old Caron's Beach Cottage customers, and to finally really get all of the marketing in place for Caron's Beach House.  Stay tuned... there's will be so many more adventures at the beach!

P.S. Had a blast with the kids when they came to help move and to be tourists in my new town!  Here's a few shots of them having fun -

On our new deck in Belmont, overlooks the San Mateo Bridge and the Oracle buildings in the background.

On the trail to Point Bonita - they were a little freaked out on the one-lane road through the Marin Headlands... Alex did not even want to venture out to the lighthouse, I will admit that it was a little scary!

Allison at Point Bonita Lighthouse

Somewhere along Hwy 1 .... so many beaches to explore!

Scott's Beach on Hwy 1  - great spot to watch kite surfers and play in the sand and surf!

Pigeon Point Lighthouse overlook - we had gorgeous weather!

All of us at San Francisco's famous overlook on the Bay and on the Golden Gate! Fab lunch in Sausalito that day too in the sunshine on the deck at Horizons - great food and service! 

See you soon! 

The Perfect Way to Spend a Lazy Friday Afternoon..

Last Friday, we drove North on Hwy 1, beyond Half Moon Bay, to discover a new favorite place to enjoy a lazy, sunny afternoon on the San Mateo coast.


Moss Bay Distillery has a very interesting history! Built in 1927, the restaurant sits on a cliff with a secluded beach below - the ideal location benefiting illegal clandestine activities!  During the Prohibition era, rum-runners whiskey routinely somehow found itself at what was known then as "Frank's" place. "Frank's" was a popular speakeasy, courting local politicians from the City and silent screen stars.



This was the fabulous cliff view that greeted us in the parking lot. Down below are rocks and tidepools galore, and so fun to watch the sea lions frolic in the surf! Easy to see how fog and surf made it possible to   land boats with forbidden whiskey on the beach and then drag them up the cliff.









Check out the menu! We had the most scrumptious "seafood sliders";  little salmon, crab cake and yellow fin tuna sandwiches and fish tacos - so good!  Tom and I decided that cocktails might just be the ticket while we sat all afternoon and enjoyed the view from the outdoor patio overlooking the Pacific Ocean surf to the North.

 Look how happy Tom is!  Perfect place to dream away an afternoon...

These are some of my favorite memories, a little sun, a good glass of Pinot Gris and a fresh seafood lunch!

Stinson Beach Sunsets

Had an absolute dream day on Saturday, driving to the Pt. Reyes National Seashore on Hwy 1, in Northern California.   Hard to imagine that another perfect day could be topped off any more beautifully.  

These photos were taken overlooking Stinson Beach, and the Pacific Ocean  from the road that rises up to Mt. Tam, and then back over to San Francisco.  Just had to pull over and drink in this incredible view!

Watch the progression of colors as the sun sinks further into the Pacific..

The sky was absolutely on fire with brilliant pink and orange flaming clouds! Love this view with the curve of Stinson Beach. During the day, when driving down this hill, the view that stretches out with white sand and all the blues of the color wheel is one of my favorites! Some days you get lucky and the surf is whipped with the white caps of the Pacific Ocean.

Tom thought he was so sneaky! Taking a picture of me, while I tried to capture one more image on my Iphone....