A couple weeks ago, we made a short trip up the coast to always-photogenic Mendocino for an overnight stay at the Agate Cove Inn. It was my first visit to the town since well before the pandemic. After checking in at Agate Cove Inn, had an excellent evening meal at Italian restaurant Luna (grilled prawns and smoked salmon penne were the highlights along with live music in the gardens).
The following day had an equally good lunch at Trillium Café (on Kasten St., at what used to be The Mousse Café) where the pumpkin seed pesto and vegetable gnocchi were outstanding, as were the crab cakes (washed down with a local Gewürztraminer).
We spent the morning kayaking on the ocean, which afforded good close-up views of oystercatchers and loons. I'm always surprised by how alive the plants look in Mendocino. The coastal weather is so much milder than the weather in Santa Rosa, about two hours to the south and considerably further inland. Plants that struggle in Santa Rosa (either because of frost in the winter or the dry heat during our summers) grow luxuriantly in Mendocino. The whole place looks alive.
Before heading home, we made a stop at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens (much more extensive than I remembered) just north of the town where the heaths and heathers in bloom were particularly beautiful.
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