Why Everyone Should Visit California On Their Next Vacation

When I say California what do you think of? Hollywood, San Diego, Los Angeles, beaches? What about Mendocino, this part of California may not be as popular as some of those other places, but it has a rich history.  We went up there and stayed in Little River and explored all over in the surrounding cities and towns.  It was definitely the most memorable vacation I have taken with the kids and I can’t wait to go back.  I understand why so many people living there went to a visit and decided it was a perfect place to call home.  If you are thinking, “I’ll wait until summer..”  Don’t.  It is California.  Anytime of the year is perfect to visit.  Personally, I like going when there is fewer people around.  When we went it was too cold to go in the water at the beach but we still had fun exploring the beaches, looking at rocks and sea glass and just enjoying the ocean air.

 

Vacation in California

AS fierce as Monday morning feeling washed away,

I orchestrated paradise, I couldn’t make you stay,

You danced with horses through the sands of time,

As the sun sinks west of the Mendocino County line.

(Willie Nelson, Leeann Womack)

Single Mom Traveling With Teens

We flew from LA to San Francisco, picked up a rental car and drove three hours north to Little River, a part of Mendocino Coast.  The kids loved driving through San Francisco.  I was a bit afraid of the three hour drive.  They tend to fight in the car.  There wasn’t much I could for entertainment, since we flew, but I did try to fly early so they weren’t cranky.  We found an In ‘N Out just outside of San Francisco for lunch.

We stopped for them to get pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge (it was on my daughter’s ‘must do’ list).  Neither of them have been in San Francisco before.

We out out of the city quickly and started our trek to the land of forests and redwoods and so much more to see.  Our first hint of all the trees was so exciting.

 

We drove… for three hours.  A long drive and some winding, twisting roads.  Some a bit hairpin.  My son had his licence but he’s a new driver (and it was a rental) so I did the whole drive.  In hindsight, I should have just drove from home.  Airfare, trouble with baggage, delayed flights, etc.  Driving the whole 8 hours would have taken less time than how much time we spent at the airport.  Regardless, we arrived and were ready for our 4-day vacation in Little River.

Our First View Of The Inn… ocean on the left.  Gorgeous, vintage buildings on the right.

 

About Little River Inn
Little River Inn is a family-owned and operated boutique resort on the Mendocino coast of California with a chef-driven restaurant, nine-hole Audubon-certified golf course, professional  tennis courts and day spa. Ideal for the entire family (and pet-friendly as well), the Inn has 65 guest rooms ranging from the economical to the luxurious. Several private meeting and special event spaces with stunning ocean and garden views make the Inn an excellent venue for small- to medium-sized weddings and corporate retreats. The restaurant, helmed by CIA-trained Executive Chef Marc Dym, is a destination unto itself and the delicious, often hearty California coastal cuisine has a following so dedicated that it is not uncommon for guests to fly in by  private plane for Sunday Brunch. Ole’s Whale Watch Bar is a classic local hangout where guests gather for drinks and a casual bite. Little River Inn has a beautiful, nine-hole golf course that plays like 18 and is appropriate for many skill levels. The Inn also has a Day Spa with three treatment rooms and offers in-room services, and just recently launched a full-service salon offering pedicures, manicures, facials, and a hair studio. Overseen by fifth-generation Innkeeper Cally Dym, Little River Inn was proud to celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2014.

THIS is the amazing place we stayed.  It was more than just an inn.  It was like a resort and B&B and the beach was right there and I fell in love with the whole place.

I love how much history is in this place.  On top of that it is beautiful.  The front building is the original room.  The others, almost all with ocean view rooms, were added later.

 

Walking in our room we could see the beach from the balcony. A gorgeous, tranquil, mesmerizing beach.

The room was beautiful with beds and night stands on one side, a table and chairs in the middle (with wine and truffles greeting us).

A fireplace in the corner with a mini-bar and fridge next to it.  Everything we need to stay in all day if we wanted, of course we are more the exploring type.  

The city of Little River is quiet small but charming.  The The 2010 United States Census^[8] reported that Little River had a population of 117.  There is some inns, one gas station and a post office. Most people sleep and dine in Little River and then explore the beaches and cities above and below Little River.

We dined most of our meals at the Little River Inn.  We had the option to order room service or make reservations and dine in the Inn’s restaurant.

I ordered the calamari for an appetizer and it was worth the drive, and then some.  Definitely the best calamari I have ever had.  It is flash fried with Little River Inn mustard sauce. And, of course, a salad.  My go-to to have with my lunch and dinner to get my greens.  I love how this salad is full of dark greens plus some tomatoes, red onions and blue cheese on top with a balsamic vinaigrette.  The plate was huge and the greens were crisp.

My daughter ordered fish and chips.  They came with Little River Inn targer sauce, steak fries and seasonal slaw.  One of her favorite meals.

I had the Bouillabaisse.  A seafood soup.   It is a saffron fish stew with scallops, shrimp, clams, green lip mussels and fish in a light saffron vegetable brown and garlic croutons.  There was so much seafood in it.  I was not disappointed.  I could eat this every day. For dessert I had to order the cheesecake with a berry sauce.  It melted in my mouth.

My daughter ordered the cobbler al la mode.  It was a little messy but she was in heaven.

 

Historical significance of the area

Mendocino was founded in the 1850, and has a rich past of fishing, logging and wine making. The history of this county comes alive in the towns, streets and architecture. It is positioned 9.5 miles south of Fort Bragg. Mendocino has some of the best beach fronts that California has to offer. Whether you are a history buff a beach bum or a wine connoisseur, you will love all that Mendocino county has to offer. In this blog I will attempt to name as many of the picturesque places that Mendocino has to offer vacationers.

Top Outdoor Activities

• Whale watching (November to June).
• Glass Beach a beach that was once a garbage dump now the glass has been washed back upon shore to create a unique beach front.
• Surfing the Mendocino coast.
• Kayak Mendocino sea cave nature tours (Van Damme State Park).
• Point Cabrillo Light house (Russian Gulch).
• Pygmy Forest (Van /Damme State Park).
• Hiking at Jackson Demonstration Forest (Fort Bragg).
• Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens (Fort Bragg).

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We tried to see as many of these beaches as possible.  Some we drove from one to another.  Others were connected by hiking trails along the coast.  The waves and water were beautiful.  We enjoyed being there every day.

A stream running into the ocean.

I even found some fun landmarks that were also Pokestops (yes, I love playing Pokemon Go).

Museums and History:

• Historic Skunk Train (Fort Bragg Depot).
• Triangle and Tattoo Museum, (Fort Bragg).
• Guest House Museum (Fort Bragg- Three story Victorian mansion, with an artifact display).
• Grace Hudson Museum (Pomo Indian artifacts and art work).
• Ford House Museum (Fort Bragg- logging and Native American Artifacts).

We Road The Skunk Train

 

This was a fun touristy ride deep into the redwoods.  The ride was on a vintage train and was about an hour long (roundtrip).  The Skunk Train route goes from Fort Bragg (about 20 minutes north of Little River) to Willits. The gift shop had all sorts of fun train-themed clothing, toys, post cards and trinkets.

The route climbs slowly upward.  Starting at 80 feet of elevation in Fort Bragg and going to 1364 feet, in Willits, Ca.

 

The view was stunning.  My kids had never seen such old trees.  The trees reach the sky.

We roamed around Fort Bragg and found some thrift stores (my daughter’s favorite thing) and some fun touristy stores.  I was able to buy a Christmas ornament (I buy one each year for our family) and some Christmas gifts plus some fun shopping just for fun.

If all this outdoor activity and sightseeing is making you hungry you might be interested in making a reservation at the Little River Inn restaurant.  It offer a wider variety of cuisine but specializes in seafood.

This night my daughter tried the Korean fried chicken sandwich with kim chi mayonnaise and steak fries.

My son ordered the Ole’s classic burger with cheddar cheese and steak fries. Me, another salad.  This time the Caesar with grilled chicken breast.

The soup I had tonight was fresh steamed clam chowder,  The clams were in the shell and there was also smoked bacon, potatoes, onion, celery and a touch of cream.  Clam chowder is my favorite soup, ever, and I had it as much as possible.  This was my favorite one I’ve ever had.  It was definitely amazing.

 

In the morning we dined in for breakfast.  Room service was fast and efficient.   Breakfast was a great way to start the day and everything was hot (eggs and sausage) and cold (yogurt and juice).

The next day my daughter and I went to B. Bryan Preserve.  It is an African wildlife conservation center.  They had a unique setup inside with a gift shop, posters and information about the animals.

We loaded up in old European jeeps (a group of about 8 of us) and were off to tour the 110 acre preserve for animals.

The preserve was about 45 minutes south of Little River.  It was colder here, a little foggy and very windy.  But we bundled up to see the animals.  We saw endangered antelope.

We had a blast together.  The guy giving the tour knew so much about all of the animals and the history of the preserve. The zebra were so pretty.  I’ve always liked zebras.  They are such amazing creatures.  I’ve only seen them in zoos before, never roaming like this.  They come closer to the fence when food is left out for them.

 

They saved the best for last.  We got to not only see the giraffes (they had 2 different breeds of them) but we got to hand feed them sweet potato slices and were even able to put the slices in our mouth so the giraffes would ‘kiss’ us.

We weren’t able to reach out or touch the giraffes but were able to let them come to use.  The texture and colors of their skin was intriguing and I loved how friendly they were.

 

Meanwhile, my son went deep sea fishing.  We found a local charter boat to take him.  There was four numbers I found in a listing and only one called me back, so he went.  I really wanted him to go to the animal preserve with us but the one thing he really wanted to do while we were in Northern California was go fishing.  I bought him a pole at a local store but it wasn’t a deep sea pole and it broke the first 1/2 hour of him using it.  So, since we were on vacation, I wanted him to be able to do the thing on his ‘must do’ list too.  That was fishing.  He went out super early in the morning.  I forgot to plan breakfast so I picked up a breakfast bar at a gas station on the way to drop him off.

Dorky photo but look what he caught.  Yes, he had a blast!  We picked him up after the preserve and then went out to lunch and exploring more beaches.

 

We went back to Little River Inn and walked around, exploring the grounds. We saw a duck, some wild rabbits, found the spa and a golf course.  We don’t play golf but I had fun walking around the grounds. I even found solar panels on the premises.  Glad to see those. The Little River Inn has tennis courts too.  Plus a day spa where people can get a massage, facial, their hair or nails done and more.

We made reservations for dinner at the Little River Inn Restaurant again.  Can’t stay away from the amazing food.  I was looking for a low-carb dinner and chose the Flat Iron Steak Diane with green peppercorn, Diane sauce, crispy red onions, smashed red potatoes and green beans almondine.

I even got my son to get out of the room and eat in the restaurant.

For an appetizer we tried a dish of cheese and crackers with arugula.

Kids had cheeseburgers again.  This time with bacon.

I even found a Little Library in the inn with nice selection of books to choose from.

In the morning we at breakfast and checked out.  We wanted to leave early to give ourselves plenty of time to get back to San Francisco.  We stopped at the giant redwoods so the kids could take pictures.

I saw a banana slug for my first time too.  Gross but cool at the same time.

My favorite part of the whole trip was definitely the beach.  The view of it from our room and being able to drive to it in just a blink.  The weather was amazing and every single person we encountered was nice.  I would love to live in Northern California and am glad I brought the kids their first trip here.  Hope they explore on their own as they grow up and will always remember this fantastic trip we had together. 

Little River Inn is located two miles south of Mendocino overlooking the Pacific Ocean, at 7901 N. Highway One, Little River, CA 95456.

For reservations and additional information, call 707-937-5942 or visit www.littleriverinn.com.

 

If you are thinking about visiting Northern California than you must check out Little River, the town and Little River Inn.  Right now they have some specials for Jan/Feb.

 

SLEEP WITH THE CRABS Lodging Package

Available all January long, this package is the best way to enjoy Crab Feast Mendocino (January 18 – 27, 2019) and have your own private crab season. Launch early morning for a 4-5 hour expedition on the mighty Pacific to catch your own crabs! You will set out pots, scan the horizon for whales, and ideally pull in up to 10 crabs. The crew will cook and clean your crabs, making it easy to get your harvest back home.

 

Package for two includes:

• Two night stay in a filtered Ocean View Gas Fireplace Room
• Charter boat out of Fort Bragg’s Noyo Harbor
• Bottle of crab-friendly Mendocino County Wine
• Dinner for two in our Garden Dining Room
• Breakfast for two in our Garden Dining Room

Add a one-hour classic massage or facial for each adult at the Little River Inn’s Salon & Spa to unwind after your nautical adventure. Their signature facial is tailored to your skin type and includes deep cleansing and exfoliation, followed by penetrating hydration for your skin, along with a luxurious scalp, neck and arm massage.

 

Note: Advance reservations of at least one week are required for booking. Sleep with the Crabs is available Sunday-Thursday, January 1 – 31, 2019. Packages for two begin at $740 (Sunday – Thursday), or book with a Spa Treatment for $938. All prices exclusive of tax and gratuity. Crab Rate Seaside Luxury rooms are available for this package at the additional price. These rooms start at $249 per night ($50 savings-low season rate). Package does not include a fishing license, which can be purchased at a tackle shop or online for less than $20 for a one-day license. There is a fee of $1 per crab for cleaning and cooking. Cleaned crab is cooked with backs and guts removed only, not picked. Cancellation fees apply except in cases of bad weather.

 

They also have a rustic romantic special, Valentine’s Day special and more.  They even have wedding venues available.

If you have been waiting to visit California than Little River in Mendocino is the perfect place for the whole family or for a weekend getaway.  We can’t wait to go back.

Where have you visited in California that you loved?