Relaxed, reconnected Parents

Wow, did we ever need it. My Mom arrived on Thursday and we had one day to hang out together and catch up before it was time for Emmett and I to leave on Saturday. Unfortunately, Thomas had been really sick all day on Wednesday night, all day Thursday, well enough to go to school on Friday but then relapsed and spent all day in bed on Saturday. I felt so bad leaving him, but also knew that my Mom is an RN and would know what to do if things didn't get better soon. She was basically pushing us out the door.

Because of Thomas's illness and my school, we didn't get on the road until 5pm on Saturday, which was about 1.5 hours later than we were planning. We got up to Fort Bragg about 8:30 and went to this FANTASTIC restaurant called the Mendo Bistro for dinner. Afterwards we continued on to Howard Creek Ranch Inn up in Westport. About 30 minutes later we arrived. The Ranch is in a very remote section of Highway 1 right before it veers away from the coast (and there begins the fabled Lost Coast). It consists of a farmhouse, an enormous Carriage House and several cabins - all on a 60 acre farm with sheep, llamas, horses, etc. It's such a cool place - I had obsessively poured over reviews of the place and it seemed that people either loved it or hated it. It was definitely not your picture-perfect Victorian bed and breakfast with fluffy bathrobes and chocolates on the pillow, so if that's what people were expecting, it is not surprising that they were disappointed.

No, this place is magical for a different reason. Parts of it are pretty dilapitated, even run down, but the interiors all had the most amazing woodwork, beautiful antiques, and just a uniquenss and character that you don't get at the standard B and B's. It's a place that reflects the character of the owners - Sunny, who seems like he has about 100 half finished projects going at any given time, and Sally, who loves to serve up the breakfasts and lots of wonderful local tales along with it - she had everyone laughing out loud with her wonderful storytelling talent and dry humor.

Anyway, it was great, I highly recommend the place. The crashing waves of the ocean can be heard and seen pretty much everyone on the property and there is a great hike into a redwood forest that is just enough of a walk to make you feel like you did a bit more than lay around, eat and sleep all the time. :-)

We got up there about 10pm, parked and got the directions (complete with flashlight!) to get to our little cabin - the "Beach House". We got back in the car and started to pull out when Sunny - this guy who looks to be in his early 60's with a huge bush of gray hair and dressed in all black appeared out of nowhere and scared the daylights out of us. We were both like - what is this the Bates Motel? Yikes! He came along the side of the car and Emmett was staring at him through the window until I mentioned that he might want to roll down the window. I guess you had to be there, but it was hilarious, we were almost crying we were laughing so hard (okay, okay, I WAS crying I was laughing so hard).

We found our little cottage and you could hear the waves crashing from inside, it was wonderful. The wood burning stove was filled with wood and kindling and all ready to go, so Emmett stoked it up while I ran the water in the outdoor bathtub-style jacuzzi tub for two.

We hung out in the jacuzzi, read our books and just let all the stresses fall off of us. No phone, no cell phone coverage, and, although there was wireless internet, we vowed not to even fire up the computer.

The next day we breakfasted, read, took a little hike, explored the property (and other rooms for potential future visits), took a walk at sunset on the beach and then headed to Fort Bragg, back to our beloved Mendo Bistro for yummy dinner. We stayed up late again lounging in the jacuzzi.

It was all just so relaxing. Incredible. Sea air, waves crashing, remote, quiet, I can't even do it justice and it's effect on us was wonderful.

We took a long drive down the coast yesterday and ate lunch in Mendocino where we saw the other bed and breakfast that I had been contemplating and I was SO SO SO glad we chose the Howard Creek Ranch.

Ahhh, back home now and Thomas is much better and Mom is on her flight back to Florida. Missed getting to visit much with her, but it was absolutely wonderful to get away.

Sigh.