As we went through Sonoma county we stopped off at a couple of our favorite wineries and picked up a nice selection of wines to get us through the weekend and a few extras for the coming weeks as well. Novy and Siduri are two labels made by the same family that are topping our favorites list as of late. The Siduri label includes some excellent Pinot Noir, while the Novy is primarily known for it's Syrah. I would particularly recommend the Novy Syrah from Gary's Vineyard. We also picked up a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Simi Winery. We unexpectedly came across the Scharffenberger family winery on Hwy 128 on our way to the coast. Scharfenberger chocolate is this family's most famous business venture, but their champagnes are also not too bad. We passed on buying a bottle, as we had already spent enough on wine in one day. And we also couldn't agree on which to get. Chris was fond of the Brut, whereas I preferred the Extra Dry. So on we went.
The sun was setting when we arrived in the small seaside town of Mendocino (located about 3 hours north of San Francisco). We had arranged to stay at a bed & breakfast called Agate Cove Inn. It was just perfect. The B&B has several individual cottages and mini-duplexes for guests. We had a small deck off our room with a beautiful view of the ocean. The common area included a beautiful dining area that overlooked the ocean, and a telescope set up for whale watching. There were tiny romantic nooks throughout the gardens for couples to cuddle up and watch the sunrise or sunset or just enjoy the ocean breeze. It was the perfect setting for a Valentine's Day weekend getaway for two.
View from Agate Cove
After breakfast and some window shopping in the all too expensive shops, we headed for the beach. My special treat for Chris was horsebackriding along a deserted beach just north of Mendocino. I was a little disappointed that the weather turned overcast and a little drizzily on Saturday morning, but it was still a nice ride. It had been awhile since either of us had ridden horses, so it took us a bit to get acclimated to the horses, and the horses to get acclimated to us as well. But overall it was a nice ride along the shore.
Horseback Riding
After cleaning up in the room and taking a short nap, we got dressed up and went out to one of the fancier restaurants in Mendocino-955 Ukiah. I surprised Chris with a little black dress that I got just before we left. We made a cute pair as we headed out for night on the town all dressed up! Dinner was just perfect. The food, the music, the wine, the service- all wonderful. When we got back into our room we shared a bottle of champagne and spent the rest of the evening cozied up in front of the fireplace.
Unfortunately, what had been just a drizzle turned into quite a rain overnight and ruined our plans of hiking in the Jackson State Demonstration Forest just northeast of Mendocino. But it was just as well. We had had a wonderful weekend together and decided to head home after breakfast.
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