Best of Northern California Travel 2007

by John Vlahides 12:14PM December 27, 2007   2 Comments »

California Coast

Everyone wants to know a travel writer’s favorite moments on the road. In honor of the end of the year, I’ve compiled a best-of list, highlighting my top finds around Northern California in 2007. Some are new discoveries, others old faves. All should be on your radar, if only to inspire local-travel ideas in 2008. Happy New Year!

Best Communion with Nature: Kayaking Tomales Bay
The silvery-grey light, the fluttering of birds, and the quiet lapping of water on the hull made me forget my otherwise-busy life and experience that be-here-now Zen viewpoint so difficult to capture in the city.

Best Deserted Beach: Gazos State Beach, San Mateo
I love the long, rolling breakers, wind-protected beach, and distant views of the stately Pigeon Point Lighthouse. The sand stretches far and wide, with rolling, wildflower-carpeted hills unfurling behind. I can’t wait to return this spring.

Best Hotel Amenities: Auberge du Soleil, Napa Valley
The sexy mistress of Napa’s luxury lodging scene, Auberge du Soleil provides all the extras you want for a romantic weekend away—votive candles and firewood, condoms and lube, multi-room stereo systems, dimmers on every light, and a fully stocked fridge with free vino and snacks. At evening turndown service, housekeepers lay out a tin of Dr. Haushka bath oils next to the huge bathtub for two. Fabulous.

Best New Hotel: Nick’s Cove & Cottages, Marshall
The vintage-1930s Nick’s Cottages reopened this summer, following a remodel by famed restaurateur Pat Kuleto. The best cottages front on Tomales Bay; at high tide waves break right beneath the floorboards. Mismatched leather-and-wood furniture and wood-burning stoves give the rooms the feel of a beloved summer place that’s been in the family for generations. And oh! those views. Bring binocs.

Best Off-the-beaten-path Restaurant: Seaweed Cafe, Bodega Bay
The best reason—by far—to visit Bodega Bay is to eat at Seaweed Café, hangout of local bohos, art freaks, and food fetishists. French-born chef Jackie Martine is obsessive about the seasonal-regional credo of the Slow Food movement, and she exclusively uses organic ingredients sourced from farms within a 30-mile radius of the restaurant.

Best Shop for Cool Gifts: Renga Arts, Occidental
The tiny town of Occidental has some surprisingly cool shops. Leading the pack is Renga Arts, a fab collection of functional art objects made entirely of reclaimed or recycled materials. Love those birdhouses!

Best Romantic Hideaway: Pescadero Creekside Barn, San Mateo Coast
Pescadero has a kick-ass romantic retreat. A big loft room on the second floor of an old whitewashed barn, it’s filled with a sweet collection of homey, unfussy country-antique furnishings, including a clawfoot tub in the corner of the kitchenette.

Best Rural Retreat: Mar Vista Cottages, Sonoma-Mendocino Coast
My favorite escape on the entire California Coast, Mar Vista Cottages has retro-cozy hideaway cottages, built in the 1940s on ten acres of land on the inland side of Hwy 1. In the morning, the owners deliver freshly laid eggs to your room; graze the organic garden to snip fresh herbs for your omelet. I can’t say enough about this little Shangri-La, and I hate to give away the secret, but it’s just too good not to share.

Best Woodsy Mountain Retreat: Tahoma Meadows Cottages, Lake Tahoe
Cute-as-a-button, unfussy cabins sit tucked beneath giant sugar-pine trees, with homey details like country quilts and a teddy bear on the bed. The decor manages never to be tacky or overdone, just warm and cozy, like a favorite old sweater. My favorite cabin for a ski weekend: Sugar Pine.

Best Springtime Walk: Ano Nuevo State Reserve, San Mateo Coast
Crowds come to Año Nuevo in winter to see the world’s largest breeding ground of elephant seals, but in spring the trails are empty. Shoulder-high grasses whoosh in the wind, delicate wildflowers bloom a riot of colors, and the elegant Pigeon Point Lighthouse looms on the horizon. Best of all, you can purple your fingers picking olallieberries from late May to early July. I can’t think of a better trek on a sunny day.

Best New Winery: Castello di Amoroso, Napa Valley
For sheer grandiosity, nothing beats Castello di Amorosa, an over-the-top recreation of a 12th-century southern European castle. Built entirely by hand over the course of 14 years, every detail is perfect, from the stunning secco-fresco murals painted by imported Italian artisans, to the Roman-style cross-vault brickwork of the catacombs. There’s even a torture chamber with actual period equipment, including an impaler and an iron maiden.

Best Roadside Farm Stand: Swanton Organic Berry Farm, San Mateo Coast
Once the sun rises higher in the sky, hit this old-fashioned, self-serve farm stand for the Bay Area’s most succulent strawberries, homemade pies, strawberry lemonade, and hot cocoa to warm you up on a foggy day.

Best Random Sighting: A chicken crossing the road at the Sonoma Plaza
Underscoring the old-school folksiness of the town of Sonoma, this past spring a chicken wandered in front of me on the Sonoma Plaza, then crossed the road into the state historic park. Herein lies the joy of my work: experiencing unexpected delights in our own backyard and sharing them with you. Thanks for your support this year. See you in 2008!



Hike, Run and Ski Near DC

by Thomas Wallace 8:37PM December 21, 2007   No Comments »

Shenandoah in Winter

Too much family? Too much food? Too much football on TV? Get out of the house! Here are some heart-pumping local getaway ideas that will take you away from the holiday zone and into your own.

- Country Hikes
The Washington area Sierra Clubs lead outings suited to all kinds of hikers. Visit their website; if a hike they mention isn’t on the immediate schedule, just make a note of the trail head and go on your own. Conservation hikes are slow-paced, family-friendly walks of two to seven miles, with an emphasis on natural history. PS hikes are led GPS (Global Positioning System) experts. Anyone is welcome to come along and learn about GPS gear or to test their own. Bring your Garmin! Change of Seasons hikes use the C&O Canal towpath and other trails along the Potomac River to view local flora and fauna in-between seasons. Vigorous Hikes are for experienced hikers top shape. Be prepared to hike 15 miles with 3000 ft. of climbing.

- City Runs
Become a tourist in your own town. Run from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol via the National Mall. Or along the Tidal Basin and watch the Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument out of the corner of your eye. City Running tours will plan a run for you. Or, pick up on the idea and map a scenic route on your own. Here’s a run I love to take: My Jogging Route. The route may not look interconnected, but trust me, it is.

- Nearby Skiing
The local resorts are ready to go, weather permitting. It’s time to plan a ski trip. If you haven’t been in a while, remember, ski midweek, if you can. Weekend crowds can get unbearable. (Note: Does not apply between Christmas and New Year’s!) If it’s going to snow, note the snow level: warm storms mean higher snow levels, which can mean rain at the base areas of some resorts.



Christmas Lights and Festivals

by Thomas Wallace 4:01PM December 19, 2007   No Comments »

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National Zoo Christmas
10 Places to See Fabulous Christmas Lights in the DC Area
- The National Zoo: Shining with lights of the most popular animals, the zoo is newest place to be in December.
- Festival of Lights, Mormon Temple: Ukranian singers, bells, traditional carols—there’s a new event every night.
- Columbia’s Symphony of Lights: More than 70 animated and stationary light creations in a drive through exhibition.
- Alexandria’s Parade of Lights: The harbor lights up as boats decorated by their owners cruise the Potomac River.
- Bull Run Festival of Lights: A 2.5-mile, drive-through holiday light show in Northern Virginia.
- The National Christmas Tree: Everyone who comes to DC in December visits the Ellipse to see the national tree and models trains.



Best SF Christmas Lights (Plus Last-minute Easy Gifts)

by John Vlahides 5:55PM December 18, 2007   7 Comments »

San Francisco Christmas House
***Ed note: I’m on holiday in Mexico. I’ll reply to comments posted on the site once I’m home. Feliz año nuevo! —John***

Guess where to spot the best Christmas lights in San Francisco. Union Square? Nope. The number-one light display is not corporately sponsored. High on Castro Hill, at 3650 21st Street, stands a little gingerbread Victorian, dwarfed by a 30-foot-high tree covered in lights and surrounded by gift-wrapped boxes as big as Volkswagen Beetles. And the entire scene is scaled to look as if the tree were only five feet tall.

The house vanishes behind the decorations. The garage serves as a sort of fireplace, above which hang two eight-foot-high stockings brimming with gigantic teddy bears. A smiling stuffed polar bear rides an oversized model train around the tree skirt, while a matchstick carnival spins and whirs nearby.

Twenty years ago, Tom Taylor and his partner Jerry (yes, Tom and Jerry) bought a tiny Norfolk Island pine at Costco that grew like mad. They soon planted it in the front yard and started decorating it. As the tree grew, so did the display. Now they need a 60-foot cherry picker to string the lights, a task that takes two men an entire week to complete.
castro-christmas-house-1.jpg
Santa shows up every evening to hand out candy canes—approximately 5,000 of them in a single season. He used to distribute 15,000 in the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas, “but that was in the days before car seats,” says Tom. Now parents have to hassle with strapping in one or two kids instead of piling ten of them into the back of a station wagon. Fewer come around these days. Make the effort. Show the kids that Santa doesn’t live in shopping centers, but in the imaginations of wacky locals who put on shows for free.
To get here, take the J Church to 21st St, and walk up the hill.

Two Last-Minute Easy Gift Ideas

Idea #1: Dulce de Leche
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cash-strapped and stuck for presents? Make instant dulce de leche, an effortless task with big payoff. Here’s how to do it the fast way. (Purists may disagree, but this recipe is awesome.)
—Take several unopened cans of sweetened condensed milk, and remove their labels.
—Crisscross a few teaspoons across the bottom of a deep pot.
—Put the unopened cans on top of the teaspoons, and fill the pot with enough water to completely submerge the cans.
—Place the pot on the stove, and bring water to a rolling boil.
—Cook for 90 minutes, ensuring the cans remain entirely submerged; add water as necessary. (The teaspoons prevent the cans from making direct contact with the bottom of the pot and dangerously overheating—and potentially exploding. Ensure the cans do not lay flat or seal against the pot!) You can cook it longer—up to four hours—if you like the concoction very dark and caramelized, but 90 minutes does the trick.
—Allow the cans to cool. Once at room temperature, spoon the contents into 8oz mason jars.
—Slap on a ribbon and voilà! Serve with apple slices, ice cream, toast, dark chocolate, or straight out of the jar.

Idea #2: Give a Needy Kid a Toy
There’s a fantastic charity called My Two Front Teeth, which helps disadvantaged kids get one specific toy they want for Christmas. Browse the site to read kids’ profiles, which include crayon drawings and their favorite things, then choose the one you want to sponsor. Gifts start at about $20, chump change for most, but a big deal for these kids. And you can donate in someone else’s name, elevating your reputation. Do it right now. You’ll feel good. I did.