Shannon & Pete
Things To Do
Elk Store
Small local grocery, with sandwiches, wine and beer.
Bridget Dolan's Pub & Dinner House
Pub and restaurant open for dinner with American and British-ish fare.
Harbor House Inn
Michelin-stared, James Beard award-winning restaurant with a California-Japanese tasting menu in a luxury BnB.
Beacon Light By The Sea
VERY politically incorrect bar run by the former fire chief Bobby out of a converted living room amongst a firetruck graveyard. Salty MAGA fisherman haunt with 80 types of booze and maybe 3 mixers. If you are friendly and lucky, Bobby may play on his grand piano or show you his spy gear.
Mendocino
Picturesque Seaside town, with shops, restaurants, and art galleries.
Sol de Mendocino
Legal marijuana dispensary. AKA Love In It Co-op.
Cafe Beaujolais & The Brickery
Cafe Beaujolais- Elegant mainstay features seasonal California and French-inspired cuisine & local wines in a Victorian farmhouse. The Brickery- Seasonal, hyper-local wood-fire pizza and local brews in the chill back garden of Cafe Beaujolais.
Fog Eater Cafe
Fog Eater Cafe is a vegetarian restaurant located in the heart of Mendocino Village, inspired by both the hearty recipes of the deep South and the fresh plant-based cuisine of Northern California. Our produce is all organic, and sourced from within Mendocino or Sonoma counties. Serves vegetarian and vegan fare with gluten-free options, well as natural wine, local beer and wine-based cocktails.
Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve
Hug a tree. Gorgeous old growth redwood grove. Short, medium/easy circuit hike.
Orr Hot Springs Resort
Midnight stargazing naked from a clawfoot tub fed by natural hot springs in the middle of a forest sound nice? This place is for you.
Princess Seafood Market & Deli
Woman owned and operated fishing boat, market, and restaurant. Great for a supply of local caught dungeness crab, salmon, halibut and more, or just a beer and delicious fish tacos/ shrimp po' boy/ crab roll on the working fishing docks of Fort Bragg.
Glass Beach
Local beach covered in pebbly sea glass, the result of years of glass bottles and waste getting dumped into the ocean nearby.
The Pub at North Coast Brewing Co.
Excellent local brewery, with taproom and restaurant. Some of our favorite brews: PranQster, Old Rasputin, Brother Thelonius, Scrimshaw.
Manchester State Beach
Rugged 9 mile beach linking Point Arena and Irish Beach.
Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands
Bluffside hike through national conservation area. Links to Point Arena lighthouse. (Join our Monday Beach Bluff hike)
Franny's Cup & Saucer
Excellent local bakery with pastries, cakes, and confectionaries. Catering our morning-after brunch.
Izakaya Gama
Pop-up ramen shop and izakaya (Japanese bar, in which a variety of small dishes and snacks are served to accompany the alcoholic drinks.)
Point Arena Fishing Pier
Grab a local north coast beer, fresh fish and chips, and watch the fishermen, surfers, and sea lions.
Bowling Ball Beach
Beach with unique rock formations, best at low tide.
Sea Ranch
Famous architectural style and idealistic community. Walk along the bluff trail to see the incredible houses, or stop by the Sea Ranch Lodge for a drink or meal.
The Sea Ranch Lodge
Recently renovated Lodge with restaurant, cafe, and bar. Stylish place for a meal or a drink.
Sea Ranch Chapel
Nondenominational chapel that looks like a whimsical elf hat. Part of the famous Sea Ranch community.
Twofish Baking
Fresh bread, breakfast burritos, coffee and pastries to-go from former Stewarts Point old-timie general store.
Coast Kitchen at Timber Cove Lodge
A coastal wine country concept that offers seasonal, locally-sourced fare with clean, crisp presentations served amidst stunning ocean views. Our guests can enjoy meals in the restaurant's main room or outdoors on the ocean view patio, at the bar of the Great Room lobby of the resort, or in our Outdoor Living Room next to the cozy firepit.
Fishetarian Fish Market
Fresh fish & chips, chowder, fish tacos, and oysters, served with beer in a Bodega Bay waterfront market with picnic tables.
Point Reyes National Seashore
Rugged nature park on a peninsula formed by the san andreas fault. Camp and hike. Pop over to Tomales Bay for locally grown oysters.
Sonoma Wine County
Sonoma Valley- laid back wineries and breweries, full of lefty farmers.
Napa Wine County
Napa valley is chock full of wineries, wine tours, and upscale restaurants.
Indian Springs Calistoga
Volcanic ash mud baths and mineral water pools fed by thermal geysers are magical in this Spanish mission style spa and resort.
Round Pond Estate Winery
Beautiful winery, vineyard, and olive orchard where Shannon worked for a short stint before grad school. Appointments needed for the tasting room.
Yosemite National Park
Iconic national park with waterfalls, giant sequoias, abundant wildlife, and awe-inspiring cliffs, like Half Dome and El Capitan. Lodge, rent a tent cabin in Curry Village, or backpack the many trails.
Lake Tahoe
Largest deep blue lake of the Sierra Nevada Mountains straddling Nevada and California. Outdoor playground for swimming, kayaking, boating, hiking, biking, and more.
San Francisco
Do all the things, but prioritize FOOD. A starting point for the amazing food scene is https://sf.eater.com/ Also.. Wander through Golden Gate Park for gardens and museums, Chinatown for dim sum, North Beach for Coit Tower and beatnik independent bookstores, Haight Ashbury for old hippies selling records, the Castro for LGBTQ history and pride, the Mission for street art and margaritas, SoMa for MOMA, Pac Heights for chill shopping and Lafayette park, Embarcadero for the ferry building farmer's market, and Russian Hill for windy Lombard Street and cocktails, just to make things challenging. For local festivals, concerts, and wonderful weird happenings, check out https://sfist.com/arts-entertainment/
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
THE old school beach boardwalk for all the fun in the sun, in the surfer town of Santa Cruz.
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Honor Pete and Shannon's love of fish by exploring one of the best aquariums in the world, with massive tanks of sharks patrolling kelp forests, tuna hunting schooling fish, adorable sea otters and problem-solving giant octopi. There is also wonderful whale watching in Monterey Bay, with dolphins, humpback, and blue whales often visiting this time of year. https://www.montereybaywhalewatch.com/
Big Sur
One of the world’s most unforgettable stretches of coastline. This roughly 90-mile-long stretch of forest- and fog-trimmed waterfront between Carmel-by-the-Sea and Hearst Castle takes you over iconic Bixby Bridge, to luxury lodges, retreats, and restaurants nestled among the redwoods and coastal cliffs.
Redwood National and State Parks
Home of the world’s tallest trees, this World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve protects nearly half of the world’s old growth redwoods, including champion specimens more than 370 feet (113 meters) in height—or five stories taller than the Statue of Liberty. Walk, bike, camp or horseback ride along 200 miles of trails in the park system, which in a unique state/federal partnership includes Jedediah Smith Redwoods, Del Norte Coast Redwoods, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks.
Avenue of the Giants
Sitting in in the middle of the Humboldt Redwoods State Park is the Avenue of the Giants, a 31-mile two lane stretch of old Highway 101 that features some of the most beautiful scenes of Northern California’s world-famous redwoods.