A long and winding road to Mendocino and Zin Goes the Strings of My Heart

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Wednesday we had more rain, so we decided to take a trip up to Mendocino. It was a great drive. The road wound through moss covered huge Oak trees that looked spooky in the foggy day. Then, it wove through huge Redwood trees for about 50 miles.

When we got to the coast, it was spectacular, even though it was cloudy. The town of Booneville is surrounded by wineries, and we stopped at one tasting room, where we found a great Zinfadel at Zina Hyde Cunningham. We did a short tasting then headed to Mendocino.

The town of Mendocino was surprising to me. It is a cross between a New England village and an Old West town. The usual mix of clothing stores, art, and other Yuppie stuff was there, but few if any chain stores. Another unusual aspect was several water towers with wooden tanks that seem to gather rain water. http://www.mendocinoguide.com/

Pat found a staircase to the Ocean and had to walk it. It was a spectacular coastline. We bought a pair of binoculars at a discount binocular store, just in case we saw some whales. Got a pair of Nikon binoculars for $39. We then headed up to Fort Bragg. I have to admit I got a little confused and was thinking of Fort Bragg NC, not California, so i was expecting an Army base, either open or closed. Not so, it was a kind of sprawl town, with some California Victorian aspects to it. It looks better on the web site than it does in reality. http://www.fortbragg.com/.

We then stopped at one of our favorite stops, Healdsburg. It's a great place with a town square and shops restaurants etc. We ate at Zin restaurant. The restaurant was recommended by Paul G. We liked it a lot. Pat ordered the Chicken and Dumplings BluePlate special, and I ordered the Pork Chop. Both were excellent; the chicken was fork tender, in a wonderful sauce, and the pork chop was applewood smoked, tender and flavorful. We bought a bottle of Forchini wine, 2005, Proprietors Reserve. It is a Sonoma Zin of course, and really enjoyed it. See, we are turning into Northern Californians with our growing wine obsession.

www.zinrestaurant.com

You can see all the pictures on our Picasa web albums.

We returned to Novato in the rain. Water is still coming down from the hills.

Dan

  

Dan