The Superbowl may have been a San Francisco shitshow, but the weather played very very nice this weekend. I’m going to do a two-part recap of our adventures, because we really killed it on the weekend-in-Sonoma front.
First up: a lovely dinner party with friends in Sebastopol on Friday night – I made a gooey chocolate cake that I promise to post about soon – then a stay overnight at the Inn at Occidental (thanks to a Travelzoo voucher). This place is charming as hell: the innkeepers are lovely, tasty breakfast is included, and there’s free wine every evening. Our room was a bit kitschy (the Folk Art room, not my style) but comfortable, and the bath tubs are huge – and come with rubber duckies! Our balcony looked out over Occidental, a tiny town tucked into the redwoods like a little upscale-hippie jewel.
After brunch at Howard Station on Saturday, we drove down the coast (with a stop at the Valley Ford Hotel, our beloved wedding venue, for afternoon cocktails) to Freestone’s Osmosis Spa for massages and a walk around their gardens. We ended the day with wine at sunset on our balcony back in Occidental and a big Italian dinner – and martinis – at Negri’s. For those looking to do Occidental right, Hazel is also delicious, with lighter fare.
Peeping Jenner, a little town where the Russian River eases its way into the Pacific
<3 that Sonoma coast
I would like to live here please
Passing Chanslor Ranch, where we threw a big ole barn party the night before our wedding
The meditation garden at Osmosis Spa
Sunset from our balcony in Occidental
Carbs upon carbs at Negri’s, and awesome old-school ambiance
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