Food and Lodging in the Russian River Valley

One of my favorite restaurants is outside the small town of Forestville in the Russian River Valley. The Farmhouse Inn is a Michelin one-star restaurant serving excellent California cuisine. I have eaten at the Farmhouse a few times and the meals have always been superb. Of course I am a sucker for a good cheese course, and the Farmhouse Inn has one. You'll probably want some wine with your meal and you are sure to find something tasty on the restaurant's 20-page wine list. The restaurant is open for dinner from Thursday through Monday.

After your scrumptious dinner, you probably won't want to drive far to go home or to your hotel room. The Farmhouse solves that problem for you. Just walk across the driveway and spend the night (or two) in one of the Inn's well-appointed cottages. All of the rooms have queen or king beds. Many have fireplaces. Some rooms have jacuzzi tubs or saunas. There's no TV reception at the Farmhouse, but rooms are equipped with DVD players and flat-screen TVs. Bring your own discs or borrow some from the inn's library.

Even though you will go to sleep feeling well sated from dinner, you will probably wake up ready for some breakfast. That's no problem as a delicious country breakfast is included with the price of your room.

Lodging prices vary depending on the season and day of the week. During summer and fall try to reserve your room and/or dinner well in advance to avoid being disappointed.

Blue Heron Custom Tours and Travel can pick you up at the Farmhouse to take you on a tour of the Russian River Valley and other nearby wine regions. To book a tour, call me toll free at (866) 326-4237 or e-mail me by clicking here.

Comfortable Lodging in Elk

In my last post, I supplemented the August 2006 "Rick's Tips" with more information on winetasting in the Anderson Valley. In "Rick's Tips," I wrote about the lack of lodging and dining available in the Valley and recommended staying on the Mendocino coast.

Our favorite spot to stay on the coast is the small village of Elk, which I first wrote about in the June 2004 edition of "Rick's Tips." Recently, we returned to Elk and stayed at The Harbor House Inn.

This lovely bed and breakfast sits on a bluff overlooking the ocean. You can gaze out over the ocean from a number of the rooms and cottages or while sitting in their beautiful garden. The Inn also has a stairway down the cliff side to a small beach.

We checked out most of the rooms and cottages during our visit and recommend the Seaview and Oceansong cottages for the best ocean views. Your stay includes both dinner and breakfast. This was our second time dining at Harbor House and, on both occasions, we enjoyed both the food as well as the view from the dining room.

If you are planning a visit to California and would like to include the Anderson Valley or the Mendocino County coast on your itinerary, Blue Heron Custom Tours and Travel can help plan your vacation. For more information, please call me at (866) 326-4237 (toll free) or e-mail me by clicking here.

Lovely Russian River Valley Inn

In the southwest corner of the Russian River lies the village of Occidental. At one time, logging was the principal industry in this part of Sonoma County. Redwood trees were felled to meet the demand for lumber in booming San Francisco. The trains came to Occidental to pick up lumber for transport back to the city.

Eventually paved roads spread out to Occidental and other logging towns and the railroads died. Today, Californians want to preserve redwoods and logging is greatly restricted. As a result, Occidental is now a sleepy town with a downtown that stretches to fill two blocks. Its location not too far from the wineries of the Russian River and the beautiful coastline makes Occidental a wonderful spot to spend a couple days.

If you do venture to Occidental, the perfect place to call home is the Inn at Occidental. Each of the 16 rooms at suites at the inn have a unique themed. I stayed in the Wine Country Room, which came with wine bottles and collections of cork screws and bottle openers. My favorite themes were in the Safari Room and Marbles Suite. Regardless of the room you choose, you will have a large, comfortable place to call home during your stay in Occidental. The inn's owners and hosts, Tina and Jerry Wolsborn, will make sure that you have a comfortable stay. They will help direct you to nearby attractions and make sure that you are well fed. Your room comes with breakfast and an afternoon wine hour.

Relaxing at the Inn at Occidental is a great cure for the rush of modern life. Occidental has no cell phone service, so you will not be interrupted with pesky annoyances.

If you want to take a vacation that includes a stay at the Inn at Occidental, I would be pleased to help plan your visit. Feel free to contact me at (866) 326-4237 (toll free) or e-mail me by clicking here.