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Source: http://www.deepculturetravel.com/feed

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<title>Foodies’ Pilgrimage in Mexico</title>
<link>https://deepculturetravel.com/foodies-pilgrimage-in-mexico/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=foodies-pilgrimage-in-mexico</link>
<comments>https://deepculturetravel.com/foodies-pilgrimage-in-mexico/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Deep Culture Travel]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 21 Mar 2020 16:24:33 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Eat, Drink, Cook]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cuisine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mexico]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[North America]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[pilgrimage]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://deepculturetravel.com/?p=2268</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I’m lucky to live in California’s Sonoma Valley wine country, where we have a large Mexican population and many authentic Mexican restaurants and food trucks. I don’t need to cook Mexican cuisine, but I want to! Your “Foodies’ Pilgrimage in Mexico” starts here with guided and self-guided expeditions to San Miguel de Allende and Mexico [...]
The post <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/foodies-pilgrimage-in-mexico/">Foodies’ Pilgrimage in Mexico</a> appeared first on <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com">Deep Culture Travel</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[I’m lucky to live in California’s Sonoma Valley wine country, where we have a large Mexican population and many authentic Mexican restaurants and food trucks. I don’t need to cook Mexican cuisine, but I want to! Your “Foodies’ Pilgrimage in Mexico” starts here with guided and self-guided expeditions to San Miguel de Allende and Mexico City.
One of my fav places to take a cooking class is the UNESCO World Heritage city of San Miguel de Allende. The good news is that this town is a foodie’s dream, with more than 350 restaurants and cafes; big, beautiful marketplaces, and several cooking schools. The bad news? Travel + Leisure magazine named it “World’s Best City,” Aaaaah, darnn.
Nonetheless, you can avoid the tourist crowds and feed your culinary cravings by booking a cultural-immersion, cuisine-focused tour.
<h2>Culinarian Expeditions’ Tours of San Miguel de Allende and Patzcuaro</h2>
Famous for their small-group tours of the Spanish “silver cities” of San Miguel and Morelia, and Patzcuaro, <a href="http://www.culinarianexpeditions.com/san-miguel-de-allende-and-patzcuaro">Culinarian Expeditions</a> has insider access to renowned local chefs, artisans, and history experts. On this popular tour you will trod cobbled streets to indoor and outdoor marketplaces in preparation for a market-to-table cooking classes.
On the itinerary are street food expeditions, farm and winery visits, and private experiences with renowned chefs, such as Matteo Salas (a star of “Top Chef Mexico” TV) and Israel Loyola of <a href="ttps://jacinto1930.mx">Jacinto1930</a>, at their rustic contemporary restaurant just off the main plaza (el jardin).
Also:
<ul>
<li>A visit to nearby Dolores Hidalgo, birthplace of the Mexican revolution</li>
<li><a href="http://cunadetierra.com/en/home/">Cuna de Tierra</a> to taste wine and help Chef Carlos Segura gather ingredients for dinner</li>
<li>Eduardo Villers of <a href="https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-guide/san-miguel-de-allende/shopping/mente-de-cacao">Mente Cacao</a> talks about the pre-Hispanic origins of chocolate before you make it!</li>
</ul>
From the artisan’s town of Patzcuaro, the tour visits “Pueblos Mágicos” (magic villages) that surround Lake Patzcuaro, where you’ll find pottery with pre-Hispanic motifs, wonderful copper work, intricate weavings, and meet a famous painter and sculptor.
<figure id="attachment_2282" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2282" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/SanMiguelito.jpg"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-2282" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/SanMiguelito-300x225.jpg" alt="San Miguelito Cooking School in Morelia" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/SanMiguelito-300x225.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/SanMiguelito-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/SanMiguelito.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2282" class="wp-caption-text">San Miguelito Cooking School in Morelia</figcaption></figure>
In the gorgeous UNESCO World Heritage city of Morelia, you and your fellow foodies will have a private class with an expert in indigenous food culture and the owner of <a href="http://en.sanmiguelito.com.mx/traditional-cooking.html">San Miguelito Cooking School</a>.
<a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.culinarianexpeditions.com/san-miguel-de-allende-and-patzcuaro">Culinarian Expeditions’ tours</a> sell out fast; don’t wait too long to book the 7-night tour, departing in November.
Culinarian Expeditions also offers a wildly popular <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.culinarianexpeditions.com/day-of-the-dead-in-sma-old">“Day of the Dead” tour</a> that combines market-to-table cooking classes and guided tours of San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato, plus the rituals, the spectacular sights, and the glorious festivities of Dia de los Muertos!
<figure id="attachment_2284" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2284" style="width: 1017px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CulinaryBackstreets.jpg"><img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-2284" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CulinaryBackstreets.jpg" alt="Culinary Backstreets Tour of Mexico City Marketplaces" width="1017" height="600" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CulinaryBackstreets.jpg 1017w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CulinaryBackstreets-300x177.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 1017px) 100vw, 1017px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2284" class="wp-caption-text">Culinary Backstreets Tour of Mexico City Marketplaces</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Culinary Backstreets’ Mexico City Daytrip</h2>
No time for a week-long culinary pilgrimage in Mexico? Here’s a daytrip to five Mexico City markets that includes a stop at the monumental Teotehuacan pyramids.
A massive, historic marketplace, La Merced is a bustling hive of vendors, shoppers and speedy diableros (porters). Locals come here for everything from handmade chorizo and tropical fruits to candies for birthday piñatas. You’ll get a taco tutorial, and learn about and taste savory carnitas (deep-fried pork), carne asada (grilled steak), and al pastor (marinated spit-roasted pork).
Mercado de Jamaica (“hibiscus”), one of Mexico City’s oldest markets, is also the city’s main flower market, where vendors sell sunflowers, lilies, tulips, and gardenias and, around the time of the Day of the Dead in October, bright orange marigolds and deep red terciopelos.
The half-day tour ends with a rousing adventure at a traditional pulquería (I won’t tell you what that is. You’ll have to tell me how it was for you . . . )
More here about Culinary Backstreets’ <a href="http://culinarybackstreets.com/culinary-walks/mexico-city/">Market Watch: Feasting on the Building Blocks of Mexican Cooking</a>
<figure id="attachment_2280" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2280" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/UrbanAdventures.jpeg"><img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-2280" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/UrbanAdventures-300x200.jpeg" alt="Urban Adventures tour of Mexico City marketplaces" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/UrbanAdventures-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/UrbanAdventures-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/UrbanAdventures.jpeg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2280" class="wp-caption-text">Urban Adventures tour of Mexico City marketplaces</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Urban Adventures Half-Day Foodie’s Pilgrimage in Mexico City</h2>
A division of the highly-rated Intrepid Travel tour company, <a href="http://www.urbanadventures.com/destination/Mexico-City-tours">Urban Adventures</a> is known for savvy, fun local tour guides, around the world and in the U.S. On their 5-hour tour of five Mexico City street markets, you hop on and off public transportation for total immersion in city life with stops at five food markets. Think about pineapple tepache, tamales, BBQ, fresh fruit cocktail, and exotic juices, herbs, mole, helados, ceviche, pozole, churros, caldo de mariscos, and more!
 
<aside class="sc-pullquote alignright"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/kids-and-families-discover-the-mayan-world-at-hacienda-petac/">Kids Discover Mexican Cuisine at Hacienda Petac </a>
<a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/spectacles-of-san-miguel-de-allende/">More here about the magic of San Miguel de Allende</a>
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/09/travel/mercado-roma-coyoacan-mexico-city-market-review.html">A great article iabout Mercado Roma Coyoacan, the new food hall in Mexico City</a>
</aside>If you are interested in the cuisine of a particular city, region or country, do let me know and I’ll look into it for you. My own taste buds are currently tuned to East Indian food! (Perhaps because my 23andMe turned up .02% East Asian.)
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Do you love the culture of Mexico? 
<a style="color: #33cccc; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://deepculturetravel.com/contact/">We‘d love to hear about it!</a></h2>
 
The post <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/foodies-pilgrimage-in-mexico/">Foodies’ Pilgrimage in Mexico</a> appeared first on <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com">Deep Culture Travel</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
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</item>
<item>
<title>Germany Family Mosel Valley Bike Tour</title>
<link>https://deepculturetravel.com/germany-family-mosel-valley-bike-tour/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=germany-family-mosel-valley-bike-tour</link>
<comments>https://deepculturetravel.com/germany-family-mosel-valley-bike-tour/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Deep Culture Travel]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 01 Feb 2020 18:00:38 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Active Journeys]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Active]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Biking]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Germany]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://deepculturetravel.com/?p=833</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A summer or fall bike trip in the Mosel Valley of Germany could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for your family. And it’s hard to beat Austin Adventures as your tour company—Travel + Leisure has named it “Top Tour Operator for Families” and one of the world’s “Top Tour Operators.” On the Germany Family Mosel Valley [...]
The post <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/germany-family-mosel-valley-bike-tour/">Germany Family Mosel Valley Bike Tour</a> appeared first on <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com">Deep Culture Travel</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<aside class="sc-pullquote alignright">“On the last day, my son said ‘I’m so sad to be leaving. This was the best vacation of my life, and I will never forget it.’” Bolingbrook, IL family</aside>A summer or fall bike trip in the Mosel Valley of Germany could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for your family. And it’s hard to beat <a style="color: #993300;" href="http://www.austinadventures.com">Austin Adventures</a> as your tour company—Travel + Leisure has named it “Top Tour Operator for Families” and one of the world’s “Top Tour Operators.”
<figure id="attachment_842" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-842" style="width: 683px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/QuaintMoselValleyVillage.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-842" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/QuaintMoselValleyVillage-683x1024.jpg" alt="Biking through Mosel Valley villages" width="683" height="1024" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/QuaintMoselValleyVillage.jpg 683w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/QuaintMoselValleyVillage-200x300.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-842" class="wp-caption-text">Biking through Mosel Valley villages</figcaption></figure>
On the <a href="http://www.austinadventures.com/packages/germany-family-mosel-valley/">Germany Family Mosel Valley bike tour</a> this July or August kids will love the castles and palaces; Pop Art at the Ludwig Museum; biking on gentle, mostly flat paths; Roman ruins, marketplaces, and curio shops, and the fun of cruising along the banks of the Sûre and Mosel rivers.
<h2>Highlights of Germany Family Mosel Valley Bike Tour</h2>
<ul>
<li>Explore medieval Burg Eltz and Cochem castles</li>
<li>2,000-year-old Roman city of Trier</li>
<li>Historian-guided walking tour of Neumagen</li>
<li>Old marketplace in the resort town of Zeltingen</li>
<li>Middle Mosel Museum in a Baroque villa, and the gated bridge at Traven-Trarbach</li>
<li>Shop for curios, stop for snacks in the town markets</li>
<li>Cochem and Burg Eltz medieval castles</li>
<li>Traditional half-timbered houses in Bernkastel</li>
<li>Metternich Castle in Beilstein</li>
</ul>
<figure id="attachment_844" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-844" style="width: 200px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/BikeMoselRiver.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-844" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/BikeMoselRiver-200x300.jpg" alt="Biking along Germany's Mosel River" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/BikeMoselRiver-200x300.jpg 200w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/BikeMoselRiver.jpg 683w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-844" class="wp-caption-text">Biking along Germany’s Mosel River</figcaption></figure>
<aside class="sc-pullquote alignright">“Austin Adventures planned everything to a “t.” I could NEVER have planned and executed this trip on my own. There were so many extra touches.” –Baltimore, MD family</aside>
<h2>Germany Family Mosel Valley Tour Details</h2>
<ul>
<li>Small group and/or private group tours</li>
<li>From $2,698 per person; children: $2,158 to $2,428 (kids 7 and up)</li>
<li>Optional bike mileage</li>
<li>Trained, first-aid certified professional guides beloved by the kids</li>
<li>All meals and biking equipment, vehicle support & land transport</li>
<li>Taxes, gratuities, park and museum entrance fees.</li>
<li>6:1 guest-to-guide ratio</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>With many family-oriented tours in Europe and around the world on offer, <a href="http://www.austinadventures.com">AustinAdventures.com</a> has a “live chat” feature that makes it easy to get your questions answered when you’re browsing for trips.</blockquote>
The post <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/germany-family-mosel-valley-bike-tour/">Germany Family Mosel Valley Bike Tour</a> appeared first on <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com">Deep Culture Travel</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
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<item>
<title>Kids and Families Discover the Mayan World at Hacienda Petac</title>
<link>https://deepculturetravel.com/kids-and-families-discover-the-mayan-world-at-hacienda-petac/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kids-and-families-discover-the-mayan-world-at-hacienda-petac</link>
<comments>https://deepculturetravel.com/kids-and-families-discover-the-mayan-world-at-hacienda-petac/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Deep Culture Travel]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 19 Jan 2020 19:17:52 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Cultural Countries]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Eat, Drink, Cook]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Active]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cuisine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Learning Vacation]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mexico]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[North America]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://deepculturetravel.com/?p=1260</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The luxurious and historic Hacienda Petac in Mexico’s Yucatan offers a unique culture-focused vacation that keeps youngsters entertained and learning about the Mayan world while parents and grandparents enjoy the estate and go daytripping nearby. Near the city of Merida, on a 250-acre, 17th century estate, Hacienda Petac offers a children’s activity program that includes: [...]
The post <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/kids-and-families-discover-the-mayan-world-at-hacienda-petac/">Kids and Families Discover the Mayan World at Hacienda Petac</a> appeared first on <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com">Deep Culture Travel</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The luxurious and historic <a style="color: #993300;" href="http://www.haciendapetac.com">Hacienda Petac in Mexico’s Yucatan</a> offers a unique culture-focused vacation that keeps youngsters entertained and learning about the Mayan world while parents and grandparents enjoy the estate and go daytripping nearby.
<figure id="attachment_1262" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1262" style="width: 702px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacKidsCook.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-1262" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacKidsCook-1024x683.jpg" alt="Kids Cook at Hacienda Petac" width="702" height="468" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacKidsCook-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacKidsCook-300x200.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacKidsCook.jpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1262" class="wp-caption-text">Kids cook and learn about the Mayan world at Hacienda Petac</figcaption></figure>
Near the city of Merida, on a 250-acre, 17th century estate, Hacienda Petac offers a children’s activity program that includes:
<ul>
<li>Scavenger hunt in the Mérida food market where the family is introduced by the hacienda chef to the fruits, vegetables and spices of the area. Ingredients are gathered for an iconic Yucatécan dish (pah-ch’uhuk? ibes? espalone?)</li>
<li>Sightseeing excursion around Mérida’s central square, with a stop for tropical-flavored sorbet.
<figure id="attachment_1263" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1263" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacKids.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1263" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacKids-300x205.jpg" alt="Kids at Hacienda Petac" width="300" height="205" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacKids-300x205.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacKids.jpg 950w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1263" class="wp-caption-text">Kids in the lush gardens of Hacienda Petac</figcaption></figure></li>
<li>Little chefs strap on aprons and go to work in the professional teaching kitchen. Age appropriate tasks involve hands-on preparation of a meal, rolling out tortillas, whipping up smoothies, paleta, sorbets and other dishes. (A “Smash-Fest” of seeds, fruits or vegetables is an essential part of a junior cook’s fun––a cleansing dip in the swimming pool may be required!)</li>
<li>Learn to make kites and piñatas.</li>
<li>Provided with hand-drawn maps and clues, junior archaeologists hunt for buried Mayan treasures, scattered about the grounds.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<h4>While kids are busy, parents work on their tans at the pool, have Mayan massages in the private spa, enjoy their own cooking class, or head out for daytrips. Attractions nearby Hacienda Petac:</h4>
Uxmal: a huge, major Mayan archaeological site, circa 500 A.D., a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Merida: the Spanish colonial capital of the Yucatan peninsula, with winding, narrow streets, lively plazas, fabulous archeological and art museums, artisans markets, eateries and more.
Fishing village of Celestun: lounge on the beach, see Reserva de la Biosfera Ría Celestún, a wildlife sanctuary for waterfowl; take a boat ride to see the fabulous flamingos!
Swimming in mysterious cenotes</blockquote>
<figure id="attachment_1265" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1265" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacHacienda.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1265" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacHacienda-300x225.jpg" alt="Hacienda Petac" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacHacienda-300x225.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacHacienda-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacHacienda.jpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1265" class="wp-caption-text">Hacienda Petac in Mexico’s Yucatan is a private, luxurious resort</figcaption></figure>
Tucked away in glorious gardens, <a style="color: #993300;" href="http://www.haciendapetac.com">Hacienda Petac</a> is a private resort where guests enjoy an historic villa, just seven spacious rooms and suites; plus a full-service spa, gym, library, regionally-sourced fine dining, swimming pool, games salon and walking trails. For 5-14 guests, from $1,500 to $2,000 a night, includes all meals, soft beverages, airport transfers, a Merida city tour and more. The children’s adventure package is available for a supplement of $150 per child/per week.
<h4 style="text-align: center;"></h4>
<blockquote>
<figure id="attachment_1267" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1267" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacHammock.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1267" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacHammock-300x202.jpg" alt="Hammock at Hacienda Petac" width="300" height="202" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacHammock-300x202.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacHammock-1024x689.jpg 1024w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PetacHammock.jpg 1599w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1267" class="wp-caption-text">Afternoons in a hammock at Hacienda Petac</figcaption></figure>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">“My family spent a glorious week at Hacienda Petac, nine of us from ages three to 78. We found it to be pure perfection.”</h4>
</blockquote>
 
 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">More Mexico!</h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><a style="color: #993300;" href="https://deepculturetravel.com/spectacles-of-san-miguel-de-allende/">Spectacles of San Miguel de Allende</a></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><a style="color: #993300;" href="https://deepculturetravel.com/foodies-pilgrimage-in-mexico/">Foodies Pilgrimage in Mexico</a></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/christmas-san-miguel-de-allende/">Christmas in San Miguel de Allende</a></h2>
 
The post <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/kids-and-families-discover-the-mayan-world-at-hacienda-petac/">Kids and Families Discover the Mayan World at Hacienda Petac</a> appeared first on <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com">Deep Culture Travel</a>.
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<title>Down on the Farm in California’s Anderson Valley</title>
<link>https://deepculturetravel.com/anderson-valley/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=anderson-valley</link>
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<dc:creator><![CDATA[Deep Culture Travel]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2020 09:58:44 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Eat, Drink, Cook]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Active]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Anderson Valley]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[California]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cuisine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[North America]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[Bringing children along to the California Wine Country can be tricky if winery visits are the main focus. Nonetheless, a couple of days of family fun can be found in the Anderson Valley, which is a couple of hours north of San Francisco (on the way to or from the coast). Kids seem to love [...]
The post <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/anderson-valley/">Down on the Farm in California’s Anderson Valley</a> appeared first on <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com">Deep Culture Travel</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Bringing children along to the California Wine Country can be tricky if winery visits are the main focus. Nonetheless, a couple of days of family fun can be found in the Anderson Valley, which is a couple of hours north of San Francisco (on the way to or from the coast). Kids seem to love the old-timey farms, the rustic eateries, a vintage general store, and the chance to run around under the redwoods.
On an early-morning drive from Cloverdale, northwest on Highway 128, fog drifitng in from the nearby Mendocino Coast creates a magical scene of mossy oak forests on steep hillsides, and old barns and farmhouses lost in the mist. Soon, redwoods rise in the distance, the Anderson Valley drops open, and vineyards begin to roll in great waves under sunny skies.
The crystalline days of Fall and early winter are the best times to wander the farms and markets of this valley, when apples and pears are piled up at the roadside stands, and the grapevines, the maples, alders and oaks are in their full red and gold raiment. Although you’ll miss the pandemonium and the fun of the grape harvest, you also miss the crush of traffic and tourists–– summer weekenders on their way to the Victorian town of Mendocino, and wine tasters heading for some of the 25+ wineries, which specialize in Pinots and bubbly.
<h2>Sheep, Goats, Cheese and Wine</h2>
A good place to begin a Fall expedition is <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.PennyroyalFarm.com">Pennyroyal Farm</a>, just before you reach the main one-horse town of Booneville. The gates of the farm open to reveal vegetable gardens; miniature “Babydoll” sheep nibbling away at the weeds beneath the grapevines, and a new wine tasting and cheese-making building, opened just this Spring. Unique here are the twice-daily tours of the goat barns, the gardens, and the creamery. Visitors watch through wide glass windows as cheesemaker Erika McKenzie-Chapter transforms the daily sheep and goat milk into luscious, small-batch farmstead-style cheeses––Velvet Sisters, Boot Corners, Boontner’s Blue and more, all named after the local “Boontling” dialect that was spoken in these parts in the early 19th century.
This is a great family destination, as kids love to snuggle up to the goats in the hay barn, and in the springtime, to pet and cuddle the lambs and baby goats. Generous cheese plates and wine tasting are offered, alfresco at picnic tables or indoors at tables with farmyard views.
<h2>Old Orchards, Country Cottages</h2>
<figure id="attachment_1637" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1637" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/PearsPhiloAppleFarm.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-1637"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1637" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/PearsPhiloAppleFarm-300x225.jpg" alt="Philo Apple Farm" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/PearsPhiloAppleFarm-300x225.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/PearsPhiloAppleFarm-768x576.jpg 768w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/PearsPhiloAppleFarm-1024x768.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1637" class="wp-caption-text">Fall means pears and apples are ripe at Philo Apple Farm in the Anderson Valley. Photo by Karen Misuraca</figcaption></figure>
Scattered in a nearly century-old orchard, sweet cottages at <a href="http://www.philoapplefarm.com/">Philo Apple Farm</a> are hideaways for couples, families and foodies; Stay-and-Cook weekends, summer camp for kids, and Family Farm Weekends, are sell-outs. Kids love the bunny hutches and the brightly painted gypsy wagon here, and get lost amid the arbors, nooks and crannies around the property. At the farm stand, taste and buy apples, and homemade ciders, chutneys, jams and juice.
Owners Sally and Don Schmitt founded what became the world-famous French Laundry restaurant in Yountville in the late 1970s, with Sally the chef and Don the sommelier (and town mayor). These days, they have their hands full nurturing 1800 or so heirloom, organic apple trees and harvesting the bright Pink Pearl and the tart pie apple, Northern Spy; the Gravenstein, which originated in the 1700s; the deep purple Arkansas Black, and more rare varieties.
Adjacent to the apple farm is <a href="http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=438">Hendy Woods State Park</a>. Warmer and dryer than the rainforest-like redwood parks along the Northern California coast, this lesser-known preserve of ancient redwood trees stands in magnificence on the banks of the Navarro River. Two miles of forest trails lead to Big Hendy and Little Hendy groves, where thousand-year-old redwoods are nothing short of spectacular in size, reaching 270 feet. On the sandbanks and meadows along the river are picnic grounds and launching sites for kayaks and canoes.
Another must-stop for heritage apples, <a href="http://www.gowanorchards.com/">Gowan’s Oak Tree Fruit Stand</a> has been tending their apple and pear orchards since 1876. In the early 1900s, the family packed up their horse-drawn wagon with two teams of horses, and set out on thirty miles of dirt road to sell on the Mendocino coast; and in the 1930s, Grandma Gowan would sit under an oak tree in Philo and sell her apples from boxes on the ground. Today’s roadside stand offers Dixie-cup apple cider frozen pops and jugs of house-made cider (hard cider, too); 83 kinds of apples, and dozens of varieties of plums, pears and berries in season. In April during the Apple Blossom Festival, kids jump on for wagon rides through the orchards, and the wagon comes out again when the pumpkin patch is full of those orange things.
<h2>The Pig Prevails</h2>
<figure id="attachment_1640" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1640" style="width: 200px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BewilderedPig2.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-1640"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1640" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BewilderedPig2-200x300.jpg" alt="The Bewildered Pig in Philo" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BewilderedPig2-200x300.jpg 200w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BewilderedPig2-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BewilderedPig2-682x1024.jpg 682w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BewilderedPig2.jpg 853w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1640" class="wp-caption-text">The Bewildered Pig restaurant at the Floodgate in Philo, in the Anderson Valley. Photo from The Pig</figcaption></figure>
The bounty of organic produce, foraged fungi, hand-made cheeses, and free-raised meats and poultry come together with the valley’s legendary wines at <a href="http://www.bewilderedpig.com">The Bewildered Pig</a>, a rustic, yet sophisticated, eatery at “TownsEnd” in Philo (population 400), in mid-valley. A former estate chef for Peter Michael and Kuleto Estate wineries, Chef Janelle Weaver recently opened the Pig in the restored, old Floodgate roadhouse, offering Thursday through Saturday dinners and Sunday brunch. She prowls the local farmsteads and ranches and hobnobs with coastal fishermen to get ingredients for such hearty chow as Covelo Ranch shortribs with Canvas Ranch farro; pâté from Mendocino Heritage Pork; and Fort Bragg albacore tartare. While the cuisine is gourmet, families are comfortable here at the tables on the patio, and kids find enough familiar comfort food on the menu.
<h2>Last Gasp in Booneville</h2>
On their way home, loaded down with apples and pears, fresh cheeses and a bottle of wine or two, foodies make a stop at the <a href="http://www.mcfarm.org/boonville.html">Booneville Farmers Market</a>, held Friday evenings on the rustic terrace at the Disco Ranch Wine Bar & Specialty Market, 14025 Highway 128 in town. Live music sets a friendly tone as growers from around the valley and the coast sell their produce and flowers, olive oils, baked goods, seafood, cheeses and meats. Up the road a few doors, the diminutive Boont Berry Farm Store in an old barnboard building holds forth every day, selling local organic produce and eggs, homemade bakery items, and eat-here or takeaway picnic grub.
<figure id="attachment_1644" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1644" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BoonevilleFarmersMkt.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-1644"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1644" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BoonevilleFarmersMkt-300x225.jpg" alt="Booneville Farmers' Market in the Anderson Valley." width="300" height="225" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BoonevilleFarmersMkt-300x225.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BoonevilleFarmersMkt-768x576.jpg 768w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BoonevilleFarmersMkt-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BoonevilleFarmersMkt.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1644" class="wp-caption-text">Booneville Farmers’ Market in the Anderson Valley. Photo by Karen Misuraca</figcaption></figure>
Just down the block in a century-old, peaked-roof building, <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.farmhouse128.com/">Farmhouse Mercantile</a> IS your grandpa’s general store, with a 21st century vibe. Browse here for hand-hewn wooden rolling pins, kitchen implements, and crafts made by local artisans, and from inside the store, walk right into the café for coffee drinks and lunches.
If you’re here in July, don’t fail to take the kids to the <a href="http://www.andersonvalleychamber.com/annual.html">Woolgrowers and Sheep Dog Trials</a> for the sheep show and sheep dog competitions, and the lamb barbecue. Another big event is the <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://mendocountyfair.com">Mendocino County Fair and Apple Show</a> in September. Since 1924, the fair has honored the valley’s fruit and sheep growers with old-fashioned fun. Home-canned fruits, and quilts and 4-H livestock are on display; fresh apples, cider, pies, and local wines are on the menu, too. The fair’s rodeo and a parade attract crowds. including a rodeo, sheepdog herding trials, a wool festival, and a parade.
Isolated somewhat from the rest of Mendocino County, <a href="http://www.andersonvalleychamber.com/">Anderson Valley</a> residents are known to be on the quirky, recalcitrant side, and they are very protective of their historic villages and their valley. From an October issue of the <a style="color: #993300;" href="http://theava.com/archives/61158)">Anderson Valley Advertiser</a>: “About 2 p.m. Sunday, a half-dozen people chanting demands to save the forests walked briskly through Boonville. Four men carrying a redwood sapling were the focus of the display, and a couple of people appeared to be dressed in green, lending the procession a vaguely druidic cast. Spotting my young friend near Boont Berry Farm just as the funereal mini-procession passed from view, I asked him what had just happened. ‘Heepies,’ he explained.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Click here for more about the Anderson Valley, 
including the world-famous wineries! </h2>
<blockquote>
<h4>Where to Stay</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.boonvillehotel.com">Booneville Hotel: 15 country-chic rooms, cottages and suites in a laid-back, yet elegant roadhouse, circa 1860. A cross between Santa Fe, French country and steampunk, accommodations are cozy and comfortable. 14050 Highway 128; 707-895-2210; www.boonvillehotel.com</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://themadrones.com/">The Madrones</a>, an upscale Italian-style country estate with four elegant guest rooms and four winery tasting rooms. 9000 Highway 128, Philo, 707-895-2955, www.themadrones.com.</li>
<li>Toll House Inn, built in 1912, a farmhouse on 650 acres in foothills threaded with hiking trails. With four rooms and extensive sleeping accommodations for families and groups. 253 Booneville Road, 707-895-2572, www.tollhouseinn.com.</li>
</ul>
<h4><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/IMG_1320.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-1641"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1641" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/IMG_1320-300x225.jpg" alt="img_1320" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/IMG_1320-300x225.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/IMG_1320.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>Where to Eat</h4>
<ul>
<li>The Restaurant: a family-style, prix fixe menu sourced locally, plus pizza and roasted meats and poultry from the wood-fired oven, and “paella Sundays.” Enjoy meals indoors and on the garden patio. Located at the Boonville Hotel, 14050 Highway 128; 707-895-2210;</li>
<li>Buckhorn Pub Anderson Valley: Belly up to the bar with the locals and enjoy a Boont Amber Ale on tap, then slip into a booth or onto the patio for pub grub, such as ceviche, burgers, and fish tacos; Breakfast, lunch and dinner offered. 14081 Highway 128, Boonville; 707-895-3224.</li>
<li>Lauren’s Café, where locals gather on the patio and in the cozy dining room for live music and inventive comfort food, from burgers to chicken pot pie and berry cobbler. 14211 Highway 128, Boonville. 707-895-3869, <a href="http://www.laurensgoodfood.com">www.laurensgoodfood.com</a>.</li>
<li>Boonville General Store, offering breakfast, savory sandwiches and picnic fare. 17810 Farrer Lane, Boonville; 707-895-9477.</li>
<li>Stone and Embers, at The Madrones, featuring produce from the on-site gardens; and pizza and local meats and poultry roasted in the wood-fired oven. 900 Highway 128, Philo; 707-895-3471, www.stoneandembers.com</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<figure id="attachment_1643" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1643" style="width: 702px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BabydollSheep.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-1643"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-1643" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BabydollSheep-1024x768.jpg" alt="Babydoll Sheep Anderson Valley" width="702" height="527" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BabydollSheep-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BabydollSheep-300x225.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BabydollSheep-768x576.jpg 768w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BabydollSheep.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1643" class="wp-caption-text">Babydoll Sheep weeding between the vines in the Anderson Valley. Photo by Karen Misuraca</figcaption></figure>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Where have you taken the kids in the California Wine Country? 
We’d love to hear about your family adventures!</h4>
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<title>Angel Island History Tour</title>
<link>https://deepculturetravel.com/angel-island-history-tour/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=angel-island-history-tour</link>
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<dc:creator><![CDATA[Deep Culture Travel]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2020 09:30:35 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Museums, Art, History]]></category>
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<category><![CDATA[Biking]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[California]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kids & Culture]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[North America]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[San Francisco]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://deepculturetravel.com/?p=693</guid>
<description><![CDATA[In 1775, Spanish naval lieutenant Juan Manuel de Ayala sailed through the mouth of a vast bay in the New World, and cruised into a sheltered cove on his ship, the San Carlos, to be greeted by a few resident Miwok Indians. Soon after, the Spanish set up camp across the bay on the mainland, [...]
The post <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/angel-island-history-tour/">Angel Island History Tour</a> appeared first on <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com">Deep Culture Travel</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure id="attachment_714" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-714" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/AyalaCove.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-714 size-medium" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/AyalaCove-300x214.jpg" alt="Ayala Cove at Angel Island" width="300" height="214" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/AyalaCove-300x214.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/AyalaCove.jpg 319w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-714" class="wp-caption-text">Ayala Cove at Angel Island in San Francisco Bay</figcaption></figure>
In 1775, Spanish naval lieutenant Juan Manuel de Ayala sailed through the mouth of a vast bay in the New World, and cruised into a sheltered cove on his ship, the San Carlos, to be greeted by a few resident Miwok Indians. Soon after, the Spanish set up camp across the bay on the mainland, the Mexican army followed in 1821, and settlers began to arrive from across the country. In 1846, the flag of the United States was raised over the hardscrabble port town of Yerba Buena, soon to be renamed San Francisco. When gold was discovered in 1849, hundreds of ships and thousands of fortune seekers flooded into the boomtown.
A Civil War-era army garrison was established on Angel Island in 1863, and later, a quarantine station for Asian immigrants, a WWII POW camp, an embarkation point to the Pacific for American soldiers Pacific, and even a Nike missile site.
With this storied past and collection of (mostly) restored historic buildings, and a stunning location in San Francisco Bay, <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.angelislandsf.com">Angel Island State Park</a> makes for a great daytrip outing with the family. Today the thickly forested isle is reached by a short ferry ride across Raccoon Strait from <a href="http://www.angelislandferry.com">Tiburon</a>, and from Pier 39 in <a href="http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com">San Francisco.</a>
You’ll see families streaming off the ferry with rolling coolers, backpacks and tote bags of picnic fare––and if putting together picnic food in advance is not your choice, an excellent café/deli is right near the ferry pier overlooking Ayala Cove. And not only that! Pretty darn good live music is scheduled every weekend. Baby strollers are easily maneuvered around the cove and the café area.
<h2>History Tour of Angel Island</h2>
The easiest way to learn about the history of the island while taking in some fresh air is to hop onto the <a href="http://angelisland.com/tram-tours/">open-air tram</a> for an hour-long narrated tour.
<figure id="attachment_715" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-715" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/tram-tour-header.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-715" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/tram-tour-header.jpg" alt="Angel Island Tram Tour" width="1024" height="350" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/tram-tour-header.jpg 1024w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/tram-tour-header-300x103.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-715" class="wp-caption-text">Narrated Tram Tour in Angel Island State Park</figcaption></figure>
Several complexes of historic buildings remain from World War II, when 5,000 soldiers a day were processed at Fort McDowell before leaving for the Pacific. Also, between 1910 and 1940, hundreds of thousands of Asians were detained here in wooden barracks, some for months, awaiting admission into the United States. Due to the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, the <a href="http://www.angelisland.com/united_states_immigration_station/index.php#USISTours">U.S. Immigration Station</a> here detained immigrants for interrogation, medical exams, and often for no reason other than their national origin (<a href="http://www.aiisf.org/visit">you can also visit the station on a separate guided tour.)</a>
<h2>Riding, Scooting and Paddling Around Angel Island</h2>
<figure id="attachment_716" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-716" style="width: 702px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/segway-3.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-716" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/segway-3-1024x350.jpg" alt="Segway Tour of Angel Island" width="702" height="240" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/segway-3.jpg 1024w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/segway-3-300x103.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-716" class="wp-caption-text">Narrated History Tour by Segway on Angel Island</figcaption></figure>
Besides the tram tour, you can take two other guided tours that include historical and ecological narration: by <a href="http://angelisland.com/segway-tours/">Segway</a> and by <a href="http://seatrek.com/pages/localtrips/tripdetails/angelisladv.htm">sea kayak.</a> (I’ve paddled kayaks around the island, and it’s easier than it may look. You’re never far from the shoreline, and the wildlife is spectacular!)
<aside class="sc-pullquote alignright">
<h3>What Can You See From Angel Island?</h3>
<ul>
<li>Whales from about December through March, migrating between Alaska and Mexico</li>
<li>Herring runs in the wintertime, when thousands of fish jump out of the water and hundreds of seabirds dive for their dinner</li>
<li>Blue Angels Air Show in October</li>
<li>July 4th fireworks over the bay</li>
<li>Watercraft: zillions of sailboats, cruise ships, freighters, kayaks, tugboats and yachts</li>
<li>Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge</li>
<li>Marin Headlands and the San Francisco skyline</li>
</ul>
</aside>
On your own, ride a rental bike or take the short walk from Ayala Cove to Camp Reynolds toexplore a collection of charming Civil War era buildings and wind-protected, nearly always sunny Quarry Beach. Completely around the island, it’s a five-mile hike.
On high season weekends, be sure to <a style="color: #993300;" href="http://www.angelisland.com/getting_to_the_island/index.php">book ahead for the ferry</a> and all of the tours. (No dogs except service dogs allowed.)
<figure id="attachment_717" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-717" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/food-7.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-717" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/food-7-300x200.jpg" alt="Oysters at the Angel Island Cafe" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/food-7-300x200.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/food-7.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-717" class="wp-caption-text">Oysters at the Angel Island Cafe</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Yummy Food on Angel Island</h2>
The menu at the <a href="http://www.angelisland.com/cafe/index.php">café on the island</a> is locally sourced , from raw and BBQ oysters to ceviche, a succulent Cowgirl Creamery cheese board, and tacos made from organic seasonal veggies. The Cantina Burger is a delicious extravaganza of cojita cheese, grilled pickled onions, guacamole and only-on-Angel-Island sauce, with cumin lime slaw, while the “Way Down South” BBQ pulled pork sandwich is loaded with the Snake River Farms pork that was named the best natural pork on TV’s “America’s Test Kitchen”.
Live music and Lagunitas IPA on draft make the café deck a popular hangout on <a href="http://www.angelisland.com/things_to_do/special_events.php">weekend afternoons</a>, June through August.
Picnic tables on the lawns around Ayala Cove are perfect for your own picnic feast.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">What are your favorite outings 
around San Francisco Bay? We’d love to hear about them. </h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Here’s more about San Francisco!</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><a style="color: #993300;" href="https://deepculturetravel.com/adventures-on-the-san-francisco-bay-area-maritime-trail/">Adventures on the San Francisco Bay Area Maritime Trail</a></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://deepculturetravel.com/san-francisco-moma/">San Francisco MOMA Dazzles!</a></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/only-24-hours-in-san-francisco-really/">Only 24 Hours in San Francisco? Really?</a></h3>
The post <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/angel-island-history-tour/">Angel Island History Tour</a> appeared first on <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com">Deep Culture Travel</a>.
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<title>A Warm Winter Weekend in Old Québec City</title>
<link>https://deepculturetravel.com/a-warm-winter-weekend-in-old-quebec-city/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-warm-winter-weekend-in-old-quebec-city</link>
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<dc:creator><![CDATA[Deep Culture Travel]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 31 Oct 2019 10:01:23 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[City Secrets]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Canada]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cuisine]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Museums]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[North America]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[A snowy winter weekend in Québec that I’m hoping will inspire you to plan a winter holiday in Canada’s second oldest city—founded in 1608, and still a charmer after all these years! (An easy way to get there is to fly into Montreal and take the train—a very comfortable and scenic 3-hour ride.) Heading for [...]
The post <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/a-warm-winter-weekend-in-old-quebec-city/">A Warm Winter Weekend in Old Québec City</a> appeared first on <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com">Deep Culture Travel</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[A snowy winter weekend in Québec that I’m hoping will inspire you to plan a winter holiday in Canada’s second oldest city—founded in 1608, and still a charmer after all these years! (An easy way to get there is to fly into Montreal and take the train—a very comfortable and scenic 3-hour ride.)
Heading for a Christmas shopping trip in <a style="color: #993300;" href="http://www.quebecregion.com/en/">Québec City</a>, my daughter and I gazed out of the train windows at the winter-gray St. Lawrence River sliding past, while a steady snowfall turned the dense woods and a procession of little villages into winter-white postcards. Three hours later, drowsy from the drone of the wheels, we disembarked and pulled our luggage through the station, the chateau-like Gare du Palais, and climbed into a taxi, setting off into a snowstorm.
Shivering in our California clothes, we peered out at the port area—le Vieux Porte—to see immense blocks of ice floating in the river. Our driver steered carefully through an archway in a massive stone wall, entering a maze of narrow, steep, icy cobblestone streets, and we wondered how, in the deep freeze of winter, we would find the fabled warm heart of this old French-Canadian city.
On this late afternoon, Québécois in fur-trimmed boots and with thick hats pulled over their ears tottered along the sidewalks, in and out of little shops through doorways framed in snow-frosted evergreen branches. We could see a couple in the glowing window of a café, leaning towards each other over steaming cups. Dodging some kids careening down the street on a sled, our taxi pulled up at the <a style="color: #993300;" href="http://www.fairmont.com/frontenac-quebec/">Fairmont Le Château Frontenac,</a> built in 1893, an architectural icon defining the city skyline.
<figure id="attachment_1321" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1321" style="width: 1314px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Frontenac_2.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-1321" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Frontenac_2.jpg" alt="Fairmont Chateau Le Frontenac" width="1314" height="1703" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Frontenac_2.jpg 1314w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Frontenac_2-231x300.jpg 231w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Frontenac_2-790x1024.jpg 790w" sizes="(max-width: 1314px) 100vw, 1314px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1321" class="wp-caption-text">The architectural icon of Quebec City, the Fairmont Chateau Le Frontenac</figcaption></figure>
<aside class="sc-pullquote alignright">Don’t Miss These Winter Events in Quebec City
Christmas Market at Le Grand Marché: 1,000+ local products in a glowing setting at the Christmas Market. Nov 21-Dec 31. 

German Christmas Market: twinkling lights, wooden kiosks, scents of cinnamon, gingerbread, and spicy sausages. The <a style="color: #008000; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/what-to-do/events/german-christmas-market/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">German Christmas Market</a> recreates the warm atmosphere of European Christmas markets. Nov 22-Dec 23.
Christmas in Petit-Champlain: Thousands of lights and decorations, choirs and carolers—at <a style="color: #008000; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/what-to-do/events/christmas-at-the-quartier-petit-champlain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Petit-Champlain</a>. Nov 25- Dec 24.
New Year’s Eve in Québec City: on le Grande Allée the <a style="color: #008000;" href="https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/what-to-do/events/new-year-s-eve-in-quebec-city/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">New Year is celebrated</a> with a Ferris wheel, a zip-line, heated outdoor patios, and December 31st big show. Dec 28 – 31.</aside>In the fading light, we looked up at the soaring, green copper rooftops topped by flags snapping in the wind. Lit up like a giant’s Christmas tree, the twelve-story tower, topped by snow-frosted dormers, fancy cornices and chimneys, glittered in the whirling blizzard as if in a snow globe.
Taking the advice of the bellman, we watched our luggage disappear into the elevator and hopped back into the same taxi, asking to be taken to <a href="http://www.lecafedumonde.com">Le Café Du Monde</a>, a Parisian-style bistro overlooking the river. It’s amazing, isn’t it, how cozy you feel with a glass of Armagnac, hot water and lemon in your hands, and a garlicky bowl of moules mariniere avec frites on the table?
Thirty-something and fluent in French, and with the savvy gained from having spent time in Paris with a French boyfriend, Jessica read the menu: confit de canard (duck confit), poulet Rôtisseur (rotisserie-roasted chicken), bouillabaisse, crème brûlée. Through the window we watched an icebreaker ship move between the slabs of ice on the St. Lawrence River.
<h2>Best Laid Plans</h2>
Laying out our city map, we made plans to see the historic sights and do our Christmas shopping, snowstorm or no snowstorm. We marked the location of our hotel, the monumental Frontenac, on a high bluff called Cap Diamant at the top of <a href="http://bit.ly/1F8dPUU">Vieux-Québec</a>, the “old town”. Rimming the upper cliffs is a seven-foot-thick wall bristling with cannons. Below lies the river and le <a href="http://www.quartierpetitchamplain.com/en/">Quartier Petit-Champlain (Lower Town)</a>, reached by the Escalier Casse-Cou (Breakneck Stairs) and thank goodness, also by a glass-enclosed funicular. Once a rough-and-tumble district of warehouses and wharfs, the narrow alleyways of the lower town are now chock-a-block with restaurants, cafes, shops and small inns.
<figure id="attachment_1319" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1319" style="width: 683px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/QuebecStreetKM.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-1319" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/QuebecStreetKM-683x1024.jpg" alt="Shopping the Snowy Streets of Old Quebec City" width="683" height="1024" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/QuebecStreetKM-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/QuebecStreetKM-200x300.jpg 200w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/QuebecStreetKM.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1319" class="wp-caption-text">Shopping the Snowy Streets of Old Quebec City, photo by Karen Misuraca</figcaption></figure>
Also in the old town, <a href="https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/old-quebec/petit-champlain-and-place-royale/">La Place Royale</a> is the oldest shopping district on the continent, where boutiques, artisans’ ateliers and galleries, and restaurants are housed in 17th and 18th century stone buildings with huge chimneys and battalions of dormer windows. Dominating the Place-Royale is the steepled <a href="http://bit.ly/1VqvzlT">Notre-Dame-des-Victoires Church</a>, the oldest stone church in North America, built in 1688.
A lively fur trading port in the 16th century, Québec was an outpost of France and much envied by the English. Vying for control of the colony, the English besieged the city, scaling high cliffs in a surprise attack in 1759. The invaders won, laying the foundation for today’s Canada. Nonetheless, having settled here in the 1600s, the French remained, never giving up their dream of New France nor the French spirit of their city, the queen of La Belle Province. Today, 95% of the residents are French-speaking, and they have carefully preserved 300 years of fanciful, French-influenced architecture, stone fortifications and quaint meandering neighborhoods. This is the only walled city in North America, and so authentic that UNESCO has designated it a World Heritage Site.
<h2>Christmas Shopping in Quebec 
</h2>
<figure id="attachment_1317" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1317" style="width: 900px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/PeopleStreetQuebecKM-e1572627455461.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-1317" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/PeopleStreetQuebecKM-e1572627455461.jpg" alt="Families in Quebec City" width="900" height="1350" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1317" class="wp-caption-text">Families on Christmas strolls through Old Quebec City, photo by Karen Misuraca</figcaption></figure>
Pulling on hats and gloves, boots and mufflers on our first morning, we descended the Breakneck Stairs into the ancient heart of the city, le Petit-Champlain, which from our vantage point looked like one of the illuminated, snow-frosted villages you see under Christmas trees. To our delight, we found the pedestrian-only streets lined with decorated shops and inhabited by a lively gang of characters. We watched and listened to strolling, costumed carolers, a mischievous squad of mimes, twirling life-sized music boxes, and some rather rowdy angels on stilts. Accompanying Père Noel (Santa Claus), several elves pranced around, kidnapping little kids and taking them to forest glades sparkling with lights, while parents trailed along, taking photos.
Fortified by hot chocolate and croissants, we plunged into the shops and galleries, buying bijoux and bagatelles—sleek, Inuit-carved stone animals, luminescent blown glass vases, and beribboned boxes of maple sugar candy.
<figure id="attachment_1328" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1328" style="width: 689px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/XmasMarket.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-1328" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/XmasMarket.jpg" alt="Le Grand Marche" width="689" height="520" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/XmasMarket.jpg 689w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/XmasMarket-300x226.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 689px) 100vw, 689px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1328" class="wp-caption-text">A sparkling Christmas market, Le Grand Marche in old Quebec City</figcaption></figure>
All over town we heard about <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.legrandmarchedequebec.com">Le Grand Marche</a>, the annual Christmas market, so after a bowl of potage at <a href="https://www.lecafesaintmalo.com/?lang=en">Café Le Saint-Malo</a>, we trundled off in a snow flurry to Quai Saint-André in the Vieux Porte district, near the train station, and what a magical market it was. Under a canopy of little white lights, a line-up of booths was manned by farmers and artisans from the surrounding region—cheese makers, confectioners, patissiers, cider brewers, chocolatiers and other vendors selling their wares and offering samples—slices of cranberry pie, homemade confit, wild berry preserves and a dozens of types of maple products, from fudge to jugs of syrup, taffy, butters, tinned cookies and even maple liquers. Our arms were soon full of jars of honey and creamy goat-milk soap. We bought a wooden ship for a little boy we know, a thatched birdhouse, and some hand-loomed shawls and scarves. By the time we tasted pear brandy, ice wine, hard cider, and spicy spruce and birch beer, even I spoke a flowing, if not fluent, French.
<h3>Venturing Out</h3>
<figure id="attachment_1329" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1329" style="width: 200px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/LadyRedQuebecKM-e1572627662577.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1329" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/LadyRedQuebecKM-200x300.jpg" alt="Christmas shopping in Quebec" width="200" height="300" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1329" class="wp-caption-text">A lady in red on a Christmas shopping spree in Old Quebec City, photo by Karen Misuraca</figcaption></figure>
Another day, in the upper town, we went to <a href="http://www.boutiquedenoel.ca/en/">La Boutique de Noël</a>, said to be the largest Christmas store in North America, where we browsed thousands of elaborate decorations, from imported glass snowflakes to the famous Radko-designed, Victorian-look ornaments, and Cirque du Soleil-inspired sunbursts and circus figures. Within the store is a permanent miniature village depicting Québec City of centuries past, comprised of nearly 300 porcelain buildings and over a thousand tiny figures.
At the <a style="color: #993300;" href="http://bit.ly/1iOSZ2s">Museum of French America</a> we watched as costumed docents reenacted the history of the province, then we stopped to watch skaters on the outdoor ice rink on Place d’Youville at Porte St. Jean, one of the openings in the old granite and limestone walls. Stopping at a street kiosk, we managed to down a couple of hot brandy-laced toddies before taking a taxi tour of the grand, Louis XIV-style complex of Parliament buildings and a parade of boutique shops shimmering brightly along La Grand Allee and Rue Saint Jean.
<h2>Adieu Québec</h2>
<aside class="sc-pullquote alignright"><h2>Winter Fun after the Holidays</h2>
The Aquarium du Québec Sparkles: Illuminated by 500,000 LED lights, <a style="color: #008000;" href="https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/what-to-do/events/festilumieres/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the outdoor pathways at the Québec City Aquarium</a> are dazzling. For the whole family, Dec 26-Jan 5 and Jan 11-Feb 29. 

The Ice Hotel: The <a style="color: #008000; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/businesses/attractions/ice-hotel/hotel-de-glace/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grandiose Ice Hotel</a> is the only one of its kind in North America, entirely built of ice, and is designed around a new theme every year. Starts January 2.
Ice Fishing in the Heart of the City: <a style="color: #008000;" href="https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/businesses/outdoor-activities/winter/ice-fishing/village-nordik-du-port-de-quebec/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Village Nordik at the Port of Québec</a> is the only place in the city center where you can go ice fishing in an inflatable igloo! Starts end of January.</aside>On our last night, Jessica dined with newfound friends and stayed out late listening to live jazz at Bar Ste-Angele, a cozy pub in the Old City.
I bundled up and walked out of the hotel onto the Dufferin Terrace above the river and the lower town. Clear at last, the sky dazzled with stars while a full moon lit up the snowy rooftops and the gleaming, ice-filled river. Like mirages in the moonlight, a row of massive black cannons flanked a frosty statue of Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer who founded the original settlement here in 1608.
I retreated inside to <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.fairmont.com/frontenac-quebec/dining/1608-bar/">1608 Bar</a>, a drinking (and cheese-tasting) establishment where Winston Churchill, they say, once tippled. The bartender convinced me to try a “caribou”, a traditional wintertime concoction of whiskey, red wine and maple syrup. He claimed that the early Huron Indians in these parts drank blood from their caribou kills, and the first settlers added wine to the blood to make the fortifying drink more palatable.
My caribou (just one, to avoid “mal de bloc”—a terrible headache) was indeed palatable, and warming, helping to assuage my tristesse about the end of our winter getaway.
<blockquote>
<h3>Guided Tours of Quebec City</h3>
<a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/QuebecBus.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1325" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/QuebecBus-300x181.jpg" alt="Les Tours du Vieux Quebec" width="300" height="181" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/QuebecBus-300x181.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/QuebecBus.jpg 816w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><a href="http://www.cicerone.ca/en/">Cicerone Walking Tours: </a>With charming and knowledgeable costumed guides, 2-3 hour history tours daily June-October, and “Christmas Magic” tours on December weekends.
<a href="https://toursvieuxquebec.com/en/home">Les Tours du Vieux Quebec</a>: narrated tours in open-air double-decker buses and enclosed buses.</blockquote>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><a style="color: #993300;" href="http://bit.ly/1OJW01u">Click here for more about the history and heritage </a><a style="color: #993300;" href="http://bit.ly/1OJW01u">of Quebec City.</a></h2>
We’d love to hear about your experience in Quebec City or your wintertime adventures, 
especially any tours that you recommend. <a style="color: #993300;" href="https://deepculturetravel.com/contact/">Contact us here!</a>
 
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<title>California North Coast Storm Watch</title>
<link>https://deepculturetravel.com/california-north-coast-lodging/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=california-north-coast-lodging</link>
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<dc:creator><![CDATA[Deep Culture Travel]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 30 Oct 2019 20:59:50 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Active Journeys]]></category>
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<category><![CDATA[California]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[California North Coast Lodging]]></category>
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<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[North America]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[From Jenner north to Fort Bragg, the wintertime drama along the California North Coast can make for romantic weekends to remember. November through March, low-pressure systems roll in off the Pacific, one after another, and the tumultuous surf is thrilling to watch. Because this is California, it’s also common for blue skies to break through between tempests, [...]
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<content:encoded><![CDATA[From Jenner north to Fort Bragg, the wintertime drama along the <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.visitmendocino.com">California North Coast </a>can make for romantic weekends to remember. November through March, low-pressure systems roll in off the Pacific, one after another, and the tumultuous surf is thrilling to watch. Because this is California, it’s also common for blue skies to break through between tempests, and that is a magical time, when the sun glints on dripping evergreen branches and the beaches are treasure chests of driftwood, shells, and discoveries washed up by the pounding waves.
Some travelers toast their tootsies and sip hot toddies by roaring fireplaces in snug bed-and-breakfast inns, while stalwart souls trod the windy beaches, breathing in the invigorating ozone from the raucous breakers.
<h2>Timber Cove</h2>
All along the North Coast, clifftops and easy-access parking areas afford vistas of the smashing surf, and many restaurants and bars have ocean views. A good way to start a coastal jaunt up Highway 1 is with breakfast at Coast Kitchen at <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.timbercoveresort.com">Timber Cove Resort</a>, a newly refurbished hotel and restaurant in a towering circa-1960, Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired, redwood and stone building. From the restaurant, the outdoor fire pit and from nearly every one of the forty-six guestrooms, you can see miles down the craggy coastline––sunsets are legendary. Guests watch the waves from their soaking tubs and their fireplaces, while listening to vintage LPs on in-room record players (really). Libations are taken by a massive stone fireplace in the soaring lobby, and when there’s a break in the weather, you’ll see people heading for the deck on the east side of the hotel, where the half-mile-across cove turns into a vast, foamy, photogenic expanse of stormy surf.
Up the road, the shelter at the blufftop visitor’s center at <a style="color: #993300;" href="http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=453">Salt Point State Park </a>is another good spot from which to watch walls of churning waves; walking trails from here connect to the four roiling coves below.
<h2>Point Arena Pier</h2>
<figure id="attachment_1674" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1674" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ChowderHousePtArena.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1674" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ChowderHousePtArena-300x225.jpg" alt="Pier Chowder House Pt. Arena" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ChowderHousePtArena-300x225.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ChowderHousePtArena-768x576.jpg 768w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ChowderHousePtArena-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ChowderHousePtArena.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1674" class="wp-caption-text">The Pier Chowder House & Tap Room at Point Arena fishing pier. Photo by Karen Misuraca</figcaption></figure>
One of the most exciting places to be during a storm is on the 322-foot-long, wheelchair-accessible pier at Point Arena. Rising in force a quarter mile out, waves rush onto the little black-pebble beach and blast up over the boulders shielding the parking lot. Fisherman huddle at the end of the pier, tossing their long lines out for rockfish and lingcod. When it’s too rough to fish, they retreat to old-fashioned bar in the <a href="http://www.thepierchowderhouse.net/">Pier Chowder House and Tap Room</a> at the end of the pier, along with tourists and locals, for steaming bowls of clams and mugs of Eel River Brewing Company’s IPA. The restaurant is lined with windows and with photos of storms past when trawlers went aground, and when the pier was smashed to pieces in 1983.
<h2>Point Arena Lighthouse</h2>
Even in the worst weather, you can park at the foot of the 115-foot-tall <a style="color: #993300;" href="http://www.pointarenalighthouse.com">Point Arena Lighthouse Station</a>, the tallest lighthouse on the West Coast, and climb the tower on a tour to see a 360-degree view of raging seas. A separate gift shop has a wonderful museum of shipping artifacts and photos of early days of sailing and logging, and a spectacular 666-prism Fresnel lens. Families love the handful of rental homes here, each complete with wood-burning fireplaces, three bedrooms and full kitchens.
<h2>Elk Cove</h2>
<figure id="attachment_1676" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1676" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ElkCoveBB.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1676" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ElkCoveBB-300x225.jpg" alt="Elk Cove Inn" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ElkCoveBB-300x225.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ElkCoveBB-768x576.jpg 768w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ElkCoveBB-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ElkCoveBB.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1676" class="wp-caption-text">Catbird’s seats with ocean view at the Elk Cove Inn. Photo by Karen Misuraca</figcaption></figure>
At the village of Elk Cove, once a rip-roaring loggers’ town, <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=447">Greenwood Creek State Beach</a> is a favorite driftwood-hunters destination. Herons stalk around in the reedy stream that runs into the sea, whales cruise along right offshore, and above it all, the <a href="http://www.elkcoveinn.com">Elk Cove Inn</a> claims the hillside with Craftsman-era, oceanfront lodges. Lounge chairs and a wood stove warm guests in the Bavarian Cottage, where windows frame the stream, the beach, the monumental Gunderson Rock surrounded by stormy seas. Loathe to leave their fireplaces and poufy down comforters, guests from the sixteen rooms and suites wander down for champagne breakfasts in the glass-enclosed dining room. Three nights a week, “Chez Marie” also offers French-style dinners here, which comes in handy, as only one other eatery is found in town––Bridget Dolan’s Pub.
<figure id="attachment_1677" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1677" style="width: 702px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/GreenwdBeach.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-1677" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/GreenwdBeach-1024x768.jpg" alt="Greenwood State Beach" width="702" height="527" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/GreenwdBeach-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/GreenwdBeach-300x225.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/GreenwdBeach-768x576.jpg 768w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/GreenwdBeach.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1677" class="wp-caption-text">View of Greenwood State Beach from the Elk Cove Inn. Photo by Karen Misuraca</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Albion</h2>
Below the Albion River Bridge—the only wooden bridge still standing on Highway 1—is the once thriving loggers’ “doghole” that bustled in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At low tide, you can see remnants of the 1,200-foot-long rails that carried old-growth redwood logs to waiting schooners. Impressive from sea level, the bridge is 1,000 feet long and 170 feet high, constructed Douglas fir in 1944. Protected by high, surrounding cliffs, a large campground and a narrow beach are nice spots from which to watch the explosive breakers
<h2>Little River</h2>
There’s no place better to hunker down and ride out the storms than at Little River Inn, where most rooms sport ocean views and fireplaces. When rain beats against the windows, there’s no need to leave the inn with its on-site fine dining, and water views from Ole’s Whale Watch bar, where locals gather to swap yarns.
<aside class="sc-pullquote alignright">
<h2>Where to Stay</h2>
<a href="http://www.timbercoveresort.com">Timber Cove Resort</a>: 21780 Highway 1, Jenner, (707) 847-3231.
<a href="http://www.elkcoveinn.com">Elk Cove Inn & Spa</a>: 6300 South Highway 1, Elk, (800) 275-2967.
<a href="http://www.searanchlodge.com">Sea Ranch Lodge</a>: 60 Sea Walk Drive, Sea Ranch, (707) 785-2371.
<a style="color: #993300;" href="http://www.searockinn.com">Sea Rock Inn</a>: 11101 Lansing Street, Mendocino, (800) 906-0926.
<a href="http://www.theinnatnewportranch.com">Inn at Newport Ranch</a>: 31502 North Highway 1, Fort Bragg, (707) 962-4818.
<h2>Where to Eat</h2>
<a href="http://www.coastkitchensonoma.com">Coast Kitchen at Timber Cove Resort</a>: 21780 Highway 1, Jenner, (800) 987-8319.
<a href="http://www.littleriverinn.com">Little River Inn</a>: 7901 North Highway 1, Little River, (707) 937-5942.
<a href="http://www.mendocinoflow.com">Flow:</a> 45040 Main Street, Mendocino, (707) 937-3569.
<a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.wharf-restaurant.com">Silver’s at the Wharf</a>: 32260 North Harbor Drive, Noyo Harbor, Fort Bragg. 707-964-4283
</aside>
<h2>Mendocino</h2>
When icy seas boil at the foot of the headlands in the Victorian town of Mendocino, a window table in the bar of the Mendocino Hotel is a cozy spot for overlooking the foaming waves as they funnel into the Big River and crash against the craggy, forested bluff on the far side. In the bar, a low fire crackles in the 100-year-old, cast iron Dutch fireplace, a curious design combination of Romanesque and Art Nouveau.
Intrepid storm-seekers head for the trails along the headlands (trail maps from the <a href="http://www.mendoparks.org/visitor-centers">Mendocino Visitors’ Center</a> in the yellow house), and there are seaview parking areas on the west side of town. Those in the know stop at the cypress grove, where they can walk among the dark, windblown trees to a perch right over a pounding cove; this is a popular location for small weddings.
If the weather’s just too crazy in Mendocino, you can still wave-watch right from Main Street, while relaxing on window seats at Gallery Bookshop, or peering through a line-up of telescopes aimed out to sea from the Out of This World science store. At the top of an old water tower, Flow restaurant has a birds-eye-view deck and glassed-in dining room that looks right across the headlands to the wide Pacific horizon.
<h2>Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens</h2>
<figure id="attachment_1678" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1678" style="width: 225px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/MendoBotGarden.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1678" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/MendoBotGarden-225x300.jpg" alt="Mendocino Botanical Garden" width="225" height="300" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/MendoBotGarden-225x300.jpg 225w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/MendoBotGarden-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/MendoBotGarden.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1678" class="wp-caption-text">View of the smashing surf at the Mendocino Botanical Garden. Photo by Karen Misuraca</figcaption></figure>
On the south end of Fort Bragg, don your Sou’wester and rain boots for a walk through the <a href="https://www.gardenbythesea.org">Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens</a>, the only oceanfront botanical garden in the country. On these forty-seven acres is an enchanted kingdom of magnificent trees and blooming gardens, where on rainy days, visitors head along the trail to the Cliff House, a sheltered cottage on a hillside above waves thundering against jagged pinnacles and across the cove beyond—part of the California Coastal National Monument. Keep your eyes peeled for sea lions as they “haul out” onto the rocks, and for whirls of murres, pelicans, cormorants, and gulls.
<h2>Newport Ranch</h2>
<figure id="attachment_1670" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1670" style="width: 702px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/NewportRanch.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-1670" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/NewportRanch-1024x483.jpg" alt="Inn at Newport Ranch" width="702" height="331" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/NewportRanch-1024x483.jpg 1024w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/NewportRanch-300x142.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/NewportRanch-768x362.jpg 768w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/NewportRanch.jpg 1960w" sizes="(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1670" class="wp-caption-text">The Captain’s Quarters at the Inn at Newport Ranch, just north of Fort Bragg.</figcaption></figure>
When the sun begins to sink into the horizon, tuckered travelers arrive at the Inn at Newport Ranch, a Shangri-la on 2,500 acres of forest, meadow and oceanfront just north of <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://visitfortbraggca.com/">Fort Bragg</a>. In the main lodge, a snapping fire in the massive boulder-framed fireplace is the place to enjoy happy hour wine and savories, and sunsets over the sea, before retiring to nautical-inspired guestrooms above. Several more rooms and suites, and the spa, are in the adjacent Redwood House, where a unique indoor forest of redwood trunks is startling, to say the least.
A rooftop hot tub, fireplaces, Jacuzzi tubs, and Craftsman-style antique wood elements create coziness and comfort throughout the seven-room inn and the spa, which has it’s own hideaway lounge.
From the narrow, clifftop point in front of the inn, in the 1800s, redwood logs were lowered to masted schooners that sailed to and from the rising city of San Francisco. Today, wedding parties parade out to what is now known as “Celebration Point” for ceremonies in sight of thirty miles of rugged coastline.
<h2>MacKerricher State Park</h2>
If your travel budget doesn’t stretch to a bed and breakfast inn in Fort Bragg, beautiful, secluded RV campgrounds await at nearby <a style="color: #993300;" href="https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=436">MacKerricher State Park</a>, a former Native American reservation and logging camp. A wheelchair and stroller-accessible boardwalk leads to Laguna Point, where the marine scene is miles of surf-fringed Humboldt County coastline.
Whether in a cozy cottage, a friendly pub or a campground, far from the slings and arrows of everyday life, winter storm watchers contemplate the tempestuous moods of an ocean that seems to stretch to the ends of the earth.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Where is YOUR favorite storm watching perch along the California North Coast? </h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://deepculturetravel.com/californias-central-coast-ragged-point-to-morro-bay/">Click here</a> for more on the California Coast: 
“California’s Central Coast Ragged Point to Morro Bay“</h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><a style="color: #000080;" href="https://deepculturetravel.com/san-diego-culture-history-california-beach-town/">Click Here</a> for “San Diego: Culture and History 
in a California Beach Town”</h2>
The post <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/california-north-coast-lodging/">California North Coast Storm Watch</a> appeared first on <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com">Deep Culture Travel</a>.
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<title>Magical Yosemite in Winter</title>
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<pubDate>Tue, 29 Oct 2019 18:41:29 +0000</pubDate>
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<description><![CDATA[Exploring Yosemite in Winter Wandering the crystalline kingdom that is Yosemite National Park in the deep winter, I came across historical sites, wildlife, and cozy spots to warm my toes and sip a toddy while watching the silent snowfall. Shallow snow crunched under my boots as I walked the path along the Merced River, a [...]
The post <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/magical-yosemite-winter/">Magical Yosemite in Winter</a> appeared first on <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com">Deep Culture Travel</a>.
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<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Exploring Yosemite in Winter</h2>
Wandering the crystalline kingdom that is <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.travelyosemite.com/">Yosemite National Park</a> in the deep winter, I came across historical sites, wildlife, and cozy spots to warm my toes and sip a toddy while watching the silent snowfall. Shallow snow crunched under my boots as I walked the path along the Merced River, a few hundred yards from <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.travelyosemite.com/lodging/yosemite-valley-lodge/">Yosemite Valley Lodge</a>. I was alone amid ice-glazed cottonwoods and tall, frosted grasses reflected in the dark mirror of the river. Although a rushing torrent filled with snowmelt in the spring, in mid-winter, the river barely sighs as it moves between softly mounded snow banks. While exploring Yosemite in winter, the only sounds were my steps and the occasional plate of ice tweaking off the riverbank and floating away.
Rounding a bend into a frozen meadow, I gulped and my eyes filled with tears, as they always do, at the sight of El Capitan—the Snow King—the immense wall of silver-gray granite looming like a skyscraper into the dazzling-blue sky. Topping out at 3,500 feet, four times as large as the Rock of Gibraltar, El Cap is said to be the largest single block of exposed granite in the world. An unforgettable sight glistening in the winter sun, El Cap is a relic of an Ice Age, two or three million years ago, when glaciers ripped through this valley leaving the famous monoliths, domes and peaks—Half Dome, Cathedral Spires, Royal Arches and many more—that we see today.
Fumbling with my camera, I looked up to see a coyote standing on the stone bridge, about fifty feet away. We locked eyes, I held my breath. He was warm in his thick, pale-golden fur coat, and supremely confident, while I shivered in my (fake) fur-collared parka. With a twitch of his ears, he tiptoed away like a ghost into a snowy meadow.
Coyotes, mule deer, raccoons, the occasional black bear and other wildlife are easily sighted at this time of year when the deciduous trees and shrubs are bare and few people are driving, biking and walking around. At 4,000 feet in elevation, the valley receives less than thirty inches of snow through the season––just enough to lightly decorate the landscape. This is my favorite time of year to be here, for when the snow flies, the number of visitors drops dramatically and I feel as though I have the place to myself. The average daytime temperature is in the low 50s and skies are often sparkling and sunny, perfect for walks, and when the snow sticks, for snowshoeing. Many visitors stay warm by hopping on and off the free shuttle buses that cruise the valley floor.
<figure id="attachment_1758" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1758" style="width: 702px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/YosemiteRangerWinter.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-1758" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/YosemiteRangerWinter-1024x241.jpg" alt="Ranger in Yosemite" width="702" height="165" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/YosemiteRangerWinter-1024x241.jpg 1024w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/YosemiteRangerWinter-300x71.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/YosemiteRangerWinter.jpg 1490w" sizes="(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1758" class="wp-caption-text">A winter walk with a ranger in Yosemite National Park. Photo TravelYosemite.com</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Winter Fun in Yosemite National Park</h2>
When storms clear and mists wreathe the peaks and spires, it’s an exciting time to tour and photograph the valley. Starting from the <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://anseladams.com/">Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite Village</a> are free, two-hour guided photography walks that showcase the snow-dressed pines and icy waterfalls, lacy aspens, and the magical reflections in the Merced River.
After a few days of dry weather, the first half-mile or so of the lower <a style="color: #993300;" href="https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/yosemitefallstrail.htm">Yosemite Falls trail</a> makes for a great winter hike. An easy paved and boardwalk trail also meanders through a woodland at the base of the falls. The most visited site in the park, the entire viewing area at the base of Yosemite Falls has been transformed in recent years, with habitat restored, and new footpaths and handicapped-accessible nature trails laid out. Massive wooden benches, stone walls and boulder alcoves create a tranquil resting place from which to enjoy the thrilling rush of the tallest waterfall in North America. In the wintertime, the double avalanche of water dropping 2,425 feet is much diminished, while still magnificent. Ice cones as large as 300 feet high form on the ledge between the two cataracts, and when the sun warms at midday, the ice often cracks, thundering across the valley as it bursts.
With icicle-clad Half Dome looking on from above, ice-skating is fun to try or to watch at the <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.travelyosemite.com/winter/curry-village-ice-skating-rink/">outdoor skating rink in Curry Village</a>. Sidle into the warming hut, hang out at the fire pit, have a hot drink and a snack, or rent skates and waltz around the ice!
Stay Warm Indoors
Winter is the coziest time of year in the park. My husband, Michael, and I love to sip hot buttered rums while toasting our toes at the round fireplace in the <a style="color: #993300;" href="https://www.travelyosemite.com/lodging/yosemite-valley-lodge/">Mountain Room Lounge at Yosemite Valley Lodge</a>, with Yosemite Falls a whisper of its summer self visible beyond the tall windows. Kids crowd around the wonderful Swedish-style fireplace, here, to roast marshmallows and make s’mores.
In <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.travelyosemite.com/lodging/curry-village/">Curry Village</a>, an encampment of wooden cabins and tent cabins open weekends and holidays in the winter, campers gather in rocking chairs by the fireplace in the nostalgic old lounge building, where vintage photos and artifacts call for a stroll around the room. Under the incense cedars, Kellogg oaks and Jeffrey pines in the eastern end of the valley at the foot of Glacier Point, the original Curry Village was established in 1899, and is the camp that many people remember from their childhoods.
<figure id="attachment_1754" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1754" style="width: 750px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/MajesticGreatRoomYoseConserv.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-1754" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/MajesticGreatRoomYoseConserv.jpg" alt="Majestic Yosemite Hotel" width="750" height="500" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/MajesticGreatRoomYoseConserv.jpg 750w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/MajesticGreatRoomYoseConserv-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1754" class="wp-caption-text">The Great Lounge of the Majestic Yosemite Hotel. Photo Yosemite Conservancy</figcaption></figure>
The glow of stained glass warms contented guests in the Great Lounge of the <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.travelyosemite.com/lodging/the-ahwahnee/">Ahwahnee Hotel</a> as they gaze from their armchairs at the blazing logs in the giant-sized, stone fireplace. A masterpiece of Art Deco and California Craftsman architecture, the monumental Ahwahnee opened in 1927. Priceless Native American baskets and artifacts, historic photos and Persian and American Indian rugs create a museum-like atmosphere. With a three-story-high ceiling and baronial chandeliers, the 130-foot-long dining room is world-famous for its impressive size, massive sugar pine log beam structure, and stunning views of the landscape through the floor-to-ceiling windows. (If you’ve been in the Great Lounge before and loved the large, original photos of cowboys and Native Americans, you will find them now in Half Dome Village in the “lounge,” my favorite hideaway, which is a charming, original log building with antique furnishings and beautiful vintage lamps and photos of early days, and big rocking chairs on the porch where you can people-watch and rest from your wanderings.)
<h2>Southern Charm at Wawona 
</h2>
On the south side of the park, the charming, Victorian-era <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.travelyosemite.com/lodging/wawona-hotel/">Wawona Hotel </a>rides the edge of Wawona Meadow like a glistening white ocean liner. This is the oldest resort hotel in the state, founded in 1856, and now a National Historic Landmark. Resident musician, Tom Bopp, plays the 1906 grand piano and tells winter’s tales of Yosemite’s past. Ask for the printed, self-guided tour of the vintage photos in the lobby, which show the days when guests arrived on horseback and in stagecoaches and huge sequoias were cut with handsaws. (The lodge is usually open March through November, and December 14 until New Years; check on the exact dates.)<aside class="sc-pullquote alignright">
<h4>Ski, Snowboard, Snowshoe, X-Country, or go Tubing in Yosemite 
</h4>
<figure id="attachment_1755" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1755" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/YosemiteSkiConservancy.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1755" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/YosemiteSkiConservancy-300x200.jpg" alt="Nordic skiing Yosemite" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/YosemiteSkiConservancy-300x200.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/YosemiteSkiConservancy.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1755" class="wp-caption-text">Nordic skiing in a silent snowscape in Yosemite National Park. Photo Yosemite Conservancy</figcaption></figure>
The oldest ski resort in the state, <a style="color: #339966;" href="https://www.travelyosemite.com/winter/badger-pass-ski-area/">Badger Pass</a> opened in 1935 and is still one of the best ski mountains in the country for adult beginners and intermediates, and especially for kids learning to ski. Six lifts take skiers to the 8,000-foot summit, which receives about 180 inches of snowfall annually, for downhill skiing and snowboarding. Winter fun also includes snowshoeing, Nordic skiing and sliding on the tubing hills.
Within the park are 350 miles of cross-country ski trails and roads, with over 90 miles of marked trails and 25K of machine-groomed and skating lanes. You can also take a guided or self-guided for an overnight at the ski hut, including meals.</aside>
The Wawona Hotel is the closest to Badger Pass, and you can bring your own x-c skis to explore around the area, which is mostly flat, through the forest. Check in advance when making reservations at the Wawona, as it’s often open only on weekends in the wintertime.
<h2>Come to Yosemite in the Wintertime!</h2>
<figure id="attachment_1759" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1759" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/YosemiteWInterConservancy.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1759" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/YosemiteWInterConservancy-300x225.jpg" alt="Winter in Yosemite" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/YosemiteWInterConservancy-300x225.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/YosemiteWInterConservancy.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1759" class="wp-caption-text">Yosemite National Park in the wintertime. Photo Yosemite Conservancy</figcaption></figure>
Yosemite National Park is open all year round; the lowest elevation, driest highway into the park is Highway 140 from Merced to the Arch Rock entrance. Always check in advance to be sure that <a href="https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/conditions.htm">roads and highways</a> are open, even in the summer.
Fewer visitors arrive to experience wondrous winter world of Yosemite, making it all the more enchanting for those of us who do. Whether dozing by a blazing log fire, walking in a forest sprinkled with snowflakes, or meeting up with a furry coyote, the magic of Yosemite will warm your heart.
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/yosemite-history-and-tours-part-1/">Yosemite History and Tours</a></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/springtime-in-yosemite-national-park-wildflowers-and-waterfalls/">Springtime in Yosemite National Park: Wildflowers and Waterfalls!</a></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/a-warm-winter-weekend-in-old-quebec-city/">Here’s a cozy, snowy weekend in Old Quebec City </a></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://deepculturetravel.com/warm-winter-snowy-lake-tahoe/">Winters by the fireside at Lake Tahoe!</a></h2>
The post <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/magical-yosemite-winter/">Magical Yosemite in Winter</a> appeared first on <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com">Deep Culture Travel</a>.
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<title>A Warm Winter at Snowy Lake Tahoe</title>
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<dc:creator><![CDATA[Deep Culture Travel]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 27 Oct 2019 18:47:46 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Active Journeys]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[When the weather outside is frightful at Lake Tahoe, skiers and snow bunnies head for the fireplaces and the fire pits, the hot springs and all those other tootsie-toasting spots around the lake. Even if you can’t imagine plunging down an icy slope in the freezing cold, don’t hesitate to plan a winter weekend at [...]
The post <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/warm-winter-snowy-lake-tahoe/">A Warm Winter at Snowy Lake Tahoe</a> appeared first on <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com">Deep Culture Travel</a>.
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<content:encoded><![CDATA[When the weather outside is frightful at <a style="color: #993300;" href="http://www.visitinglaketahoe.com/">Lake Tahoe</a>, skiers and snow bunnies head for the fireplaces and the fire pits, the hot springs and all those other tootsie-toasting spots around the lake. Even if you can’t imagine plunging down an icy slope in the freezing cold, don’t hesitate to plan a winter weekend at Tahoe, where you can while away a frosty day or two with a book, a few hot toddies and your feet up by a roaring fire.
<h2 class="first-paragraph">North Shore Lake Tahoe 
</h2>
As the sun sets over the largest alpine lake in North America, there is no better place to catch the waning rays than at the Lone Eagle Grille at the <a href="https://laketahoe.regency.hyatt.com">Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort</a> in Incline Village on the <a href="https://www.gotahoenorth.com">North Shore</a>. Around a crackling lakeside fire pit, chilly fingers warm up on mugs of hot buttered rum; and if you have to wait for a table in the restaurant, grab one of the armchairs by the big stone fireplace. In the Hyatt’s spa, a flickering fire warms the lounge, and one of the couples’ “sanctuaries” also has a fire feature. To make it irresistibly comfy and easy for skiers, hotel guests can purchase lift tickets in the hotel lobby, then hop on the free shuttles to Diamond Peak and Northstar ski mountains.
<aside class="modern-quote pull alignright">
<h2 class="post-title item fn"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/apres-ski-at-lake-tahoe-is-hot/">Click Here for “Apres-Ski at Lake Tahoe is Hot!”</a></h2>
<h4 class="post-title item fn">Tahoe is legendary for its apres-ski scene, from “Next Gen” brew pubs to Vegas-style nightspots where snow bunnies shake their booties, and family-friendly fire pits with s’mores and hot toddies.</h4>
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At <a href="http://basecamptahoecity.com">Basecamp Tahoe City</a>, a newish, 24-four-room boutique hotel just north of Tahoe City, parents sink into leather sofas by the double-sided fireplace and send the kids out to the deck where they can sip hot chocolate and roast s’mores around the fire. And, a few minutes south of here around the lake, <a href="http://www.westshorecafe.com">Westside Café and Inn</a> is famous for its complimentary late afternoon “Après S’mores,” served weekends and holidays on the waterfront patio fire pits.
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You can cross-country ski down the road at <a href="https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=510">Sugar Pine Point State Park</a>, downhill ski right across the street at <a href="http://www.skihomewood.com">Homewood Mountain Resort</a>, or just settle in by the fire in the lantern-lighted, leather-and-stone lobby with your Kindle and your Irish coffee. Nearby, since the 1950s, <a href="http://www.sunnysideresort.com">Sunnyside Restaurant and Lodge</a>, has been wildly popular in the summertime when classic boats tie up at the 1,000-foot-long pier below the deck where gangs of vacationers scarf up french-fried zucchini and Mango Mai Tais. When the snow flies, an armchair is the big attraction by the giant boulder-framed fireplace in the newly refurbished bar and grill. And if you can’t bear to brave the blizzard after dinner, head up to one of the lakeview lodge rooms with wood-burning fireplaces.
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<figure id="attachment_1772" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1772" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/SquawCreek.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-1772" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/SquawCreek.jpg" alt="Resort at Squaw Creek" width="639" height="354" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/SquawCreek.jpg 639w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/SquawCreek-300x166.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, 639px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1772" class="wp-caption-text">Views are spectacular from the Resort at Squaw Creek at Lake Tahoe</figcaption></figure>
Inland a few minutes, anchoring <a href="http://www.squawalpine.com">Squaw Valley–Alpine Meadows</a> ski mecca, the <a href="http://www.squawcreek.com">Resort at Squaw Creek</a> overlooks the entire valley and snowy peaks topping out at 9,000+ feet. A hot chocolate and s’mores bar, and blazing space heaters, are lined up all winter at the fire pit outside of Sandy’s Pub by a photogenic, frozen waterfall. You can earn your s’mores here by skating on the (guests only) ice rink; and by cross-country skiing, sledding or snowshoeing in the meadows, right from the on-site Nordic Center. Then hunker down with a toddy in front of the massive lobby fireplace.
<figure id="attachment_1776" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1776" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PlumpjackBar.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1776" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PlumpjackBar-300x222.jpg" alt="Bar at Plumpjack Tahoe" width="300" height="222" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PlumpjackBar-300x222.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PlumpjackBar.jpg 639w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1776" class="wp-caption-text">A cozy indoor fire feature in the bar at Plumpjack Squaw Valley Inn, Lake Tahoe</figcaption></figure>
In Squaw Valley Village, shoppers and diners cozy up to outdoor fires and live music entertains on weekends, while enclosed tram cars whisk skiers and sightseers up to High Camp at 8,200 feet to ski, ice skate, explore the <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://squawalpine.com/events-things-do/olympic-museum">Winter Olympic Museum</a> or just to gape at the panoramic views of Sierra Nevada peaks and the gleaming lake. In the village, a busy gathering spot at <a href="https://plumpjacksquawvalleyinn.com/">Plumpjack Squaw Valley</a> Inn is the indoor, open fire feature in the bar –– yes, indoors. And, another reason to come here is the S’more Cheesecake, topped with caramelized, homemade marshmallows.
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<article>Just west of the lake, <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.northstarcalifornia.com">Northstar California Resort </a>ski mountain also welcomes nonskiers to enjoy breathtaking gondola rides to the new Zephyr Lodge on the upper mountain, where lunch by the two-story-tall windows comes with glorious views of the snowbound setting. In the main shopping, dining and entertainment village at Northstar, a 9,000-square-foot ice skating rink (free to all) is surrounded by several blazing fire pits, where you can order libations and snacks. High above Northstar, accessed either by car or by the “Big Easy” chairlift, the <a href="http://www.ritzcarlton.com/Lake_Tahoe‎">Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe</a> pampers hotel guests at the whopping-big fire pit with an Après-Ski Champagne Experience, with raw bar and the nightly “Marshmology” demo of how to make s’mores. Kids are into the hot chocolate bar and games in the club room, while moms and dads snuggle by their in-room fireplaces or on sofas by the towering stone fireplace in the lobby bar. And go ahead and take a dip in the heated pool––the deck is heated, too, to keep your toes warm. Aaah, in the slopeside spa at the Ritz, a cozy fire heats the restoration lounge, while the sauna and eucalyptus steam room restore tuckered skiers.</article>
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<figure id="attachment_1781" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1781" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/HilltracLiftRidgeTahoe.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-1781" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/HilltracLiftRidgeTahoe.jpg" alt="Ridge Tahoe Resort" width="639" height="426" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/HilltracLiftRidgeTahoe.jpg 639w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/HilltracLiftRidgeTahoe-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, 639px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1781" class="wp-caption-text">Ride the Skier Express directly from the Ridge Tahoe Resort to Ski Heavenly, South Lake Tahoe</figcaption></figure>
<h2>South Shore Lake Tahoe</h2>
World-famous for glitzy casinos, the neon-lit city of <a href="https://tahoesouth.com">South Lake Tahoe</a> is home to the sprawling <a href="https://www.skiheavenly.com">Ski Heavenly</a>, which is accessed from smack in the middle of downtown. A must-do for first-timers is a heart-stopping 2.4-mile glide on the <a href="http://www.skiheavenly.com/activitiesdetail/heav+-+heavenly+scenic+gondola+rides.axd">Heavenly Mountain Gondola</a> up to the observation deck at 10,000+ feet, for birds-eye views of Lake Tahoe on one side and the dark forest of Desolation Wilderness and Nevada’s vast Carson Valley on the other. Back on terra firma, across the street from Heavenly Village, Ten Crows eatery at the <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.hotelbecket.com/">Hotel Becket</a> has an outdoor bar with fire features, complete with a hot chocolate bar and the makings for s’mores. Accommodations are either minimalist or updated rustic, with old barn doors and furnishings crafted of reclaimed Douglas fir from a Nevada mine shaft (prettier than it sounds). The resident Bernese Mountain dog, Remington, loves to take guests on walks in the snow.
On the south end of town, <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.tahoefiresidelodge.com">Fireside Lodge B&B</a> has an enormous tree trunk atop the colossal fireplace in the Old-Tahoe-style, knotty pine-paneled, memorabilia-cluttered Gathering Room. Guests who can tear themselves away from the river rock fireplaces in their family suites can enjoy complimentary wine and cheese while their kids enjoy the game room and toasting marshmallows on the deck.
High above downtown, the <a href="https://www.ridgetahoeresort.com">Ridge Tahoe Resort</a> is a quiet, multi-story aerie with zowie views from the rooftop hot tub and from just about everywhere on the property, from the indoor and outdoor swimming pools, from the balcony of your condo and the Skier Express chairlift that zips guests right to Heavenly ski slopes, and from the Bear Trap Lounge, where happy hour revelers are warmed by the fire.
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<figure id="attachment_1778" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1778" style="width: 702px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/RitzFireplaceTahoe.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-1778" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/RitzFireplaceTahoe-1024x681.jpg" alt="Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe" width="702" height="467" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/RitzFireplaceTahoe-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/RitzFireplaceTahoe-300x200.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/RitzFireplaceTahoe.jpg 1279w" sizes="(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1778" class="wp-caption-text">Three-story-tall stone fireplace at the Ritz Carlton Lake Tahoe</figcaption></figure>
<h2 class="PD 2015-BodyText-BodyText_News">Stay</h2>
<a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.hotelbecket.com/‎">Hotel Becket</a>, 4003 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, 800 738-7477. The newest of Joie de Vivre boutique hotels, across the street from Heavenly Village, indoor/outdoor bar with fire pits, private beach access; 167 sleek, contempo-style or woodsy-style guest rooms.
<a href="https://www.destinationhotels.com">Resort at Squaw Creek,</a> 400 Squaw Creek Road, Olympic Valley, 800 327-3353. Luxury accommodations in a high rise above Squaw Valley. Deluxe rooms and fireplace suites with kitchens. Ski-in-ski-out access, on-site Nordic skiing and sledding; ice rink, golf course.
<a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://coachmantahoe.com">The Coachman Hotel</a>, 4100 Pine Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, 530 545-6460. Opened in 2016, 42 affordable lodge rooms with a contempo glamping vibe; walk to the Heavenly gondola and casinos.
<h2 class="PD 2015-BodyText-BodyText_News">Eat</h2>
<a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.garwoods.com">Gar Woods Grill and Pier</a>, 5000 North Lake Blvd., Carnelian Bay, 530 546-3366. Indoors or on the glassed-in deck, just the spot for a long lunch, Sunday brunch, or sunset dinner while watching boating activity on the lake. Happy hour by the fireplace in the bar and grill.
<a href="https://riverranchlodge.com">River Ranch Lodge</a>, 2285 River Road, Tahoe City, 530 583-4264. In an historic lodge, a very popular indoor/outdoor restaurant and bar, within view of the Truckee River; rafting trips end here. Comfort food by the fireplace; cozy guest rooms upstairs.
<a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.redhutcafe.com/">Red Hut Café</a>, 2723 and 3660 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, 530 541-9024. Since 1959, with retro red-vinyl stools and booths, famous for huge waffles, biscuits and gravy, homemade soup, grilled cheese, burgers and more comfort food for breakfast and lunch.
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<h2 class="PD 2015-BodyText-BodyText_RR">Hot Springs Near Lake Tahoe</h2>
Far from the maddening crowds of snowboarders, seekers of warmth and comfort head east of South Lake Tahoe to historic natural hot springs. For travelers heading back to the Bay Area on Highway 50, a stop at one of these resorts makes for a restorative ending to a Tahoe getaway. Once a stop on the Pony Express route out in the Carson Valley near the town of Genoa, <a href="https://davidwalleys1862.com">David Walley’s 1862 Hot Springs Resort</a> is an inviting compound of five hot springfed pools, an outdoor heated pool, a steam room and dry saunas; and also, an 1862-themed restaurant and saloon.
Since 1848, bathers have soaked their aches away at <a href="https://carsonhotspringresort.com">Carson Hot Springs Resort</a> near Carson City. Public outdoor pools and indoor private pools are filled with hot, mineral-rich water from 35,000 below.
A short drive from the south side of the lake through the gorgeous Hope Valley and the Carson River canyon, <a href="https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=508">Grover Hot Springs State Park </a>can be found in an alpine meadow and pine forest at 5,900 feet surrounded by 10,000-foot-tall peaks. This is an affordable favorite where 148-degree natural hot mineral water is cooled to 104 before feeding into the main pool, and there is also a cool pool for that final plunge.
<h2 class="PD 2015-BodyText-BodyText_News" style="text-align: center;">What is YOUR favorite spot at Lake Tahoe? </h2>
<h2 class="PD 2015-BodyText-BodyText_News" style="text-align: center;">Been there in summer and in winter?</h2>
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<title>California Wine Country Villages</title>
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<pubDate>Thu, 29 Aug 2019 17:06:19 +0000</pubDate>
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<description><![CDATA[Did you know that the Northern California Wine Country has enchanting small towns and villages hidden away in idyllic, lesser-known valleys? Far from the maddening crowds of wine tasters and merrymakers who flood Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Mendocino counties, here are some of my recent stories of great daytrips and weekend getaways in California Wine [...]
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]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Did you know that the Northern California Wine Country has enchanting small towns and villages hidden away in idyllic, lesser-known valleys? Far from the maddening crowds of wine tasters and merrymakers who flood Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Mendocino counties, here are some of my recent stories of great daytrips and weekend getaways in California Wine Country villages—waiting your discovery!
<figure id="attachment_2844" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2844" style="width: 225px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Occidental.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-2844" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Occidental-225x300.jpg" alt="Lost in time, surrounded by redwoods, the California Wine Country village of Occidental." width="225" height="300" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Occidental-225x300.jpg 225w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Occidental-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Occidental.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2844" class="wp-caption-text">Lost in time, surrounded by redwoods, the California Wine Country village of Occidental. Photo by Karen Misuraca</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Redwoods and Ravioli in Occidental </h2>
In the late 19th century, the last stop west on the narrow-gauge North Pacific Coast Railroad was <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/9789133-181/former-logging-hub-offers-comfort">the village of Occidental</a>, isolated high in dense redwood forests. An 1890’s account described a “well-built” town with “a neat depot, two shoemaker shops, four hotels, a winery, warehouses and … commodious dwellings.”
Today, the 2-block-long main street is lined with original and recreated buildings from that era, housing Italian restaurants and cafes, art galleries and curio shops. And a few minutes beyond on country roads is a world-famous botanical garden; zip-lining through a high forest canopy; a gorgeous walk through a grove of ancient redwoods; and wineries. 
Add to that two Italian restaurants that bring diners here from miles away, and you’ve got reasons to drive up the scenic Bohemian Highway to Occidental. 
<figure id="attachment_2839" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2839" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Boonville.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-2839" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Boonville-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Boonville-300x225.jpg 300w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Boonville.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2839" class="wp-caption-text">Discoveries to be made on the old-time main street of Boonville, a California Wine Country village. Photo by Karen Misuraca</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Anderson Valley Village Lost in Time</h2>
For a short stopover on the way to the North Coast, or a leisurely weekend in the country, head to <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/9599448-181/from-rustic-eateries-to-pubs">Boonville, an old Anderson Valley village</a> filled with treasures — from a quaint ice cream shop and wild gardens to boutique hotels and wineries. Settled in the mid-1800s, the secluded farming and logging community once served as a stagecoach stop, and today still has a sort of lost-in-time atmosphere on the 2-block-long main street.
Grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, and find a sidewalk table in front of the Boonville General Store — the perfect perch for watching the passing scene of old-timers and long-haired Bohemian types, grape-stained farmers, and snazzy-dressed urbanites on the hunt for cult wines. Wander the aisles of the Farmhouse Mercantile and wander in a prominent, nearby art gallery. Then, head up the road a bit for wine tasting, produce and antiques shopping, and noshing on some sophisticated grub.
Base camp for Anderson Valley expeditions is the <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.boonvillehotel.com">Boonville Hotel</a>, a vintage inn turned country chic, and a much-lauded foodies’ destination.
<figure id="attachment_2843" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2843" style="width: 225px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/ClearLakeStPk.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-2843" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/ClearLakeStPk-225x300.jpg" alt="A tranquil fishing lagoon at Clear Lake State Park." width="225" height="300" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/ClearLakeStPk-225x300.jpg 225w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/ClearLakeStPk-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/ClearLakeStPk.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2843" class="wp-caption-text">A tranquil fishing lagoon at Clear Lake State Park. Photo by Karen Misuraca</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Lake County Surprises</h2>
Vacation resorts and campgrounds dot more than 100 miles of shoreline on Clear Lake, Lake County’s focus of watery summer fun. A family vacation destination since the 1880s when families arrived in stagecoaches, the <a style="color: #993300;" href="https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/9677225-181/family-place-to-play">small towns of Lakeport, Kelseyville and Clear Lake</a> are also hubs for a wine region sporting more than 40 wineries. Wine lovers know all about Napa and Sonoma wines, and even Mendocino wineries, and yet, Lake County remains delightfully off-the-beaten-track, awaiting discovery by oeonphiles seeking the high-elevation — and increasingly highly rated — sauvignon blancs and cabernet sauvignons.
Many come for swimming, water-skiing, kayaking, paddleboarding and, most famously, fishing in Clear Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake in California. Just you and I know about the wonderful wines, and:
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<li class="PD 2015-BodyText-BodyText_RR">fabulous birdwatching</li>
<li class="PD 2015-BodyText-BodyText_RR">leafy lakeside picnic parks</li>
<li class="PD 2015-BodyText-BodyText_RR">one of the state’s most beautiful state parks</li>
<li class="PD 2015-BodyText-BodyText_RR">the Old West-style, circa-1800s hamlet of Upper Lake</li>
<li>one of the most spectacular collections of vintage boats in the West</li>
</ul>
<h2><aside class="sc-pullquote alignright"></h2>
<figure id="attachment_2840" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2840" style="width: 1088px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Graton.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-2840" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Graton.jpg" alt="Art galleries, wine tasting salons, antiques shops and gourmet restaurants lure daytrippers to Graton, a California Wine Country Village." width="1088" height="2016" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Graton.jpg 1088w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Graton-162x300.jpg 162w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Graton-553x1024.jpg 553w" sizes="(max-width: 1088px) 100vw, 1088px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2840" class="wp-caption-text">Art galleries, wine tasting salons, antiques shops and gourmet restaurants lure daytrippers to Graton, a California Wine Country Village. Photo by Karen Misuraca</figcaption></figure>
<h2></aside></h2>
<h2>A Gourmet Ghetto in West County</h2>
Tucked away on a winding, narrow road in western Sonoma County, the <a href="https://bit.ly/2V8s0Hn">tiny village of Graton</a> is loaded with history, old gardens, and timeworn cottages. In just a block or so are also an impressive art gallery, wine tasting rooms, two packed antiques shops, and an array of 19th-century false front architecture reminiscent of a Western movie set.
Those in the know about Green Valley wines, and foodies, come here for three nationally acclaimed restaurants, each just steps from the other on the main street. The Paul Mathew Vineyards tasting room is famous for pinot noir, while Bowman Cellars’ shiny Airstream trailer serves snacks to wine tasters as they relax in the gardens. Plan a whole day to enjoy the hidden pleasures of Graton, and don’t fail to stop at Mom’s Apple Pies as you head back to the Bay Area.
<figure id="attachment_2845" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2845" style="width: 258px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/GuernevilleSign.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-2845" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/GuernevilleSign-258x300.jpg" alt="A surprising gourmet ghetto, Guerneville is a California Wine Country small town with a vibrant colony of artists and craftspeople." width="258" height="300" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/GuernevilleSign-258x300.jpg 258w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/GuernevilleSign-882x1024.jpg 882w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/GuernevilleSign.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 258px) 100vw, 258px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2845" class="wp-caption-text">A surprising gourmet ghetto, Guerneville is a California Wine Country small town with a vibrant colony of artists and craftspeople. Photo by Karen Misuraca</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Arts Alive in Guerneville!</h2>
As it has since a narrow-gauge railroad brought vacationers from the new city of San Francisco in the 1800s, a carefree “summer of love” Bohemian vibe continues to attract resident artists, and their patrons, to the little town of Guerneville in the Russian River Valley. Guerneville also anchors a world-famous wine region, where 50 notable wineries are within a 20-minute drive. This short story heralds the resilience of the local colony of artists and craftspeople, who survived a major flood earlier this year.
Also worth the scenic drive are a vibrant restaurant scene; several lively nightspots, and the <a style="color: #993300;" href="https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=450">Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve</a>, where easy hikes, and picnics under the tallest trees on the planet, are likely on your bucket list.
<figure id="attachment_2906" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2906" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Tallman.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-2906" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Tallman.jpg" alt="Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake" width="1000" height="666" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Tallman.jpg 1000w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Tallman-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2906" class="wp-caption-text">The elegant Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake once hosted stagecoach passengers, ranchers and loggers.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Top of the Lake</h2>
Tucked away on the north end of Clear Lake, a summer vacation hub and wine region, the <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.lakecounty.com">village of Upper Lake</a> welcomes visitors with an arch over Main Street, announcing the founding of the town in 1854. In the mid-1800s, the first vacationers arrived in stagecoaches, then cruised the lake on steamboats to waterfront health resorts. Then, the main attractions were “taking the waters” at natural hot springs, which were believed to have healing properties. Nowadays, hamlet of Upper Lake is a weekend destination, where visitors linger on the two-block-long Main Street, discovering Old West-style and late Victorian buildings lined up along wooden sidewalks.
Anchoring the town, as pure white as a wedding cake, with rocking chairs on wraparound porches, the seventeen-room <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.tallmanhotel.com">Tallman Hotel</a> once hosted stagecoach passengers, ranchers and loggers. After four decades of neglect, the stately landmark, listed on the California Register of Historical Resources, was purchased and restored by Lynne and Bernie Butcher, and now offers the most elegant accommodations on the lake. Unique here are private patios with Japanese ofuro-style soaking tubs, and commodious Eastlake-style room interiors. A swimming pool hides behind lush gardens, and roses run rampant around the property. Bernie Butcher said, “Much of the town was abandoned when we decided to restore the property. Since then, our town has come to life, and visitors stroll the street, wine taste, and browse in the antiques and gift shops.”
Hotel guests and denizens of the town linger under the maple tree-shaded courtyard at the hotel, enjoying live music, libations and pub fare from the adjacent <a href="http://www.tallmanhotel.com/blue-wing-saloon">Blue Wing Saloon Restaurant</a>. Demolished during Prohibition, the original watering hole was reconstructed by the Butchers with a striking interior of old-growth redwood and black walnut, and a fancy 1870s-era back bar, to hold forth today as an architectural icon under festive striped awnings. The annual blues festival and barbecue held in the courtyard is a sell-out every Labor Day weekend, when the hotel’s original 1902 piano gets a workout.
<figure id="attachment_2907" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2907" style="width: 225px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/UpLake-rotated.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-2907" src="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/UpLake-225x300.jpg" alt="Shops in Upper Lake" width="225" height="300" srcset="https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/UpLake-225x300.jpg 225w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/UpLake-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/UpLake-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://deepculturetravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/UpLake-rotated.jpg 1512w" sizes="(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2907" class="wp-caption-text">Boutique shops and galleries in the village of Upper Lake. Photo by Karen Misuraca</figcaption></figure>
A one stop shop for the discovery of Lake County wines is just across the street from the hotel at <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://lakecountywinestudio.com">Lake County Wine Studio</a>, a sophisticated art gallery and tasting room specializing in locally grown and vinted wines. Across the street from the hotel, Oliveira Antiques specializes in Western history and Americana. Powell’s Antiques is also on Main Street, and the 10,000-square-foot <a href="http://www.vintageantiques.us/">Vintage Antiques</a> emporium has a “first Saturday” parking lot sale every month. <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://lakecounty.com/restaurant/vintage-station-deli/">Vintage Station Barbecue</a> sports red-and-white, classic gas pumps and a 1950s interior, where popular favorites are brisket, ribs, mac and cheese, “burnt ends” pork belly, and tri-tip. By the circa-1914 town clock in the old bank building, <a style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://tallmanhotel.com/upper-lake-mercantile/">Upper Lake Mercantile</a> is a cross between an art gallery and a boutique, loaded with curios and exotic goods. <a href="https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/10453774-181/upper-lakes-vintage-tallman-hotel">Click here for more here about the charms of Upper Lake.</a>
The post <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com/california-wine-country-villages/">California Wine Country Villages</a> appeared first on <a href="https://deepculturetravel.com">Deep Culture Travel</a>.
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