Shortly after my last post, three friends and I went on an eight-day
coastal journey in California. I planned to blog along the way but for most of the trip we succumbed to ZERO service and I have to
say, it was great! You really forget what it feels to like not to be completely
accessible, 24 hrs a day.
There were several eco aspects of our trip that I am excited to share!!!
We flew into San Francisco on a Friday and made a quick touristy trip around the city hitting all the highlights (Pier 39, China Town, Lombard
Street, and a trolley ride).
The next morning we headed to our first real destination,
Wine County. After some research and advice from friends, we chose to go to Sonoma
over Napa. We stayed in Healdsburg and visited the beautiful town square. Here we found amazing restaurants, shops and tasting rooms. The highlight was our fabulous day trip to
Bella Winery and Caves. It was beautiful!!! In 2002, the current owners,
Scott and Lynn Adams, began digging out the hills under some of the 85 year
old vineyards to create caves.
The ancient
winemakers discovered long ago that caves are the perfect environment for the
aging of fine wines. Most importantly, they provide a constant year-round
average temperature of 61F and have a natural humidity of 55% which allows for
less evaporation of wine from the barrels. Additionally, caves are
environmentally friendly and enable us to store our wine without the use of big
buildings and noisy air conditioners. www.bellawinery.com
The day included a vineyard tour on a vintage military
vehicle; a cave tour and barrel tasting; and a private tasting in the cave dining
room.
Bella and its staff were so amazing that we wanted to move
in! (and practically did ;)) www.bellawinery.com
After leaving Sonoma we headed south to our next big stop,
Treebones Resort in Big Sur. Treebones is an “off the grid” yurt resort that is
absolutely amazing!!
We traveled through several temperature changes along the
way down the coast and Big Sur was COLD!! The cold worked in our favor here.
Upon arrival at Treebones, we fired up our Yurt’s very own fireplace and
enjoyed the hot tub overlooking the cliffs of Big Sur before enjoying a dinner of organic greens and fresh caught sushi!!
The
recycling theme has been prevalent since Treebones inception. Completely off
the grid, Treebones uses two propane-fed (zero emissions) turbines to power the
resort and employee housing community. The heat exhaust from the turbines, in
return, is used to create radiant heat in the restrooms and lodge flooring as
well as assist in heating the pool and hot tub.
All glass, aluminum,
cork, plastic and cardboard is collected and sent to local recycling
facilities. Wherever possible, local purveyors are used for restaurant,
cleaning and hospitality supplies. We harvest a large portion of the salad
greens and vegetables right from our own garden. Restaurant compost is enjoyed
by the two dozen chickens. Guests enjoy the farm fresh chicken eggs baked into
desserts and other entrees. www.Treebonesresort.com
Big Sur is an amazing place and we hiked a lot! We found breathtaking trails in every direction we traveled! It was beautiful to hike in mountains next
to the ocean!
Thanks to some locals we met, we found a few less traveled trails with little surprises along the way!
Our next stop was Santa Barbara. We stayed at an “oh so
charming” renovated Spanish style hotel called the
Oceana. It was beautiful. As
with homes, I love when a property such as this is renovated, restored and kept
true to tradition rather than being torn down and replaced by something bigger
and better. This place was a GEM!! www.hoteloceanasantabarbara.com
We wrapped our trip in LA with the same sort of tourist day
we had in San Fran.
This was an amazing
trip that flew by and I so miss the fun we had as I type! FROWNY FACE!!
Buzz!
