Trip Date: June 26, 2020
This may be a brief story, or not, as it is being written in late October, so details may be sparse. Thank god for my pictures as they definitely help recreate the stories.
We had been in lock down, in fear, in this weirdness that was the early stages of the pandemic. Little did we know it was only the beginning, but it was in full crisis mode, made all the worse by the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns. We had definitely taken things seriously, more or less, trying to be good about wearing our masks and staying away from people. We didn’t go out much more than for food and gas.
Beth’s school has been closed since March and Kristen hasn’t gone in to work since April, so life has definitely been different. We were glued to the news like everyone else and fortunately, the early scare resulted in a slight flattening of the number of cases. With so many people angry about businesses, schools, and almost all social aspects of life being closed, the pressure to reopen was intense. Fortunately, for us, this coincided with our trip, so we ended up being able to go and have places open, at least to a greater extent than in the recent past.
We stayed in Ft. Ross last year at a nice little place, but it was a little longer than we wanted to drive this time, especially with all the unknowns. I looked extensively on line, as usual, for options and decided Jenner would be a good spot. I made an early reservation at the Jenner Inn, in one of their little cottages squished between Highway 1 and the river. The good news is that you are literally on/over the river. The bad news is that you are literally on/over the Highway.
As the date approached and the Covid grasp on businesses seemingly loosening, I called to verify the reservation with a human being rather than a digital booking outfit. A guy with the last name of Lucas answered the phone and we had a tremendous conversation. He lived in the East Bay and could have been the owner, could have been a George Lucas relative, coulda been somebody. We laughed and joked and he gave me a real good vibe about the place we were staying and our trip in general. It was great to have such a fun, positive conversation in these Covid times.
As the day approached, we got Annie and Nona to watch Beth and we headed West. Friday was our first night and K’s actual birthday, so I made reservations at the River’s End restaurant, a famous place that has sat upon the top of the hills for years and is often impossible to get into because of all the cars parked perilously close to Highway 1. I was stoked to find them open and they were stoked to have customers, so we waddled up the hill, perilously close to Highway 1 and arrived at the place a hour or so before sunset.
Everyone was masked, however once we were seated at a great view table, we were allowed to take our masks off, as long as we stayed at the table. The service was awesome and everyone was happy to have a slice of normalcy back. We ordered and were able to bring our cocktails out on the deck while we waited to be served. It was gorgeous out, and we were ecstatic to be outside in fresh air with such a spectacular view. Soon, we were beckoned to come inside for dinner.
The food was great and all the staff were super friendly. We had a great dinner and nice walk back to the cottage. We opened all the doors and windows and cranked up the heat as the night cooled down and the river pulled in the cool marine air. We watched 3 Lifetime movies and fell asleep on the couch. What a fantastic first day.
Without much of a plan or itinerary, we slept in, had coffee on the deck, and tried in earnest to ignore the folks renting the downstairs units. Fortunately, we were “upstairs”, in the ground level, while they were in the lower units that were accessed down a staircase. Yet, our deck and balcony was right on top of their outdoor space, so we were literally feet apart when outside. We trained our eyes out over the river and West to the mouth, rather than getting obsessed with the activity directly below us.
Eventually we needed more sustenance than the modest “Continental” breakfast provided, so we headed into Duncans Mills to see if there was some good grub in there. We steered away from the Blue Heron which we tried last time and might be a good place for beers and drunk food, but not for not drunk food. On the North side of the Highway is a collection of stores and shops I had not noticed before and amongst them is the Cape Fear Café. What a gold mine this place is.
I got some sort or bean and beet salad and K got a chicken sandwich (I don’t really remember, but probably) and it was all delicious. We brought it home and enjoyed it on the deck before again falling asleep on the couch. What a great day, but wait, there’s more. For dinner I had looked at a couple places in Monte Rio since it was so close. We decided on the Village Inn on the South side of the river. Again the staff was great, although a tad less on point with the Covid protocols.
We sat outside away from most other guests, which was great, until the sunwrapped around the massive Redwoods and started to bake us. They moved us to a nice table on a higher deck with a better view and some shade, but now we were in the midst of the other diners, and no one was in too much of a hurry to leave.
The food again was really really good, maybe surprisingly good to us, but I know the River has changed much since we were spending any amount of time in these parts. I was really impressed with everything. We took a little drive up Main street past the Pink Elephant that Mike tells stories about and further out the Bohemian Highway past the Bohemian Grove. I tried to find a road to take back West on the South side of the river, that appears from Googly to be Moscow road, but we couldn’t find it. Nevertheless, we were back on our deck before dark, and in our comfy bed for another great night sleep.
We talked about renting kayaks to float the river, but it seemed far too ambitious. We had coffee and watched the swallows do their dance and then rest in the sun atop the fence below us. Eventually, we decided to explore the tiny hillside community right behind the Inn and see if there might be other rental options. We drove across the river to Goat Rock State Park to walk on the beach and check out the local seals, before heading home. It was a gorgeous day and lots of people were out and about taking it all in. It was a perfect ending to a great birthday weekend escape.
Jenner for Kristen’s Birthday Photo Gallery
