NorCal

[Drunk Monk]

Mendo to be specific.

Stacy is here for the weekend for a yoga workshop with one of her old SF instructors. Yuki & I tagged along for the ride.

I slept most of the ride up. Not sure why. I feel like I've been getting enough rest but apparently not. It was a bit of a work scramble to prep for this over the last few days because I had to sort out the next two weekends beforehand as my start-o-fall schedule is looking like my midsummer - I'm away this weekend and the following two weekends. And I gotta keep my day job, ya know? Everything is lined up well however, and I foresee no difficulties in meeting all the obligations that I have commited for Sept. 

We went past Boonville on the way here - the site of SNWMF. We stopped there for lunch, just some food we packed that we ate by the roadside next to an abandoned church. It was a weird feeling because I never thought I'd come that way again.

Mendo is beautiful, a sleepy serene coastal town with lots of gift shops and inns. We're staying at the MacCallum house, a historic landmark built in 1882. We're in a separate tiny cottage called the Gazebo Playhouse. 

Pet Friendly - This petite cottage was originally built as a playhouse and features a Japanese, pagoda-style roof and a wrap-around deck with a partial bay view. The interior is paneled in old growth fir, and has a queen bed with luxurious bedding and a down duvet. The bathroom is a detached redwood room with a tiled shower, a stained glass window and Shikai bath and body products, outside right behind the room. All rooms include a flat screen Smart TV, complimentary Wi-Fi & breakfast, Keruig with coffee & tea, MacCallum House robes, mini-refrigerator, hairdryer, iron and ironing board.

It's quaint. The air here is deliciously fresh and clean. 

We got here in time to go to the beach, where Yuki had a massive burst of zoomies. We also walked about main street. Then I grabbed some ramen at Gwar Bar which was pricey but delicious, nutritious and filling. Stacy is now at her first class - the studio is an 8 min walk away. Yukz is knocked out on the bed (he has his own inn-provided dog bed but has yet to even acknowledge that). I worked a tiny bit. I'll work some more over Stacy's following sessions. I can work on the veranda tomorrow but right now I'm inside with Yuki. We'll walk over to the studio soon to pick up Stacy when her class ends. Yuki seems to love it here. He wasn't into the long windy drive up but he's been thrilled to go shopping and most of the shops are dog friendly.

[thatguy]

Is that a Gwar-themed restaurant or a Gwar-owned restaurant?

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

I am super amused that my spelchuk turned Gnar into Gwar. I think Gnar is short for gnarly. I'm not sure I'd eat Gwar ramen...it would have to look like bloody intestines. And wouldn't that just be menudo?

Breaky at MacCallum was ok. Comes with the room. I had Mac Benedict which if I paid list price, would've been disappointing, but it was far better than a complimentary continental breaky.

We visited the dog park next to where Stacy is taking her yoga workshop and had a blast. We got there and it was crazy with puppies. Yukz was like 'WTF?' Turns out they were all there as warm up for their puppy class and after they left, a local pack came in and they were very welcoming. Had a lovely convo with a couple who noticed my MJF shirt (Bill & Shirley) - Bill has been to 51 MJFs. We'll reunite in two weeks. Then had another convo with a person who helped recover the dog park some 20 years ago. Super sweet and knew every dog and owner. Yuki played his little mutt heart out, meeting every challenger with his fierce joy and established himself solidly within the pack hierarchy quickly. He's now crashed out on the bed.

Had a telemeeting for JAH Med. Now I'll work a bit. Then when Stacy's class is done, it'll be lunch & temple offerings.

[Drunk Monk]

The temple was beautiful. I'm inspired to write an article and donate a guandao to them. The volunteer guide was a cute young AmerAsian bio student who came here to study kelp, and by chance happened on the book that the proprietor, the 4th gen descendant of the founder of the temple, wrote. She found the temple and after showing enthusiasm, was asked to join the board. Upon interview, she discovered that she shared surnames with the founding family, and then realized that her lineage goes to the same village. Talk about yuanfen.

Yuki had a blast at the beach. He was tripping so hard on the light reflections on the waves that we wondered if he ate some drugs when he ate something he found there. 

Dinner was at Fog eaters, a southern style veg place. It was decent. 

Stacy is at her last yoga class of the workshop. It was a short workshop, but she enjoyed it. I'm thinking of taking Yuki back to the dog park there. Then we'll have breakfast back here at the inn, then check out and hit the road to SF.

Stacy is fantasizing of coming back here with Tara, Bri & Bottles if we can get RM 13, which is a 3-story converted water tower with sauna & hot tub. If that happens, I'll add to this thread. But I imagine more of us come north occassionally, so perhaps someone else will make the next post here...