Honeymoon Day 1

Vanessa and I flew into Oakland and headed over to the rental car pick-up. The guy at the rental car counter told me they were washing the car and it would be ready in 5 minutes, so we should wait outside. As we walked out front I thought I saw a Bentley in the rental lot, but it was the new Chrysler 300. So, after 20 minutes of waiting for our freshly washed car, I complained and they switch our car to another one. I didn’t realize it, but I had rented the Chrysler 300, so we were both excited to get the car out of the lot and see what it could do (okay, maybe I was the only one excited).

We drove up to San Rafael and stopped for lunch at Chili’s, then continued up to Mendocino. The entire drive took almost 4 hours, but the road from the 101 to the 1 was amazing (Hwy 128). Road and Track rated it one of the best 5 roads in the country. Most of the drive is twists and turns through the hills, but the nice part is the road is banked really well. I kept picturing Adam and his RX-8 with a big smile on his face. The views are amazing. The first 20 miles is hillsides and trees, the next 10 miles are wineries, and the last 20 miles cuts through the redwood forest and follows a river. Luckily, Vanessa slept through most of it, so I could have fun without having to worry about her getting carsick.

We pulled into Mendocino about 5:30 pm and the weather was perfect. High 60’s, clear, and a slight breeze. The B&B (MacCallum House) I chose turned out to be the best place in town and Vanessa really liked it. The room was even better then I imagined with a king-size bed, full kitchen, large stone fireplace (unlimited firewood), private deck, spa, and a large shower. We looked around the place, unpacked our bags, and got ready for dinner. We had dinner at the MacCallum House restaurant that night. It was easily one of the best meals we have ever eaten. For appetizers we had an Olive Oil tasting and the Tartare of Ahi Tuna. Which is sushi grade tuna (raw) and was served in a martini glass with cucumbers, tomatoes, lime, chipotle chile, toasted Mendocino sea palm. I had the Filet Mignon and Vanessa had the Pan Seared Duck Breast. Both were amazing. Vanessa couldn’t choose between two desserts, so we ordered one to eat at the restaurant (Sample of 6 home-made ice-creams in a praline) and one to take with us back to the room (Cookie & Confection Sampler).

When we couldn’t eat anymore we went back to the room and jumped into the spa to relax and digest the food. After that we sat in bed watching the Olympics while eating the Cookie and Confection Sampler.