July 15, 2004

TIMES TRAVELS

Drink in the wine, ale, views of Mendocino


By Mike Cleary
Special to the Times


You don’t just drive through the Navarro Forest. That’s akin to using St. Peter’s Square as a short cut. This stretch of road commands you to slow down and smell the Redwoods. So it was on a sunny Friday afternoon, we lollygagged our way west to the frothy Pacific in Mary Ann’s vintage Benz with the top down and Khachaturian’s “Adagio of Spartacus & Phrygia” by the London Symphony providing the background music. We aren’t always this highbrow. Next up was the Stones’ Forty Licks.

Anyway, with all this pleasantness going on, you’d think we’d be Spartacussing along with the band in our loudest voices. Nope, this is a time when you just quietly enjoy a perfect moment.

It seems to me that travel, more than any other human activity, does the best job of putting us in that blissful state called the here and now. For some reason, plop us somewhere on the map other than home and we seem better equipped to let go of the everyday. Suddenly, a squabble with a colleague in the workplace or a faulty water heater at home isn’t such a big deal. On the road, we leave it all where it belongs, in the past or the future.

Fortunately for the Clearys, the water heater’s fine and colleague spats are nonexistent. Little did I know, however, that once through the seductive Navarro Forest, the future meant returning home a golf champion and a spa devotee.

For eight years, we have participated in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Mendocino Charity Golf Tournament at the Little River Inn. It’s my annual stab at this frustrating sport. I play eighteen holes of golf followed by two nights of Ben-Gay. Ah well, anything for a good cause.

Do something for eight years and suddenly you have traditions. Every year, we stop for lunch at John Ash & Company, a restaurant in the Vintner’s Inn (www.vintnersinn.com) in Santa Rosa. Their patio dining area with its garden and vineyard views is one of the prettiest in Northern California. Chef Jeffrey Madura’s menu is topnotch and the youngish staff act like all they want to do in life is make your afternoon as pleasant as possible.

From Santa Rosa to Mendocino, the drive becomes one you can really sink your teeth into. Along the way, though, are so many tempting stops, you begin to wonder why you just don’t stick around and enjoy what you’re passing.

Healdsburg and its charms are no longer a secret. Geyserville and a fast growing Cloverdale also extend open arms to the visitor and the surrounding Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys are dotted with terrific wineries. Before planning a trip to this part of California, be sure to check out www.wdcv.com which has links to other resourceful sites.

Heading north to Mendocino, you have choices. You can steer yourself crazy on Highway 1 along the coast. You can scoot up 101 to Willits and then 20 across to the water’s edge in Fort Bragg, or you can glide through the bucolic Anderson Valley on Highway 128. The latter is not only an immensely picturesque drive but, like Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys, it’s chock-full of amusements. Some sixteen wineries (www.avwines.com) are nicely spaced along the winding two lane road which connects the communities of Yorkville, Boonville, Philo and Navarro. Many of them offer complimentary tastings.

Smack in the middle of all these wineries is the Anderson Valley Brewing Company (www.avbc.com) in Boonville.

It’s a worthy stop. Ken and Fal Allen produce a wide range of lagers, ales and stouts. And, if you like what you taste, you can say to your partner, “Aplenty bahl steinber horn, my applehead.” That’s boontling for “That’s a great glass of beer, my dear.” In the brew pub, Ken and Fal pay homage both to boontling, spoken in this town from 1880 to 1920 to confuse outsiders, and the area’s fascinating history.

Notwithstanding all these tempting stops, we made it to our destination. In the next column, news about an impressive botanical garden, the back-on-track Skunk Train, a new state park, a great book store, a funky cafe with a fun menu and a nervous man’s first go at a pedicure. Cheers.

Mike Cleary and his wife Mary Ann co-host “Food and Travel Radio” at 6 p.m. Sundays on KABL 960 AM. Readers can e-mail Mike at mc@foodandtravelradio.com.