Cucina Verona In Fort Bragg, California
This was AdventureMan’s pick, and we both agreed it was one of the best meals of our trip.
Fort Bragg is quirky. It’s a real people kind of town, with grocery stores and drug stores and bakeries.
At dinner, at Cucina Verona, there was an aged guitar-player, but it almost seemed like he might have been someone famous at some time. He played very abstractly, with almost identifiable tunes, but just when you would think you were about to figure out what it was, he would drift off into something else.
Cucina Verona was nearly packed. We had made reservations, good thing. The menu was impressive. They have great waitstaff, helpful, chatty but not intrusive. They made us feel welcome, helped us find the right local wines and checked often to see if we needed anything.
(Just in time, I figured out what I had done and switched back to color!)
AdventureMan had a Pacific Coast Bouillabaisse, and he said it was the best, ever.
I had scallops with a seafood risotto; five or six exquisite, rich scallops (I adore scallops, but they are so rich I never can eat a lot of them) and a rich, creamy risotto full of sea-flavor with local crab and shrimp, oh yummmmmm.
Mendocino, CA and the GoodLife Cafe
Mendocino was one of our destinations, it gets such good write ups, it sounds so attractive. Mendocino has the same gorgeous coastline, and it is cute. There are a lot of Bed and Breakfast kind of places, very nice, just, as it turns out, not our thing so much. We really like spacious.
We found a cafe we really liked, The Goodlife Cafe, where we stopped, and so did a lot of other people. It was hard to find a place to sit, and people were even sitting outside on a very cool windy day.
I found a place barely big enough for two; the woman sitting next to us had spread out all her reading materials, so I asked “are these seats taken?” and she had to make room. We barely had room, but it was all right, at least we were seated.
AdventureMan said this was one of the best sandwiches and chowder he had on his trip:
I felt the same way about the pumpkin curry; it was unusual and magnificent. Warm and filling after a morning full of hikes!
A Family Interlude in Los Gatos
I have a favorite nephew, an amazing young man who is, like AdventureMan and myself, a total nerd about maps and all things geographical. From the time he was young, he showed wisdom, and understanding, and a quirky way of thinking outside the box. His license plate said “Earthling.” He cracked me up.
We watched together in horror as the planes hit the World Trade towers.
Now, these years later, he has a delightful wife, who is both intellectual equal and a playful heart who makes him happy and helps him not to take himself too seriously, nor to underestimate his talents. He has a job he loves, at GoogleEarth. They have two children, children around the same age as my own grand children, and I have never met them, so we ask if we can get together and they are eager to see us.
This was one of the best days of our journey.
One of the best moments, and you have to know four year old boys to know how serious and wonderful this is, is when my nephew’s son invited me to come up to his room so he could show me some things. When we got there, he pulled out his pajamas and underpants, and I totally got it, being a person who buys Avenger underwear for my own grandson 🙂 I was so honored, so delighted to be shown his treasures 🙂 It was one of life’s special moments.
AdventureMan had his own conquest; we had brought games and puzzles and things for children, and the two-and-a-half year old took a real shine to AdventureMan. Together, they stacked up pieces to the puzzle, and knocked them over. She had a Viewmaster that she considered her camera, and she snapped “photos” of me. We had a glorious time.
They took us to a wonderful restaurant in Los Gatos, Oak and Rye, where I followed my nephew’s wife’s lead and had a fabulous tomato soup and a shaved brussle sprout salad. This was one of the tastiest and most satisfying meals of the trip.
We were a large and noisy group, two children and five adults who had a lot of catching up to do (we had asked that our nephew’s wife’s mother also join us) and the restaurant found a large table for us outside (it was a gorgeous day) with a shade over us to keep us cool. The kids could move around and we could talk and we weren’t disturbing anyone. Friends of the family saw us dining there, and came over to chat, so it got even noisier – just more to catch up with 🙂 It was a grand reunion.
All too soon, we were saying goodbye, wishing we could stay longer but the road is calling, and we are on our way to another stop on the California coast. We hit San Francisco in the late afternoon, and get to go across the Golden Gate Bridge in perfect weather, accompanied by hundreds of people taking advantage of the perfect day to march across the bridge on foot.
Monterey, CA; A Sentimental and Nostalgic Journey
One of the (many) highlights of our trip was spending time, once again, in Monterey, California where we had attended the Naval Postgraduate School and the Defense Language Institute. We used to lie in our bed in La Mesa Village, and we could hear the seals barking. We discovered that with our mighty ID cards, we could get a wonderful suite at the old Del Monte Hotel, now Navy Lodging on the campus of the Naval Postgraduate School.
The Del Monte is one of those magnificent hotels built to welcome post guests to destinations served by the railroads. The Ahwahnee is another such, as are Yellowstone and Glacier Lodges. The Navy took it over during the war, and used it as a rest and rehabilitation center, then later turned the hotel campus into a school specific to Navy needs of navigation, engineering, strategy and decision-making.
We had a two room suite with a bathroom and a kitchen. It was spare, but very spacious. Having space, for me, is like breathing. Having high ceilings makes all the difference.
This was the sunset from one of our windows:
After settling in, we went out to revisit our old haunts. The biggest shock was La Mesa Village, where we once lived. When we got to Monterey, and saw our quarters, I cried. They were little three bedroom units in groups of four. We were lucky, we got an outside corner unit, so we had more windows and more light than many others, but we also had black linoleum. It was horrible. I cried.
AdventureMan found someone leaving who had carpeting cut exactly for our unit, and bought it to cover the linoleum floors. It was pretty hideous, a greeny-gold kind of shag carpet, but it covered the black linoleum. I thought he was a rock-star.
We couldn’t even find our old unit in La Mesa Village. Now, they are all duplexes, two story, I think they tore down all the old units and built new, modern ones. Each is painted differently, and they look very California suburban, no longer like military housing, except that one or two units have flags outside.
We head down to Asilomar, always one of our favorite drives, and feast our eyes on the coastal rocks and the crashing waves. It is a glorious spring day, people are all barefoot and enjoying the sun.
We stroll along the Monterey waterfront, which has changed also. It was always touristy, but it used to be sort of grungy, and now it is clean – and kind of bland, full of shops full of tourist kitch made in China.
When planning the trip, we spent a lot of time looking for fun places to eat, and this was the place we agreed on instantly, the Bistro Moulin. Good thing we made reservations, they were turning people away as fast as they showed up. It’s an adorable place, very welcoming, and the food was fabulous. It got too crowded to take photos with discretion; we started with a pate, then I had the Petrale Sole, which was fabulous, and AdventureMan had Mussels in Wine Sauce which were more fabulous than my Sole 🙂
We were totally caught by surprise by the most nostalgic moment on this part of our trip. We were enjoying ourselves so thoroughly, being back in Monterey and Carmel, just relishing soaking in all the good times available, and then, as we got back to our room, we heard a trumpet. The long, haunting notes of Taps began to play, and it was as if we were still young students at the PG school, everything stopping to pay homage to the end of the day and its sacrifices.
We were equally surprised to be greeted by Reville the next morning!
Cotijas Taco Shop in Los Banos
On our long trip, we became aware of just how big our country is, so big that there can be miles and miles and miles before the next gas station, or the next lunch stop. If it is getting to be lunch, and you see that there may be a long stretch ahead with a minimum of stops, stop now. Buy gas. Eat lunch.
We knew we had better make the best of Los Banos, California, as it seemed there would be a long stretch before the next good stop. When AdventureMan spotted Cotija’s Taco Shop, it was a blessing.
It doesn’t look like much. It is a drive-up place, with just two or three outdoor tables. But they seemed to have a lot of customers, and the platters coming out of the kitchen were sort of awesome.
We ordered, and soon, more food than we could ever eat started to appear.
This is how you order, off the menu on the wall. The prices are amazing.
We ordered guacamole and chips to start; this is the best plate of guacamole and salsa we have ever eaten:
I ordered Tacos al Pastore; there was so much meat in the tacos I couldn’t even eat all of one taco:
AdventureMan ordered a combination plate and said he had to stop eating before he got sick, but it was so good it was hard to stop.
Not every dining experience is as sublime as the Ahwahnee, but sometime road food can be delightfully delicious!
The Ahwahnee Dining Room
American diners have steadily avoided formal dining situations, it is a growing trend. I have to admit, unless I am in France, I’m less enchanted by all the formality than I used to be. I still love beautiful china and gleaming silver, snowy white real linen tablecloths and impeccable service, and at the same time, I really have to be in the mood. It really has to be worth the time, time to make the reservation, time to dress, time to enjoy a leisurely meal.
The Ahwahnee has that kind of dining room.
We ate almost every meal during our stay there. We found we liked the lunch menu better than the dinner menu, as we prefer eating our larger meal mid-day and eating lighter at night.
You have to have reservations, even when it is not high season. If you don’t, you may miss one of life’s great experiences. There is a dress code for the Ahwahnee dining room, both for men and for women. It’s a very mild dress code. They prefer coats for men, skirts for women, no T-shirts, shirts with collars only.
We were shown to what became our favorite table at the Ahwahnee, way at the end of the dining room, in a small alcove with five or six other tables, and a stunning view of the entire dining room, as well as mountains and trees. This is table 123, and a view of the 30+ feet high timbered ceiling which gives the dining room its grandeur.
My very first meal there, I saw they had a Shrimp Louis on the menu. Shrimp Louis is very west coast; not something I get in Pensacola. This Shrimp Louis was my dream come true; it was served with real Louis dressing, not Thousand Island dressing. I nearly swooned with delight.
AdventureMan has BBQ pork. He said it was good, but he gets good BBQ in the South 🙂 so he wasn’t swooning.
The next day, he ordered a Reuben, and said it was good. He hasn’t had a lot of Reubens, and he said this one had a LOT of meat, but it was good meat, and that matters to him. He enjoyed it thoroughly.
I had the Trout. I adore trout. This was pretty good.
I didn’t take photos at the dinner meals, and some of our meals we also ate in the Ahwahnee bar, where they had a lighter menu, and we thoroughly enjoyed that, too.
You know me and light fixtures; I really loved all the details that go into making this such a designer’s dream of a hotel:
Wildflower Bakery and Cafe in Sedona, Arizona
“Wow!” exclaimed AdventureMan, when we finally found the Wildflower Bakery, “If we had known where this place was, we’d never have gone anywhere else.”
It’s not that easy to find, if you don’t know Sedona. You have to know where it is, and you have to know where to turn, and turn again. It’s not intuitive.
When we got inside, there was a VERY long line, and I needed coffee. There was another place, for pick up orders, so I called and ordered a coffee, but I was standing too close to the ordering place and he looked at me and said “you can’t do that; you have to go stand in line.” So I did.
It was worth standing in line for.
Great coffee. So many wonderful options that it was hard to choose a virtuous oatmeal, but I did. There were so many wonderful looking breads, and croissants, my great weakness, and cinnamon rolls, and bear claws, and all the things the finest kind of bakeries carry.
There is a large seating area, and although it is very cold, a Japanese family chooses to sit outside, and then the woman and daughter come back inside, while the man and his son remain outside to eat. The coffee is wonderful.
Even my virtuous oatmeal came with delicious additions, and was garnished with the thinnest slice of toasted buttered cinnamon bread I have ever seen, or gobbled.
AdventureMan also had oatmeal, but he also ordered a fruit bowl, which was gorgeous.
The smells were so seductive, so delicious, and AdventureMan is right, if we had found the Wildflower Bakery first, we would have passed on some of the other places (not the ones featured here; I only write about the ones we really like.)
But our next time in Sedona, we know where to find it!
Positive Energy at The Hideaway Restaurant in Sedona, AZ
“This is a very strange onion soup,” I said. “It has crispy crunchy onions on top, but it has mushrooms in it.” Mushroom soup was the special soup for the day, but I had ordered onion.
We have wanted to try the Hideaway ever since we got to Sedona, and today is the day. We have to look to find it, it really is hidden away. It is at the end of a little strip/court mall, with a difficult entrance. You are supposed to enter at one place and exit at another. I say this with authority, because we did it the other way, LOL.
As soon as we found the Hideaway, we knew it was for us. It overlooks a vast wadi full of trees and brush and a creek. It reminds us of places we’ve stayed in Botswana, you can almost hear the elephants crashing through the trees if you listen hard enough. We are sitting out on the verandah, looking at the menus, and everything on the menu sounds really good, a little different from the norm, very creative.
This is the view above the tree line:
There is a large seating area inside, too, but the day is so gorgeous, everyone wants to sit outside.
I ordered the onion soup and a bacon, lettuce and avocado sandwich. AdventureMan orders a salad and a pizza.
AdventureMan is eating his salad, listening to me discuss how odd this “onion soup” is. “Mushroom soup is the soup of the day,” he reminded me. “They probably just made a mistake. Send it back!”
I can’t send it back. It isn’t the onion soup I ordered, I’m pretty sure, but I can’t stop eating it. It is unbelievably delicious.
AdventureMan says this is one of the best pizzas he has eaten in his life, ever, and we have had a goodly number of pizzas 🙂
My salad and my Bacon, Lettuce and Avocado were delicious, but paled in comparison to that soup. I loved the freshness and variety of the greens, and the fresh taste of the sandwich, which was way too much food after that exquisite soup.
AdventureMan had a beer, I had a red wine. Both local, both very very good. We don’t drink so much anymore, but we enjoy it more.
When the bill came, at the end of the meal, there it was, as clear as could be:
Mushroom Soup
I didn’t even make a squeak. I didn’t even tell the server she had made a mistake. That mistake was so delicious. This was probably one of the best overall meals of our trip. Wonderful environment, fabulous views, tasty food in copious amounts, good beer and good local wine, great service and reasonable price – life is sweet.
The Red Rock Barbecue in Sedona, AZ
This restaurant was a lot of fun. The sun is low in the west, and our tummies are still on Pensacola time; Arizona is on God’s time, which is the same as Pacific Coast time, as they do not go on daylight-savings time. So we are a little early, but that is fine, we have other plans for later in the evening.
We snag a wonderful table out on the deck, a table with a wonderful view of Sedona’s red rocks, and also of the parking lot and our car, and a mini drama taking place. Someone hit a car and didn’t stop, and the Sedona police had caught the guy who did it and were working out the details with the victims, and getting the insurance (or not) information from the very remorseful hitter. Oh well, none of our business!
What is not to love about this view? We sit with our drinks, just soaking it all in. We are so delighted to be in Sedona, and to be able to spend some time here. This is a place we want to take some time in. We explore now, but we also know we are coming back.
AdventureMan loves to try pulled pork. We had to take pulled pork home!
I tried the rib tips; there was so much, I had to take rib tips home, too.
The management and service here were great, so friendly, happy to tell us about local lore, special things not to miss. We had a great long dinner, very mellow.
The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and the Tonto National Forest
There is nothing so lovely as the American Southwest in the Spring. This is a glorious day, and we are on our way to an amazing park, the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, with is a huge indoor and outdoor park and museum. It is one of the best stops on our trip.
There is a huge parking lot, and we got there around the time it opens. We were still in the third row away, but the rows go on and on forever, and we wondered why so much parking? As we left, we understood. We had been there about three or four hours, and the parking lot was filling up fast, buses, travelers from every state and many nations, coming to this beautifully thought-through museum.
One of the things we are picking up on is that everywhere we go, there are people our age, physically fit, volunteering. We saw this at the Benson – Rio Grande Valley Park in Texas, where I thought they were the happiest volunteers I had ever seen, and then again, at Tombstone, AZ, participating as characters in the daily dramas. People our age are living their dreams, and we met a lot of really happy people, working for various parks and volunteer agencies.
I volunteer in several areas, and one of my favorite is with the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council. The Department of State sends delegates here to meet with counterparts in specialized areas – environment, juvenile justice, fair election processes, women entrepreneurs – it can be anything. You never know what comes next, which I love. Another part of it that I love is introducing our foreign delegates to the volunteer experience, whether it be dishing out hot meals for the homeless or packaging food for the food bank. For most, it is a new experience, and the idea of giving your time voluntarily to work to help others is a revelation. They are so often surprised at how good it feels.
This is what we are coming across again and again. At this museum, there is a volunteer passing out maps, and others selling entrance tickets. There are volunteer rangers, volunteer guides, and volunteers answering questions. They are happy, they are fit and tanned (LOL, yes, this is Arizona!) and they work for free. They are doing what they want to be doing. It is a joyful experience to find all these happy volunteers, and to benefit from their expertise. It is a joy to us; I feel so proud and humble to be a part of this kind of community.
This museum is so first rate. These are the bronze sculptures at the entry:
Museum entrance:
There are all kinds of walking trails, and every exhibit is also reachable by wheelchair.
The museum cactus display is gorgeous along the wonderful walking paths:
They have a wildlife display with all kinds of snakes and frogs. This is a poisonous frog:
AdventureMan and I separate; he has a mission, he wants to see the Butterfly garden and what is planted there. I take a few trails, and then head for the gift shop. I also have an agenda 🙂
In the wonderful gift shop, where I found unique and really fun gifts for grandchildren, grand-nieces and grand-nephews, I also saw two of Mary Doria Russel’s books about this area, about the legendary Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. There were also books and puzzles about bugs and desert creatures, and wonderful edibles, hot sauces, salsas, BBQ rubs. Great gifts.
It is a wonderful visit, but even this early in the season, by noon, it is getting very warm. We decide to head on for Sedona, and because we are not so fond of big city traffic, we skirt Phoenix and stop for lunch at one of our favorite places, Whole Foods. What a treat!
We wanted to take the scenic route to Sedona, so we went through the Tonto National Forest. At the beginning, I started laughing and said to AdventureMan, “It’s a Saguaro Forest!” Later, the Saguaros stopped, and small scrubby pines began, and then taller pines, and taller, thicker pines until we were in a truly dark forest with a lot of trees. Driving was a lot of twisting and turning on this road, and we were glad when we headed out towards Sedons.
We knew we were getting close when we saw the beginning of the famous red rocks. This is the view from our hotel balcony:
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