come with me on a drive to northern california.
i've come over 500 miles in the last couple of days.
on interstate, but also little roads that wind through a greening countryside.
past many groves of nut trees & grapevines.
through verdant valleys where wooly clouds hung low & gray.
through bustling cities where i got distracted and veered off course. i admit at times like this i was sort of wishing i had an iphone with a gps. but instead i used my old fashioned map. and… a nice fellow with his pup steered me back on course.
san francisco is so so pretty. and this morning she was cloaked in swirling fog which lifted occasionally revealing bridges, golden water, brightly painted doors.
green parks dripping with water.
iconic red bridges.
angel island & alcatraz off in the distance.
fog enchants me.
and i drove through heavy blankets of it on my way north. the recent rains have turned the golden state emerald green.
north north north
now heading west along river roads 
past wineries, farms, tiny towns.
the edge of the continent with its wild pounding surf.
at last arriving here. to this bluff. overlooking this little cove.
my christmas hidey hole.
Hmm. So many seemingly familiar places…
I am guessing Fort Bragg was your final stop.
Thank you for your post in late November…I found Hendry’s Beach and the Boathouse. Friends of mine have a place in Santa Barbara…with a view similar to the one you shared. I recognized it instantly. Lovely.
I feel I need to share with you…may I suggest the Mesa Cafe for breakfast. Not far from the Boathouse and Hendry’s Beach.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Not to be a total guy, but I hope you had your tires and oil checked before your little venture. Be safe. Have fun.
Boy am I envious! I wish I was holed up in a sweet place by the sea for the next few days. You are the perfect example of of self care.
Thanks for taking me along on this wonderful drive. I love riding through California, especially winding north. Enjoy your holiday getaway. I cannot wait to see what we will be doing in the next few days and the art we will create. Merry Christmas
Oh what lovely pictures, thank you so much for posting them. And it looks like Mendocino County as your final destination. Where ever it is, we live in a beautiful state. Enjoy your stay!
I envy your courage. Enjoy your holiday.
Thank you so much, Mary Ann – a year ago I moved from that neck of the woods to the Great Midwest. Some days it’s fine, but lately I’ve been hungering for fog and redwoods and rocky ocean shores. And you gave them all to me. What a fine and generous Christmas gift. Enjoy your hidey-hole, and your scones in the pointy-top house. On your way back south through Marin, stop at Pasticceria Rulli on Magnolia Avenue in Larkspur for espresso and Italian pastries and great sketching opportunities.
Well, shut the front door!!! What a ride I’ve just been on with you!! You had me at lush green parks dripping with water, but then it kept getting better. I think my family and I are headed to Hermosa Beach this spring for a vacation (our first flight for our 14 yr old daughter and our first flight as a family). But you sure make me yearn for northern CA. Hmmmmm…..
Merry merry and happy happy!
Oh Mary Ann! I have so enjoyed your recent postings of wondrous CA places. As I sit here in the midst of a cold mid-western winter awaiting a buyer for my home, your pictures keep me positive that I will soon relocate to San Diego and call the west coast home. Merry Christmas.
Beautiful photos. Great shots of the bridge. That last photo takes my breath away. I miss that part of California, I loved the ferry ride from Tiburon to the city and back. Oh Happy, Happy, beautiful Christmas to you Miss Moss.
You’ve got to be near Bodega Bay (where The Birds was filmed) or Sebastapol, or maybe Mendocino? Love the wildness of the northern CA coast. That’s the way it felt when I traveled to Tofino on the Pacific Rim of Vancouver Island, BC with my Canadian friend. How I loved that place.
I’m sure the owner of the pointy roofed cottage will send you an invite for tea and crumpets. How could she resist the chance to meet up with you? I hope you find your souls content in such a marvelous place. So much to see and feel in CA.
I’m guessing your drive north took you about 9-10 hours. I’m sure you needed a good sleep or nap if you did it all in one go. Enjoy your week in Wonderland.
You are now very close to where I live part of the year. You may have come by my place on your way to the coast. Lush photos. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy the amazing sunshine yesterday and today! So blessed.
Aloha, Kate
What a drive. What photos. What skill and discipline that you can gawk, shoot photos and drive all at the same time. You are indeed a multi-talented woman.
Beautiful pictures. Thank you for the drive. I have never been there before.:-)
Interesting trip and fabulous hidey hole! Thank you for taking us along. Can’t wait to see the inside of your place (hint, hint…. 🙂 ).
thanks for taking us along for the ride, gasping at the views and joining you in spirit.
it looks so beautiful – loved all the photos from your trip.
Wishing you a wonderful and peacefull Christmas Mary Ann and looking forward to follow along again
in the new year.
I feel like I got to finally experience northern Cali , so beautiful . Enjoy your Christmas hideout.xo
holly i agree that house with the domed pointed roof is magical! its directly across from me, but im sure the owner will soon come out and beckon me over for tea, whereupon i will zipline across the cove and meet her!
Merry Christmas, dearie. Thanks for the ride. I hope your hidey hole time lifts and sustains you for a long time to come. Blessings to you and those you love-
S
Have a marvelous Christmas – at the continent’s edge as you say. Just gorgeous!
May this week bring many happy hours and days of quiet, contemplative sketching and rejuvenation of spirit. Wishing you much creative inspiration on into 2015. Safe travels and thank you for all you share with us.
Just magical……peace and joy to you on your coastal Christmas…….
Missy from the bayou
hey, if you are staying on that rock with that magnificent cottage/house, YOU HAVE Arrived!! Your fog photos were so inspiring….some very cool journal pages will be painted over your holiday…..cheers. Be HAPPY & HEALTHY all 2015,
Holly
SO SO HAPPY that we can all be your traveling partner…. LOVEd your blog (as always). You lifted up my Christmas stress and winter dip… (days will be longer from now on is the mantra!)
Hugs!
Looks wonderful!! Happy happy holidays!!
Awesome Christmas hidey hole! Thanks for sharing your drive!
Aside from the obvious beauty of the landscape, I couldn’t stop looking at your photos for all of the amazing hues of gray. Blueish gray. Pinkish gray. Whitish gray. Greenish gray. What fun it would be to mix those hues using watercolors. You are always an inspiration.
Loving the green! Enjoy…xox
So gorgeous, every single image! Heading to northern CA in a couple of weeks, thank you for the preview 🙂
Thanks for the ride through these wonderful and amazing landsacapes. Your hidey hole is the dream place of my life. Have a Merry Christmas.
Mary Ann! On your way south you will pass right by me, in Heladsburg along 101 about an hour north of SF! I would love to meet up with you on your way south if you want a coffee or tea break! Seriously, let me know!!!
thank you, mary ann! i *loved* that drive! california is sooo beautiful… whenever i come back into the state after i’ve been gone, i get so happy when i see the golden poppies on the ‘welcome to california’ sign! i do!
xoxo
I have no idea where you finally washed up on the shore, but IF you get the chance, in Marin County is the wondrous Muir Woods. I go there with my daughter and her family and it’s a magic place. I think you would love it. Take your sketchbook (not that you probably leave home without it!).
Happy Christmas, wherever you are.
XO
Welcome! Be sure to have some bbq oysters and clam chowder in Bodega Bay. Also Copperfield’s Books on n Sebastopol. And Riley Street art supply, if you’re in need of supplies.
You picked the perfect time to visit Jenner on the Sonoma coast. If you drive another 1.5 hours you’ll come across a quaint town of Sea Ranch and Gualala. I use to live in Sea Ranch so I know the area quite well. Enjoy your holiday!
Oh, the most enchanted part of the state! I’m loving the photos as they get greener and then all that wild surf. There is a raw and primal beauty in the far north. If not Venice, then it looks like the perfect place for the holidays. Get some rest from all that driving!
Glorious!
How lovely to go for such a long + Beauty-full drive, in the wee hours of Monday overhere.
Timetravelling with you ~ a December treat. Venice memories! Is that one or two years ago? (WhizzBlurr).
Happy Hideying to you.
x x x
Gorgeous- especially that GG bridge shot. Xo
I felt like I was riding along with you! And you landed in the most beautiful place I could dream of! Merry Christmas!
Wow! I have never been to California. Just curious. How many hours did you drive from your home to your destination? It looks like you did a lot of driving.
I love that drive. The fog is a bonus!