First stop was lunch. We decided on Small Shed Flatbreads which, as you might guess, specializes in flatbreads. They use local organic ingredients and the menu is far from the ordinary. We had the Pelagias's flatbread which featured chevre, kalamata olives, whole roasted garlic, mozzarella, rosemary, dressed arugula and a light tomato sauce. We opted for the organic spelt and cornmeal crust - very tasty. The waiter suggested one of his favorites- meatballs with walnut olive pesto, jalapeno & mushrooms. We took his suggestion and quickly understood why he liked it - delicious! We also had the burrata with fruit and honey but after one bite we wished we had skipped that selection...luckily the flatbread and meatballs made up for it.
After lunch we decided to explore the town. It had a very peaceful vibe. Even the dogs seemed to be affected by the zen atmosphere as they had very little reaction to other dogs that we passed by - which is a change from the usual reaction to a dog-stranger. We walked through some of secluded residential streets surrounded by beautiful redwoods and enjoyed the fresh air which was filled with a pleasant pine aroma. The homes were a mixture of Victorian and rustic design. Many of the homes were set up above the street level and seemed secluded and private even though they had neighbors and public streets all around.
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| Victorian house in the center of town |
Not too far into our exploration we found Old Mill Park and stumbled upon a small free play that was held in an inconspicuous outdoor amphitheater.
As we made our way back to town, we stopped at a small chocolate shop for a treat.... dark chocolate truffles. Our choices - organic coconut, unsweetened dark chocolate and red wine - yum, yum and yum. The chocolatiers didn't seem to recognize us as hard core chocolate lovers as they tried multiple times to talk us out of the unsweetened dark chocolate selection. Lucky for us they were unsuccessful as it was our favorite pick of the bunch - although they were all delicious.
We enjoyed our treats in a plaza at the center of town which used to serve as the train depot. The plaza was bustling with people. Some were sitting talking with friends, others strolling around and many were playing with their kids. It was refreshing to see. We even overheard an elderly couple walk by discussing the meaning of a poem - not something you hear discussed in today's age.
As we made our way back to town, we stopped at a small chocolate shop for a treat.... dark chocolate truffles. Our choices - organic coconut, unsweetened dark chocolate and red wine - yum, yum and yum. The chocolatiers didn't seem to recognize us as hard core chocolate lovers as they tried multiple times to talk us out of the unsweetened dark chocolate selection. Lucky for us they were unsuccessful as it was our favorite pick of the bunch - although they were all delicious.
We enjoyed our treats in a plaza at the center of town which used to serve as the train depot. The plaza was bustling with people. Some were sitting talking with friends, others strolling around and many were playing with their kids. It was refreshing to see. We even overheard an elderly couple walk by discussing the meaning of a poem - not something you hear discussed in today's age.
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| The skies were filled with beautiful, fluffy clouds. The bottom shot is Tweenee enjoying her break in the plaza. |
Before we headed out of town we stopped by LaCoppa coffee. The coffee was average so we will need to try out one of the other coffee shops next time along with the Beerworks brewery which we didn't fit in during this trip. On our way out of town we spotted a portion of a rainbow which is unusual for this time of year. It had a disproportionate amount of green which seemed to be symbolic - although we aren't quite sure what it symbolized but hopefully the meaning will reveal itself in time ;)
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| Getting a shot of the rainbow wasn't easy to get with the car moving but you can catch a glimpse of it here. |
