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| Happy Campers |
For this Labor Day weekend, we rented a house in the
Point Reyes area with Rakesh and Simran. Simran had been eyeing this house that she wanted to try so we booked it. It was a very relaxing weekend filled with walks, biking, and lots of eating!
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| Marshall, CA |
We both arrived in San Fran (on separate flights) on Thursday night with Shawna arriving first in time to have dinner with Rakesh, Simran and Ria. Simran made hamburgers which shrunk quite a bit and looked lost on the bun and while we made fun of them, they were still tasty! Keith arrived shortly before bed so he said his quick hellos and then we all went to sleep.
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| Ranch at Straus House |
On Friday, we took care of a few calls in the morning and then drove off in separate cars, stopping first to rent a bike for Keith. We stopped in
Petaluma to have lunch at
Della Fattoria - we had been to their farm to table dinner a few times. The restaurant is lovely and the food was really good - we ordered a bunch of salads and appetizers that we all shared with a bottle of wine.
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| Della Fattoria |
After lunch, we bought a few food items in town for the house and then went wine tasting in
Sebastopol. First stop was
Merry Edwards which is Shawna's favorite Sauvignon Blanc (she bought two bottles for the house) - Keith unfortunately had to do a call so he missed this tasting. Second stop was
Emeritus which has a nice modern tasting room and a yummy Rose and Pinot Noir - Simran joined their wine club so we could get a few bottles of the Rose which is limited to wine club owners only.
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| Merry Edwards Winery |
On our way to the house, we stopped at
Bohemian Creamery and did the 'speed' tasting of all of their cheeses - we settled on three to buy for the house. We then drove to the house (
Straus Home Ranch) which is located in
Marshall on a farm across the road from the bay. It is owned by the owners of
Straus Family Creamery which sells dairy products in CA. The house was beautiful with four bedrooms upstairs and two living rooms, a dining room and a fabulous kitchen downstairs. After getting settled in, we drove into
Point Reyes Station to fuel up on groceries for the weekend. We then had dinner at
Nick's Cove, a great restaurant very close to the house, located on the bay and known for their drinks. We shared a few appetizers for the table and then Keith and Shawna shared the scallops for an entree. All of the food was very good.
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| Straus Home Ranch |
After breakfast on Saturday, the boys went for a bike ride into Point Reyes Station while the girls went for a hike at the
Tomales Bay Trail and then went into town to walk around and grab a coffee. We met back at the house in time for Ria and Simran's parents as well as Stacie and her boys (Luca and Mateo) to join us for the day. We had lunch at the house outside with salads, cheese and bread followed by a tour of the farm given by one of the owners. We went inside the barn which had been renovated for events and then walked into the field to see (and attempt to pet) the cows. We were all shocked that Simran's mom was in the pasture with us, given her affinity for cleanliness!
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| Lunch at the House |
That afternoon, we relaxed and then cooked dinner - steak with mushrooms, grilled veggies, mashed potatoes and homemade peach and berry pie (courtesy of Stacie). Everything was delicious. With the wine flowing, we took the opportunity to take some funny selfies! After dinner, Stacie and her family as well as Simran's parents drove back to San Fran.
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| Silly Selfies |
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| Dinner at the House |
After breakfast on Sunday, the boys went for another bike ride - this time much longer. The girls drove out to
Dillon Beach and walked along the beach for over an hour. Unfortunately, on the way back, they got stuck in
Tomales as they were having their Founder's Day Parade and would not let any cars through. So they made lemonade out of lemons and parked the car, watched the parade and got some food at the food stalls - tacos, chili and meatball sandwich. There was no cell reception (which was a challenge all weekend) so Shawna had to 'steal' wifi from a cafe to send a note to the boys to let them know to have lunch on their own back at the house. The parade finally ended and the girls met the boys back at home.
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| Dillon Beach |
The girls then drove back into Point Reyes Station to walk around, check out the shops and to pick up Ria's friend, Etta, who stayed with us Sunday night. We also stopped and bought some oysters at
The Marshall Store. Ria and Etta challenged Rakesh and Keith to a balloon and water gun fight - despite all of their planning, Ria and Etta were defeated! That evening, we had oysters for an appetizer - Shawna tried them for the first time in a very long time and enjoyed them - much to her surprise. Rakesh also made a pasta with sausage and veggies - very yummy. After dinner, we played Taboo - Shawna won.
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| Oysters - Yum! |
Monday was a bit lazier. After breakfast and lounging around in the morning, we drove out to
Bodega Bay, walked along the beach and had lunch at the
Fishetarian Fish Market - we shared the clam chowder and fish tacos. We returned back to the house for a nap before we packed up and drove back to San Fran. That evening, Simran's mom made us chicken biryani which was amazing!
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| Beach at Bodega Bay |
On Tuesday, Keith had a meeting in Menlo Park so Shawna worked from the house and then we both met up at the airport that evening to fly home.
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