Looking forward to our breakfast at the Raven, well you do especially when it is free!
Think we over ordered!
This is a half order!!
On top of that we ordered French Toast!!
Now just relaxing in front of a nice big open fire
Hotel restaurant
Afterwards we walked through the vegetable gardens of the restaurant, a fair amount of the food on the menu is grown here.
We both seem to be getting cold’s, so just wanted a nice relaxing day around Mendocino. Unfortunately, as the bed and breakfast was fully booked and we have only booked it for the one night we had to find somewhere else. We first thought about Fort Bragg being only 20 minutes away but first would have a look around the bed and breakfast’s around Mendocino….can you tell we really did not want to drive!
We asked the lady if she could recommend anywhere else, she suggested we try Algeria, as she called them. The best price alga could do without breakfast was slightly out of the budget but we thought we would have a look.
The vibe in the Alegrea was fantastic but the price was not….so they recommended two hotels one was the mendocino hotel on Main Street. We drove across to the mendocino hotel and asked to see the room. As soon as we entered the hotel it had the vibe of somebody was murdered there!!! Okay better check the room….wow not to our taste also the shower was shared. Instead of checking the other hotel we went back to Algeria and check in!!!
Alegria
44781 Main Street
PO Box 803
Mendocino
California
CA 95460
USA
Tel + 1 800 780 7905 / +1 707 937 5150
[email protected]
Www.oceanfrontmagic.com
Alegria reception
After speeding time in the reception area we had a wonder along Main Street, which is full of quaint shops and art galleries.
We headed back to the hotel to relax in the reception check up on email. Afterwards we had a walk to the beach which was very nice and quite.
Sangeet bought a hoodie from one of the shops…..very fashionable
In the evening we went back to the Raven restaurant, sometimes if a restaurant is very good we go back just to make sure!! Well that is our excuse! It was like the previous night very good!
After dinner we had a chat with the food director and nutritionist we mentioned the food was very nice but do they change the ingredients of the same dish? He said no and apologised as it should be the same. We mentioned we are back for breakfast and he said one of your breakfasts will be free.
Woohoo, well when you are traveling on a budget it all helps!
Happily we went back to the hotel. Our actual room is across the road from the main hotel, it did not have the same vibe but as we were both shattered and needed some sleep it did not matter.
After spending the morning relaxing at the hostel, we went to Pt Bonita lighthouse, on the way we saw a raccoon trying to grab somebody’s lunch, they were in a van with the windows open! Also probably not a good idea leaving food in the car, we had raccoon footprints all over the car. Wish I had their sense of smell I was starving!!!
The walk to the lighthouse was amazing especially as it was foggy, created a sense of mystery about the area. The waters were smashing against the rocks which was a fantastic sight and sound. One could just make out the Golden Gate Bridge.
For over 150 years, Point Bonita lighthouse has aided ships navigating the treacherous waters of the Golden Gate. It’s welcome beacon continues to greet both mariners and lighthouse visitors alike. With the discovery of gold in 1848, California and the world changed forever. Soon,San Francisco became the main port for gold seekers from around the globe. In 1849, the city’s population leaped from 900 to 20,000!
To lead the new settlers and explorers safely thorough the dangerous waters of the bay entrance, a system of light houses was developed. Alcatraz’s light showed the way for ships directly in front of the Golden Gate and Fort Point’s lighthouse marked the southern edge of San Francisco Bay. Another light house was needed north of Golden Gate to make the entrance recognisable for ships sailing up the coast from the south. That lighthouse became Point Bonita.
Bridge to the lighthouse:
Tunnel towards the lighthouse.
Afterwards we went to the marine mammal centre, 2000 Bunker Road, Sausalito, CA tel +1 415 289-7325, this is where they treat the marine life, e.g. sea lions, the lady who gave us a docent tour is called Deirdre (a volunteer) she did a fantastic job. The cost is $7 and worth every cent, also, all the money goes to the centre.
“Our mission is to expand knowledge about marine mammals—their health and that of their ocean environment—and to inspire their global conservation. Our core work is the rescue and rehabilitation of sick and injured marine mammals, supported by state-of-the-art animal care and research facilities, a corps of dedicated volunteers, and an engaged community.”
The following picture is made up of smaller pictures of plastic bags!
We then headed to Saulsalito for a very late lunch, where went to a restaurant called Avtar’s, not sure what the owner is trying to achieve, on the menu was enchiladas with an Indian twist and another dish curry and rise with a jerk twist!! Both meals were awful and definitely cannot recommend this restaurant, we also got told a few days ago, by the owner that there are two kitchens one for veg and the other for non veg. We later saw that the veg and non veg cooking was done in the same area using the same pans! We were in so much of a rush we did not even take a picture of the outside!
Drive to HI point Reyes hostel on highway 1 was amazing full of sharp bends, you definitely had to keep your wits about you. Unfortunately it was very foggy so we were left wondering what beautiful sights we were missing.
This morning we went to look for parking, near the hostel there is a park and ride but I assume you have to get there fairly early to beat the daily commuters, I suggest around 8am. As we could not find parking we headed over to downtown San Fran where we parked up, it was $4 an hour fairly reasonable.
We walked over to a restaurant in China town called Enjoy Vegetarian restaurant
839 Kearny St,
San Francisco,
California 94108
Tel 415-956-7868
Www.enjoyveggie.com
11:00 am – 2:30pm & 5:00pm – 9:00pm
The restaurant has a lot of fantastic mock meats and we definitely recommend it.
Afterwards we walked around a great China town taking in the sights, sounds and sometimes smells!
We walked over to a coffee shop, where Sangeet ordered a hot chocolate, we sat outside and watched the world go by. We noticed the people on the trams taking pictures of us!!
Afterwards had a walk down California Street to St Mary’s Square
We picked up the car at St Mary’s car park, underneath the park.
After taking a wrong turning downtown we ended up taking the Bay bridge, a mistake which turned out to be a blessing we had a look around Berkeley, where there were plenty of Indian clothes shops and restaurants. We also checked out the University of California. Whilst heading back to the interstate we stopped at Blick Art Materials on the check out they asked if we were teachers, I said yes yoga teachers. We got 30% off!!
Back on the road to Sausalito which is a fantastic town and full of money! The shops are designer and houses are expensive….I like this town!
After all the walking we felt a bit hungry and fancied an Indian, there are two Indian restaurants in Sausalito, Avatar’s and Sartaj.
Sartaj is a fantastic cheap restaurant with great thali’s for $9.50 we got this:
HAt the restaurant we were pleasantly surprised to see a yoga poster:
Also a fantastic artist who also plays with Snatam Kaur: Todd Boston
Driving back to the hostel we had fantastic views of the bay.
On the way back to the hostel we saw plenty of deer and raccoons.
On the east coast we had a few days in NYC where we did not need the car. We only hired the car when we were heading to Washington DC, it was a VW Jetta, as I am a member of hertz number one gold, I automatically get a 30% discount a free upgrade and Sangeet is able to drive the car at no extra cost. We usually hire the smallest car possible….as this is USA they hardly have anything small and upgrade you two classes up. This is why I keep say it is worth joining these associations e.g. Hertz, Hilton honours, etc
NYC is a very busy, people are in a mad rush to get around and do nothing! You ever had that? You say you have a very busy weekend….come Sunday night you look back and think what have I actually achieved this weekend?
The restaurants in NYC have been fantastic, plenty of choice and some great vegan and vegetarian restaurants.
Saying that by the time Sat Nan Fest had come to a close, we were looking forward to spending time in NYC.
The weather has been mild (for me) around the 80’s (F) having spent 4 weeks topping up my suntan in New Mexico I am used to temperatures of 90F plus! Sangeet has loved the weather, just the right temperature.
Washington DC has felt more relaxed and the people are a lot friendlier….does not feel like a capital city….as soon as we drove into downtown Washington DC we fell in love with it.
Around the east coast we went through the following states, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Virginia.
On the whole the people have been friendly, which is one of the many factors I like about the States.
Sat Nam fest was a perfect ending to the time on the east coast, we thoroughly enjoyed the kundalini yoga and live music performances. I found that because people are only here for 4 days they are not as friendly and it is only small chat they are interested in, perhaps I am comparing this to the immersion course. Saying that, there were a few couples who gave their addresses and said next time you are staying at our house, please let is know when you pick up your bags at the airport and we will come to collect you!
The time spent with my very good friend Prithinder was really needed. It seemed like ours texts were cold to one another. Physically meeting one another is what we both needed….it was great to see him, even though he had not been on the course he was glowing more then me….perhaps it was because he met me!?!?!!
Staying the night at Sartaj and Barb’s amazing house was great. Really nice to be able to feel at home away from home.
Also I have known Ravinder for 5 years this is the only time we managed to spend quality time together…usually in Espanola we are attending a course and he is busy selling on the course. Just the way things happened…that he flew into Dulles and we were around Herndon (20 minutes away.)
Well our last day this side. We went to sadhana at the ashram in Herndon. Afterwards Gurtrang picked us up for coffee where we went to Reston Starbucks. Another fantastic town.
Gurtrang told us his life story which was fantastic and inspirational to hear.
After saying our goodbyes Sangeet and I headed to Washington DC where we went to the Marriott hotel, the wifi is free! Later we headed to Washington memorial and the Lincoln memorial, the Lincoln. Memorial is something I have been wanting to see for a very long time.
We had lunch at a fantastic vegan restaurant:
Great sage
5809 Clarksville Square Drive
Clarksville MD 21029
United States. Which is about 45 minutes away it was worth the trip. The desserts are amazing and worth trying.
Over eaten as usual!!!!
We went back go Washington dc for more sightseeing and walking the beautiful city.
Around 9:30 we drove to Dulles airport to meet our very good friend Ravi, who was also going to Sat Nam Fest. Ravi runs a fantastic company called Tuhi Tuhi
Hi, thanks for visiting my blog, feel free and have a look around. Here is a bit about me, as you may or may not have guessed my name is Mandeep, I work to travel as opposed to work to pay bills and die! Every trip for me is an adventure, I have been very fortunate to stumble across amazing places and meet awesome people along the way.
Why gaygoat? When I first started this blog I was a vegetarian, so gaygoat – happy goat! Also you have to admit it is catchy and a URL you will not forget!
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