I just returned from a fantastic week exploring the northern coast of California on a family gathering outside the small town of Elk, in Mendocino County. The area is primarily known for three things – wineries, breweries and landscapes – and we made a point of enjoying all three in mass quantities. The group consisted of my father, his fiance Gayle, her son Geoff and his girlfriend Bianca, myself and my younger sister Lauren, and was more or less a Thanksmas gathering for those of us living in the western states. The drive was about 9-10 hours coming from both LA and Portland, home to Geoff and Bianca, so the location was an excellent compromise. The others flew in to San Fran and had a 3-hour drive north from there. The week basically consisted of lazy mornings around the house followed by day trips to the numerous vineyards, breweries and small towns situated up and down the coast, and then a return to the house where we took turns cooking enormous feasts, including an untraditional Thanksmas dinner (if there is such a thing?) of freshly caught Dungennes crab. Among the favorite spots we visited were the Anderson Valley Brewing Company in Boonville, the Pacific Star Winery north of Fort Bragg and pretty much the entire seaboard, which is among the prettiest territory in these United States. I probably didn’t do as much shooting as I could have, but I thought I came away with a few nice landscapes. The weather was overcast and foggy for all but one or two afternoons, but that was fine by me. The weather made for better photos. With a few exceptions, the landscapes are all I’ll post here, but will probably put more family photos up on the Facebook page soon.
