Anderson Valley

We said farewell to our friends in Marin County and headed towards Anderson Valley. Since much of the trip was done "by the seat of our pants" oftentimes we had no idea exactly where we would end up next. The kids were not always thrilled about the "unknowingness" of it all, but the openness of the adventure led us to some great discoveries. This was one of those times (as was the time when we found the hostel in Montara). We figured we'd stay in Philo, but there was a music festival happening in nearby Boonville that weekend and most places we called were booked. After many phone calls and much searching (although we enjoyed being unplugged from our cell phones and the internet for most of our trip, this day we were grateful for the ability to search on-line!) we found The Apple Farm just outside of Philo. We loved it here. After a good nights sleep we woke up to a delicious homemade breakfast (granola, fresh raspberries, yogurt, biscuits, and apple juice) made by the owner Karen in her gorgeous kitchen (where she often does cooking classes). Then we went on a tour of the farm where we saw the goats and horses (and how they fertilized the apple trees:), pigs, chickens, a couple friendly dogs and one lone kitten.

We happily did a load of laundry and hung it on the line where the fresh warm air could dry them.

Then we went across the bridge behind the farm to the Navarro River where we skipped rocks and did a little nature hiking.

Allie thought the roots of this tree just had to be a fairy mansion!

All in all this was one of our favorite places along the way on our road trip.