Sea Ranch

Work in Progress

Travels

• July '26 - Monette - Dawson, Carmen and Drew
• February '26 - Monette - Gainsleys and Wongs
• January '25 - Monette - Gainsleys
• April '24 - Monette - Wongs; Gainsleys
• January/March/May 2023 - NOT
• July 2022 - Monette - Gainsleys; Coffins and Maynards
• February 2022 - Monette - Tomasins; Larkins
• June 2021 - Waveside; Father's Day - Drew had a separate house.
• May 2021 - Sea Haven - Wongs
• January 2021 - NOT
• October 2020 - Deerfield - Gainsleys
• August 2020 - Sculpture Point {36592 Sculpture Point Drive} - Tomasins; Jack, Morgan, Lee, Drew & Shannon
• January 2020 - Graham View
• January 2019 - Seascape {366 Wild Moor Reach} - Sanborns
• January 2018 - Kyuka - Sanborns
• February 2017 - Galleons Reach - Sanborns
• September 2016 - Kyuka and Vista Del Mar - 20th Wedding Anniversary - Larkins, Gainsleys, Sanborns, Renterias, Janie and Liz
• February 2016 - Serenity - Sanborns
• February 2014 - Crestview - Sanborns
• January 2013 - Living Roof - Janie
• ?????? 2011 - Arch Rock - Sharon and Janie
• January 2011 - Crestview - Jack
• September 2008 - {Carol's House} - Sharon, Mary, Janie and Pippen
• November 2003 - Sharon, Janie and Jeana
• August 2002 - Jack
• July 1999 - with Drew, Morgan and Jack
• November 1998 - Thanksgiving - with Jack
• January 1998 - Sharon pregnant
• June 1995

Davis Ranch [Lee Overnight - Day 1]

Sunday morning, Sharon and I made a pilgrimage to Davis Ranch to get fall decorations. We have gone there for a car load of stuff 16 of the last 18 years [2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020]. We didn't go to Davis Ranch in 2016 when the fall dinner party was held at Sea Ranch or in 2017 due to our fall trip to New Engl@nd. One of my favorite pictures from those trips is here.

This year, we had Lee with us!

2019 Sea Ranch - Day 1

For the fifth time in six years ['18, '17, '16 and '14], we are spending a weekend in January or February at Sea Ranch with the Sanborns. This also marks the seventh time in nine years [2013 and 2011] that we have spent a long weekend at Sea Ranch in the winter.

The Sanborns rolled up to our house in Carmichael a little after 8:00 am. We loaded up Phil's truck and were on the road just before 8:30 am.

As a change of pace, we decided to go to the coast through the Anderson Valley. This added more than an hour to the trip, but gave us a chance to explore some new wineries. Our first stop was Pennyroyal Farm. We did a wine tasting paired with a small cheese tasting.

We continued up Highway 128 and stopped at Toulouse Vineyards. I enjoyed both of the stops. They were much more causal and relaxed than wine tasting in Napa. Both places were very friendly.

From there, it was about another hour and a half to Gualala. We rolled into town about 3:40 pm and picked up the key.

The four of us are spending three nights at Seascape. We have never stayed at this house before. It is located at the end of Wild Boor Reach. This is probably the closest we have ever stayed to the ocean. As a separate project, I need to make a map of all the houses that we have stayed in Sea Ranch!

After getting the truck unpacked, Sharon and I took a two mile walk along the bluffs. I love the trails along the bluffs.

We finished the night with a late dinner. Marlene made a great lasagna. Somewhat uncharacteristically, everyone crashed very early...

2018 Sea Ranch Day 1

For the fourth time in five years ['17, '16 and '14], we are spending a weekend in January or February at Sea Ranch with the Sanborns. This also marks the fifth time in seven years [2013 and 2011] that we have spent a long weekend at Sea Ranch in the winter.

The Sanborns rolled up to our house in Carmichael a little before 9:00 am. We loaded up Phil's truck and were on the road just before 9:30 am.

When Jack, Sharon and I were in San Francisco last summer, we had a bottle of MacPhail Pinot Noir for dinner. We liked it and I researched where they were located. It turned out that they had a tasting room in Sebastopol. I made a reservation for noon. Their tasting lounge is in an area called the Barlow. We got there about 11:30 am; the traffic was very light. We wandered around the area a little before heading to the tasting room.

We had the tasting room to ourselves. After the tasting, we had some sandwiches for lunch in MacPhail Tasting Lounge Soil Room.

After a quick stop in Bodega Bay for some crab and smoked salmon, we headed north to Sea Ranch. The traffic continued to be very light. We rolled in Gualala just after 3:00 pm. We are staying the next three nights at the Kyuka House. This is one of the two houses that we rented in September of 2016 for the anniversary trip.

Sharon and I went for a two mile walk along the bluffs before dinner. I have always loved sunsets on the ocean at Sea Ranch.

Sharon made chicken cordon bleu and green beans for dinner. After dinner, the Sanborns hit the hot tub. Beat from a long week of traveling with a couple of early mornings, I fell asleep on the couch in the media room and was done for the night...

2017 Sea Ranch Day 1

For the third time in four years [2016 and 2014], we are spending a weekend in February at Sea Ranch with the Sanborns. This also marks the fifth time in seven years [2013 and 2011] that we have spent a weekend at Sea Ranch in January or February.

The Sanborns met us at our house about 8:15 am. We loaded their truck and were on the road before 8:45 am. I had made reservations for a wine tasting at Donum Estate at 10:30 am. Sharon's friend Noel had brought a bottle of Donum to dinner. I remembered him talking about the winery and thought it would be nice to explore a new place.

We had a very intimate tasting. Afterwards, with it raining hard, they let us use the room to have lunch. Sharon had made New 0rleans style Muffulettas sandwiches for lunch.

From there, we rolled towards Gualala. We picked up the key in town about 3:00 pm. We are spending three nights at Galleons Reach.

After getting settled in, Sharon and I went for a walk. The rain actually stopped for a while. We walked to the point in front of Sea Ranch Lodge and back. In total, we covered about 2.9 miles. I had never walked out on the point in front of the lodge. I discovered two Sea Ranch historical markers (Kenkoku Maru grounding on Black Point Beach and Black Point Settlement/Bihler Landing) that I had never seen before.

The four of us spent some time in the hot tub before dinner. Unfortunately, the hot tub stopped working and never worked again over the course of the weekend.

For dinner, we had lasagna that Marlene made. We finished the night playing Texas Holdup poker. We also brought a Cinque Terre puzzle that we started...

2014 Sea Ranch Day 1

The plan for the holiday weekend is to spend a few days at Sea Ranch with Phil and Marlene. This will be the third out of the last four years [2013, 2011] that we have spent a winter weekend at Sea Ranch. After some indecision about which vehicle to take, we ended up loading everything into Phil's truck. With golf bags, ice chests and luggage for the four of us, it was quite a load.

Leaving the house a little after 10 am, we made a stop at the Bouchaine Vineyard for lunch. From there, we made stops in Bodega Bay for some smoked salmon and Jenner for gas. We rolled into The Sea Ranch about 3:15 pm, just over five hours with three stops. We are staying at the Crestview house that we rented in 2011.

After getting settled into the house, we took a long hike to the south. We went to the Walk on Beach and back. It still irks me that there is a long bypass around the bluffs just north of the Walk on Beach.

We used the hot tub and then played a couple of games of pool. When we were here three years ago with Jack, we never used the game room with the pool table.

Sharon made a lasagna last weekend. By the time we got the lasagna cooked, it was a late dinner.

We finished the night watching a little of the Winter Olympics before crashing.

2011 Sea Ranch Day 4

I was initially very confused about the sunrise and sunsets from the house where we are staying at Sea Ranch. I expect the coastline to run north/south, the sun to rise in the mountains to the east and the sun to set on the ocean in the west. The coast here runs much more from the east-southeast to the west-northwest. With the sun so far to the south this time of the year, it seemed like the sun was rising from the ocean. Every morning, there was a great view of the sunrise from the bed in the master suite.

After a quick breakfast, we drove to the public access parking for Stengel Bench. This is the farthest point down the coast that I had run on Sunday. Parking the car, we hiked for about an hour along the bluffs. Jack had a great time running in the surf on the beach below the old rec center.

Back at the house, we scrambled to clean and pack up the car. We were on the road just before 11:00 a.m. We were not in the car for five minutes before Sharon turned to me and said "I want to come back!"

We made a stop at Fort Ross. While Sharon had been there before, neither Jack nor I had. We spent some time wandering the fort and exploring the buildings.

Back on the road, we stopped for a late lunch at the Tides Restaurant in Bogeta Bay. We were home about 4:30 p.m., a 5 1/2 hour trip with two long stops. It was a wonderful weekend.

2011 Sea Ranch Day 3

Up fairly early, I ran down the coast in the opposite direction from yesterday. I covered some of the same ground that we hiked. I ended up covering a little more than 6 3/4 miles round trip. Although there is some interesting views, this part of the trail includes some more developed sections. Combined with the fact that I was sore, it was not quite as satisfying a run as Saturday. Sharon had driven the car and parked so that she and Jack could hike a different section of the trail. I came across them on my way back.

After breakfast, we went to Mass at Mary Star of the Sea in Gualala. The church sits up on the hillside above Gualala with an amazing view through the forest of the ocean.

Grabbing a few groceries after Mass, we headed back to the house to pick up our golf clubs. We spent the afternoon playing nine holes at the Sea Ranch Golf Links. Warming up on the driving range, I felt like I was hitting the ball pretty well. Unfortunately, this did not carry over to the course. I struggled. The front nine is pretty tough. It was also very soggy. I ended up with a very liberal winter rules 57. Sharon played pretty well and scored a 54. Jack started off well, but got frustrated the last couple of holes.

We stopped briefly at the Sea Ranch Chapel after golf and then headed back to the house. We finished the day playing scrabble (Jack won again!), watching the sunset from the hottub and grilling some steaks. After dinner, we watched a blu-ray version of Die Hard.

2011 Sea Ranch Day 2

Waking up Saturday morning, I was very confused. From the master bedroom, window, it looked like the sun was rising over the ocean.

After a couple of cups of coffee, I went out for a long morning run. I headed up the coast running on the bluffs overlooking the ocean. From the house where we are staying to the Gualala River beach was just a bit over 3.5 miles. I stopped and stretched in the surf and then headed back for a total of just over 7 miles. In almost 40 years of running, this was probably the most spectacular run I have ever had. The views and the weather were absolutely amazing.

The house has some unbelievable views of the coast and the ocean. After a breakfast on the deck, we walked over and checked out the new rec center and pool. Along the way, much to Sharon's delight, we came across a herd of sheep.

Back at the house, we put together a pack and hiked down the coast in the opposite direction from my earlier run. Sea Ranch has an extenive set of trails running for more than 10 miles along the coast with numerous spots to access the beach. The tide was very low. Jack enjoyed exploring tidepools, digging in the sand and coming across a large of group of seals lounging in the rocks. We covered about 3.75 miles round trip. Between my run, the earlier walk to the rec center and our hike, I covered between 11 and 12 miles; my legs were actually a little sore.

We spent the last afternoon lounging round the house reading and playing Uno. We watched the sunset from the hot tub on the deck over looking the ocean. Getting cleaned up for dinner, we headed to St. Orres. Sharon had dinner there with Janie and Mary in 2008. With a Russian influenced architecture, the building is interesting, but the food was only so so. Sharon and Jack had boar, while I had vension. Sharon and I shared a bottle of David Bruce 2007 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.

We finished the night watching The Social Network on bluray DVD and having birthday cake. Sharon got me a bluray player for Christmas and we brought it, some cables and some dvds with us on the trip. By the time we finished the movie and got everyone down for bed, it was after midnight.

2011 Sea Ranch Day 1

Between 1995 and 2002, Sharon and I made five different trips to Sea Ranch (July 1995, January 1998, November 1998, July 1999 and August 2002). For a number of reasons, we have not been back here together in more than eight years. In the ensuing years, Sharon has been to Sea Ranch a couple of times with Janie and others. With our birthdays both falling around the three day weekend, we decided to rent a house and spend the long weekend on the coast.

We took off about 1:30 p.m. and made a short stop at Bouchaine for a tasting and to pick up a case of wine. Sharon is a wine club member at this winery. Winding our way down the Russian River and up the coast, it was 5:30 p.m. by the time we got to the Sea Ranch Lodge to pick up the keys to the house.

Sharon found a spectacular house for the weekend. It was dark by the time we got to the house so we will have to wait until tomorrow to get to enjoy the views.

Sharon made a lasagna during the week and cooked it for dinner. After a late dinner, we ended the night with a game of scrabble in the living room in front of a roaring fire. Jack squeaked out a victory over both Sharon and me!