Words are everything

Clearlake

Thank you to everyone who sent me birthday presents and messages on facebook!

Nick and I spent my birthday weekend in Lake county. Now the actual lake, Clear lake, is beautiful. It is framed by Mt. Konocti, a dormant volcano that has formed many of the lake's features.

We stayed at the Tallman hotel in Upper lake, and man, was it charming. I loved the look of the building, as well as our garden upper room with its private balcony. On first glance, I fancied drinking my early morning cup of coffee there while reading the newspaper and Nick bringing me my breakfast. Well, at least I drank my coffee.

Here is a picture of the hotel:




The first day, my birthday, we just relaxed and walked down the Main street. We then ate at the neighboring Blue Wing Cafe and Saloon (owned by the same people that own the Tallman). We ordered the ton of food, which included tomato basil bisque (Nick), caesar salad (me), calamari and rock shrimp with tartar and cocktail (both), BBQ pork ribs with beans and vegetables (me), and BBQ tri tip with garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables (Nick).


Everything was delicious! I was starving and I ate everything. Nick said he was impressed. At the end of dinner, when I was debating ordering a latte, our waitress Melanie came out with a slice of chocolate cake with a candle. The waitresses sang "Happy Birthday" while I sat there looking surprised. It was great.

The next day, Nick and I went hiking at the state park. It was a great hike, filled with things to look at and lots of shade. The lookouts to the lake were great. Afterward we went to the swimming beach and I dipped my feet into the cool waters of Clear lake. I also got really tan! =) Then we went to the small town of Kelseyville (pop. 1000) and ate at this cute coffeeshop called Studebaker's. I had a cream soda and a custom sandwich. We then went wine tasting at Steele Winery so I could get the free glass. We also bought a bottle of their Pinot blanco dolce which was good and very sweet. A lady there, who I suspect was slightly drunk, found out I was a bio major and asked me if I knew where she could find the fungus that infects oak roots to make black truffles. WTF?? I have no idea!

Later, we tried going to an 18-hole disc golf course, but there was a tournament going on and they wouldn't let us play even though it was a public course. I thought that disc golf players were laid-back and nice, but these looked at us like they owned the place and we were intruding on their territory. It was sad, so we consoled ourselves with the pool at our hotel instead before preparing for dinner.

We ate dinner at the Saw Shop Gallery and Bistro, and I was not impressed. We had a reservation for 7:30, and we were not seated until 8pm, even though we could see empty tables in front of us. Also, parties that came after us and/or had later reservations, were seated before us. It made me mad. When we were finally seated, the table was located near the kitchen and on top of some loose floorboards, so we felt everything as the waiters walked by. We ordered seared sea scallops with spinach and applewood bacon and sun dried tomato butter (me), salmon cakes with lobster butter (Nick), a pan fried pork chop with chanterelle cream, mashed potatoes and vegetables (me), and roast duck with tarragon mustard, jasmine rice, and vegetables (Nick). For dessert we had creme brulee. The food was good, but did not make up for the horrible beginning that we experienced.

The next morning, I woke up super early and packed while writing post cards. I also enjoyed the bathrobe and our balcony. We had plenty of time before check-out, so we lounged around until it was time for breakfast. We went back to the Blue wing for their fabulous champagne brunch. You had your choice of champagne, orange juice, or a mimosa. Nick had orange juice and I had a decaf latte. We enjoyed the New York times and mini-muffins while our food was prepped. I had a dungeness crab eggs benedict with fresh fruit and Nick had gigantic Texas toast cinnamon french toast with fresh fruit. It was delicious!


Afterward we stopped at the beautiful Ceago vinegarden winery. It's this hacienda-style building located right on the lake's edge. It's the only winery that you can drive, bike, walk, or boat right up to. We just walked the grounds and admired the gardens, but we opted not to try the wine. It was a nice, calm end to our weekend getaway.

posted by Sharona @ 7:52 PM