Instinctive travels

Meet Heather and Molly: two young women looking for a weekend vacation to take them away from school, boys and life in general. Let them take you on their ideal student weekend getaway designed for two or more.

Molly	Heather

The month was September and the fall semester was in full swing. With only four days to plan for a weekend getaway and being on a shoestring budget, our options were limited. We daydreamed about going to the Napa and Sonoma Valleys to sip wine, but that's just too far away. Why not go somewhere closer with a beautiful drive, lovely scenery and hiking instead? After considering locations within a four-hour driving radius, we chose to camp at Van Damme State Park, only 3 miles south of Mendocino. According to state park literature, we could find all we were looking for at Van Damme: beaches, hiking and nearby shopping.

It was an uncommonly sunny and warm Friday in Arcata when we packed up the truck with essential camping gear and set our course for the Mendocino Coast.

There is only one way to experience coastal California, by driving south on Highway 1. To find Highway 1, take Highway 101 south until you reach the Highway 1 exit just north of Leggett. While Highway 1 is not the easiest drive in the world, it is worth it when you round the last 15-mph corner leading out of the redwoods. Huge boulders rise from blue-green waters at what could be the most beautiful section of coastline in California. We were awestruck by the natural beauty. We had both seen many coastlines in our time, but this one took the cake.

Graphic by Jon Mooney Source: Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association

We reached our destination in only 3 1/2 hours. Our excitement was barely containable as we pulled up to the ranger station. A disheartening sign on the ranger station stated "Campground Full." Like all savvy campers, we asked the ranger to double-check if there wasn't one campsite left. No such luck, and no amount of batting our eyelashes would help change the ranger's findings. However, she was helpful in suggesting another campground only 30 miles inland, Hendy Woods, off of Highway 128.

The park ranger was happy to tell us all about the area where we would be heading. She explained that it would have a warmer climate, a more diverse environment and a river perfect for swimming. But what really caught our attention was the mention of a dozen or so wineries spotting the hills of Anderson Valley, close to the campground. Being 21 years of age is what sold us. We looked at each other with big grins on our faces and realized the place where we were destined to go.

There is something liberating about having your plans change and throwing caution to the wind. Traveling should be more about going with the flow than sticking to a schedule. It also helps to travel with someone who shares your delight in the unknown. We weren't sure if our trip was going to turn out like "Thelma and Louise" or a bad episode of "Laverne and Shirley," but it didn't really matter. Hopefully we'd come up with our own story.

Warm air and rolling hills heralded our arrival to the valley. Signs on quaint wineries read: "Tasting Room Open 10 a.m. - 6 p.m." The clock on the dashboard read 4:40 p.m. We had one hour and 20 minutes to set up camp and make our way to the nearest winery. We hurriedly picked a campsite, pitched the tent, unloaded our gear and hopped back in the truck in 20 minutes flat.

Bring on the wine.

We moved down the road to Greenwood Ridge Vineyards. Here, we were the only patrons. We had the full attention of the pourer. Our hostess was talkative and helpful in aiding our quest for good wine-tasting. She noticed we were serious and offered us a map of all the wineries in the valley, even pointing out a few unmapped locations.

After expressing many thanks to the wine hostess, we returned to our dusty campsite and contemplated dinner. Let us explain that normally we are very good cooks. However, we took serious leave of our senses in that department when it came to this trip. For the first night we wanted to be fancy, so we broke out the macaroni and cheese.

Word to the wise: Don't try to boil water on a propane barbecue like we did, unless you like waiting an hour and a half for water to boil. And when you're building a campfire, make sure to use caution near open flames, as you might find some of your arm hair missing in the morning.

There is one thing we must mention about Hendy Woods Campground. You're not going to find many partying college students there. You will, however, meet a lot of senior citizens, wine connoisseurs and young families.

While we were anxious to check out the shopping scene in Mendocino and sample more wine, we also wanted to do some exploring around our campsite.

Our first stop was the river that the ranger at Van Damme raved about. It was a good thing we didn't bring our bathing suits with us because the river was a mere trickle. If you weren't looking, you could walk right over it and not even get your feet wet.

Photo by Heather Crosby

Molly communes with the spirit of the "Boonville Hermit" in his old digs.

From the trickle we moved on to the mysterious Hermit Huts. Petrov Zailenko, a Russian man, once lived in the woods outlining the park. Zailenko was better known to locals as the "Boonville Hermit." The Hermit, a World War II veteran, lived for more than 18 years in a burnt-out stump until his death in 1981. Being allowed to walk into this man's home felt like visiting a grave. His ashes had been spread around this area and both of us were humbled to be in his "presence."

On that melancholy note, we turned our sights toward Mendocino. It was time to join the living again. And join them we did, at the many boutiques on the main streets. Contrary to popular belief, your pocketbook does not have to be overflowing to enjoy the sights and sounds of Mendocino (but it would help a little). Affordable trinkets can be found in the nooks and crannies of most shops. We did venture into some "high-end" jewelry and art shops and were impressed, but careful not to drop anything expensive. Maybe one day we can afford a $3,400 black pearl ring. But for now we'll just look, thank you.

Being on a student budget, we couldn't afford the ring or to eat at one of the many seafood restaurants. Our style of lunch involved a high-class picnic of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with an ocean view from the tailgate of the truck. We got a few funny looks from the tourists, but who needs to go into debt for lunch? Not us.

It didn't take long for the day to pass us by. Upon realizing that we only had 2 1/2 hours left to check out the other wineries on our map, we returned to the valley. If you've never been wine-tasting before, we suggest going to Anderson Valley. We were impressed by the warmth and openness of the people we met at all the wineries there. Even their pets greeted us like we were old friends. Wine-tasting came second to the people we met and the conversations we had.

In particular, we were taken by the Pepperwood Springs Vineyards, which sit atop a steep and unpaved road overlooking all of Anderson Valley. It offered breath-taking views, a warm breeze and the best assortment of Pinot Noir wines (that's a red wine for you non-wine drinkers) that we both had ever tasted. The man pouring for us was the same person who made the wine. It is difficult to find that kind of customer service in a larger wine-growing area.

Heather and Molly toast the good times in the Navarro Wineyards wine-tasting room.

The afternoon lazily turned into evening and the wineries started closing their doors at 6, much to our disappointment. Neither of us wanted to admit that the next morning we had to return to homework, boys and life in general. For the time being, our solution was to roll down the windows, turn up the radio and sing along as loudly as we could.

There is a lot of stress involved in our lives and many of us say how much we "just need to get away." Then we never actually do. Give yourself permission to take a break. We got back with plenty of time Sunday to meet our deadlines and study for the coming week.

College is not only about getting an education from books, but also about exploring the area around you. Take someone with you and discover a whole new place and a whole new way of thinking.