Fourth of July weekend in Little River and my weekly workout recap

Do you ever come off of a weekend feeling totally refreshed and like you did just what you were supposed to do? That’s how I’m feeling today, because this past long weekend was a great one. The pictures will tell it all, but let’s start from the beginning …

Friday in Walnut Creek

On Friday, I got home a little bit earlier than usual, so Dave and I headed to downtown Walnut Creek to meet Nichole, and her man Brian, for happy hour at Corner’s Tavern. The four of us sat around chatting for a couple hours before Dave and I ended up back home for dinner and an early bed-time.

Saturday morning workout 

On Saturday morning, Dave and I headed off for the gym for my BODYPUMP class. He’s committed to coming to my classes a little more regularly now that basketball season is over, and I’m excited about it. He did a great job in the hot and packed class, and we felt energized and ready to hit the road once our workout was complete.

Road-tripping to Little River

Because we were already packed and only had to shower and put our things in the car, Dave and Rudy and I were on the road before 10:30 a.m., so we could make the most of the day.

Having driven to Mendocino before, we had a loose plan to stop and have lunch in downtown Boonville to break up the winding and fairly intense drive. The first meal we had in Boonville was perfection, and we enjoyed it outside at Mosswood Market. (Fun fact: Dave’s sister was married in Boonville, and we’ve been there before and LOVED it!) My lunch below is a salad with mango salsa and shredded chicken — and that warm toasted sourdough bread was memorable …

From there, we checked out Anderson Brewing Company, which was a super pet-friendly place with dogs roaming freely both inside and outside. And the next stop was Scharffenberger Cellars Winery in Anderson Valley for the most delicious bubbly wines. Dave and I shared the small-glass tasting and even made a purchase because we loved the wine so much. (Side note: From what we could tell in our brief experience, Anderson Valley is even more casual and laid back than Sonoma. It’s definitely not Napa, and we liked it even more because of that. Notice the jorts I chose to wear, which were totally acceptable.) 

After that, we got back in the car for the last leg of our very winding journey to the town of Little River for our final destination — the Heritage House. I must admit that I didn’t even know Little River was a place until Dave did some research a couple of weeks ago on TripAdvisor trying to find a place “somewhere quiet and colder” with availability.

We totally lucked out that he found Heritage House, because it was one of the most serene and scenic places we’ve ever stayed. Our room was huge and lovely, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and we could walk to the lobby, where we dined each night while there. And I’m always a fan of a red door …

The grounds were open and quiet, and we spent a lot of time just walking and exploring. On the first night, we got comfortable in our hotel room, walked to the hotel lobby for happy hour, then dined at the restaurant. Oh, and our cell phones had no service, so outside of hopping on WiFi to post a couple of pics or send my Mom a text, we were off the grid, and we loved it. (Dinner outfit number one below …)

Sunday adventures in Mendocino 

Sunday was our only full day away, but we didn’t want to pack too much in, so we took it slow. We had room service for breakfast, went on a mini-hike around the hotel’s grounds, which was windy and chilly, and then we even walked down to the beach, where we saw a seal in the water. And here’s what it looked like from our hotel room’s back patio … #BestViewEver.

In the mid-morning, we headed just a few minutes down the road to downtown Mendocino — a cool and cozy place, which welcomes a lot of tourists, but is totally quaint. In Mendocino, we walked around the little town for a while, got some coffee, peeked in stores and even met up with my cousin Karen, who lives in a beautiful home in Mendocino. I hadn’t seen her in months, and it was great to hang out for a bit and catch up, while sitting at a picnic table in the town square. (Hi Karen!!)

Once we said goodbye to Karen, Dave and I picked up lunch to-go from a tasty bakery/restaurant and drove to a park to eat outside at another picnic table. After that, we drove through nearby town Fort Bragg just to see what it was, then we went back to Heritage House to spend the rest of the day and evening. We hung out in the lounge, took Rudy for a walk and then had dinner again at the hotel restaurant. By the way, both nights we had the restaurant’s carrot cheesecake for dessert, and it was as magical as it sounds. Oh, and the cheese plate was really good too … (Outfit from night number two below …) 

 

Fourth of July on Monday

It was totally weird to wake up on Monday and realize it was Fourth of July, because we didn’t have the typical party and barbecue on the agenda as we had in year’s past. But we were so pleased with our choice to get away for the weekend, it didn’t matter. Shortly after waking, we packed up, checked out of the hotel and headed back to Boonville for brunch at Boonville General Store, where we sat outside. My meal below included two eggs, toast and some honey mustard cole slaw, which made for a delicious bite, when I combined them all together …

After brunch, we made the rest of the drive back to the Bay Area. Well no, Dave made it. Rudy and I napped nearly the entire time. Anyone else out there fall asleep as the passenger? Because I sure do.

Once we arrived back in Walnut Creek, we unpacked and hopped on our bikes and road downtown for a special treat in the form of Pressed Juicery freezes. And they were totally delish (as well as dairy and gluten free and made from the freshest ingredients around). The rest of the day featured hanging out, getting organized for the week ahead and eating burgers for dinner. Good times!

Overall, it was a truly fabulous weekend. We walked a lot (hit the 11k step mark on Sunday), we ate a lot of good food, we relaxed, and we soaked up a ton of fresh air. If you ever find yourself heading to the Mendocino area, I would whole-heartedly suggest the Heritage House for all your “off-the-grid getaway” needs. Even though we don’t live in downtown San Francisco anymore, we still live near the hustle-and-bustle, and it was nice to take a step back from that with this trip. Moral of the story: A change of scenery is good for the soul. Just ask Rudy! Now, let’s talk fitness …

My weekly workout recap

Here’s a look at all of the workouts I fit in last week …

Weekly Workouts

• Monday: Rest day
• Tuesday: Taught a one-hour BODYPUMP class
• Wednesday: Taught a one-hour BODYATTACK class
• Thursday: Did 30 minutes of weights
• Friday: Did 20 minutes of intervals on the treadmill
• Saturday: Taught a one-hour BODYPUMP class 
• Sunday: Rest day

How did this past week of workouts go?

A pretty standard week for me here in terms of workouts. Two rest days, two sessions of cardio and three sessions of weights — which is good balance overall. I have to say that I miss my regular yoga practice, but I’m having a lot of trouble fitting it in these days. I like to incorporate yoga at least once a week and that hasn’t been happening regularly, so I hope to get back to it soon. The highlight of this past week of workouts was having Dave in my BODYPUMP class on Saturday morning. It was a sweat-fest.

Have a great start to your week, my friends!

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P.S. Thanks to Meghan for today’s “Week in Review” link-up. And congratulations to Allison, who won last week’s giveaway.

Questions of the day

How was your weekend?

Where was the last place you traveled?