This past weekend was as decadent as a bacon wrapped foie gras sandwich on honey baked, handmade pan de’ leche! Now that’s rich!We drove up stopping along the way for a cocktail as the entire place is alcohol free; So we had a few shots (vodka of course) and finished the rest of the drive into the northern mountainous landscape. We drove into the check-in point and boy was there, what seemed like, a lot of rules. Clothing optional, bring your own towels, no meat in the community kitchen, no parking in the drop off area longer than 15 minutes and whew….smoking only allowed on a tiny little deck at the bottom of the hill—this was going to be hard!
But to my amazement, it was incredibly easy—I mean I actually retained all that information and still managed to have a blast! Okay you guys…you know I’m a sucker for a good time but DAMN! This place was so serene. Nature everywhere, wild deer on the property not concerned with the likes of us humans, quail running about in small covey’s and one of the most handsome cats I’ve had the pleasure of meeting! The sun was shining, the air was fresh, and the landscape was lush with trees so green and an outlook of the mountainside that would make you thank the Goddess for your very life. We checked-in, gave the room a full inspection, showered dressed and was off to the community kitchen to make us a vegetarian dinner!
Now I’ve been in community kitchens, but none quite like this! This kitchen was bustling with energy and folks were really cooking. Some were cooking very elaborate meals sauteing a medley of fresh squash and aromatics while others had bags and bags of stuff they packed and hung around trying to figure out how to put it all together. It was nice to see other people enjoying cooking as I do and one guy even said to me “isn’t this cool”? To which I replied “this is fucking awesome”! To which he replied “I know right? I feel like I’m on Iron Chef”! As I calmed down and prepared for us two powerhouse salads (with mango avocado, raisins, currants, cheese all a’top a heaping bed of mixed greens w/ a bit of goddess dressing) and heated the corn and red pepper soup; Alli toasted the cinnamon raisin bread and backed me up on the dishes, cleaning and clearing our workspace. It was so great! Working together, eating together and my favorite part; traipsing all over the property together; though I’m certain we didn’t see it all.
We went back to the room for a swap out of grocery bags for bath towels and proceeded to the pool area for a dip. We disrobed and “got with the program “(very hard to do BTW) and scampered into the warm pool—a nice, relaxing touch; and both pools were not too crowded for us to feel as though we had our own space. It was wonderful! We exchanged tantric breaths, massaged each other’s backs, meditated and practiced breath exercises; and for the finally we took a long soak in the hot spring releasing toxins, stress and all the cares of the outside world into the water as if to give an offering to the Mother—she was most accepting and gracious; taking it all back to be recycled and used as energy of another form.
All night, we relaxed and shuffled about the resort and the morning brought clarity, renewal and a lot of sunshine. I took a late morning Iyengar class that stretched all of the stress from my limbs and joints, and put me in touch with my inner being and spirit while Alli slept in. No breakfast first, just a deep penetrating yoga and meditation. It was incredibly delicious and all I wanted to do after the class in the ginormous wooden temple was offer gratitude to the Mother for all she’s been giving me.
I’m telling you guys…you have to go to this place and hang out for a while. I promise you won’t be sorry. The people were friendly and if you don't want to cook, there is a restaurant on site. There are also workshops going on the whole time on principles in the healing arts and many other practices like yoga three times a day, and a spa with practitioners skilled in arts ranging from Swedish and Shiatsu massage to Reiki and Shamanistic healings. There were even a few tents where you could shop for goods like crystals, hand-made jewelry and other crafts (alike to Berkeley). There is also a general store for food and supplies in case you didn’t make it to the store before you came up.
I’ll tell you that it was freakin’ great; and then I’ll tell you again because it was! We almost didn’t want to leave because as my old (and dead) friend William Shaky “P” said, “Parting is such sweet sorrow”.
So we quickly made our way down the mountain and found this charming place to have a nice casual brunch on our way back to the city. Brannan's Grill in downtown Calistoga. We thought it would be a little stuffy as we were a bit underdressed; but the maitre d' welcomed us and seated us right away in a comfy leather booth that sat up high just across from the bar!
The drink menu was really nice and it was one of the first restaurants I'd ever had the pleasure of ordering a glass of local Gewurztraminer with my brunch--a completely sweet and sexy choice. It went perfectly not only with his sesame crusted ahi burger, but with my baby beet salad and herb marinated free-range chicken breast sandwich (complete with roasted heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and lemon basil aioli). Wow!
The waiter even made it a point to take his time and fix an extra special cocktail for Alli as he wanted something light like cider. He concocted an iced down hot apple cider into a hard cider with “crown royal on ice” (Jill Scott reference), lemon and what I think was a dash of bitters. It was so sweet and yummy that I almost forgot I had to drive us home and ordered one…..lol! The service was great and we would definitely go back to try the Hog Island Oysters and possibly the grilled hanger steak!
I can't wait! .....and neither should you! Get up north already people; there's much to be done!
