The quaint coastal town of Mendocino Village is about a three-hour drive northwest from the San Francisco Bay Area. It ís a tortuous winding way from California Highway 101, but a nice way: The road passes through the vineyard-filled Anderson Valley and the hamlet of Boonville, with plenty of stopping points available to buy fresh fruits and vegetables or taste some of the local wines.

Cats seem to like Mendocino, too.

Your rewards on arriving at Mendocino are spectacular views of flower-and-grass-covered bluffs and the sounds of seriously working surf (the ocean laps at three sides of Mendocino's peninsula). The town is full of Victorian-era homes, some lavishly refurbished and others looking as if residents of a hundred years ago are still in their kitchens baking bread.

All about Mendocino stand redwood water towers--from a time in the mid-nineteenth century when residents built redwood towers and tanks, up to sixty feet high, to collect water for home use. Many of these towers are exceedingly picturesque. I don't know if the tanks still hold water.

Each year the Mendocino Film Festival attracts filmmakers, actors, and production experts to town--and what a town for film this is! Over the past hundred-plus years, more than 60 films have been filmed in and around Mendocino--"East of Eden," "Summer of '42," and "Same Time Next Year" among them. Stunning coastside and redwood scenery and the historic town itself make Mendocino an ideal setting for the arts.

When can you go? May 29 through June 1, 2008. It's a don't-miss event!

Eight or so miles north of Mendocino lies Fort Bragg, a harbor town best known for the Skunk Train, which takes riders on a tour through the redwoods. Fishing is a major industry here, and charter boats offer whale-watching and fishing excursions. For great ice cream (hand made on the premises), visit Cowlick, right on Main Street. Cowlick also makes tasty small vegetarian wraps and serves old-fashioned hot dogs.

The Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden sprawls across 47 acres that reach from Califonia Highway 1 to the Pacific coast. Take an easy half-mile stroll through neatly tended flower beds, wonderful displays of rhododendron shrubs as big as trees, vegetable gardens, and even a fern-lined canyon.

Send an email for more info: mcbg@gardenbythesea.org.