California looms large in our collective cultural vortex. As a Southerner it’s always held a unique mystery for me, owing to my teenage fascination with the movie Point Break and my love of the Phantom Planet song, “California,” among countless other references across art, music, film, and fashion. From the window of my childhood bedroom all I could see were cornfields and train tracks; the beaches of California were a universe I might never reach.
That all changed in the last decade. I’ve made it to California a handful of times over the last several years, but seeing as it’s just about the same amount of time to fly to Europe from the East Coast, I can’t shake this notion: why fly to California when I can go to Paris? My most recent trip left me reconsidering that notion.
Previous trips were centered around major cities, with perhaps a quick jaunt down well- traveled roads on the periphery. A Los Angeles sojourn was capped with a few days out in Palm Beach and Joshua Tree. San Francisco trips were combined with wine country excursions. Until now I had never ventured further afield, into the darker reaches of the California coast and countryside.
This time around we had some business to plan around. My wife hosted a trunk show for E.M. Reitz at HeroShop in the Marin Country Mart. A couple days later we organized a weekend long collaboration with longtime friends at Scribe Winery (my favorite American winery), where she sold her shirts and I collaborated with the kitchen team on a menu inspired by my restaurants.
We figured: why go all that way and not explore a little? So, we explored! I wanted to share a few tips (including my favorite AirBNB ever, behind the paywall) so you might be able to have your own Northern California excursion. If you follow the lead below, I think you’d be pretty damn pleased with the results.
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