Mendocino, CA

Pros: Quiet, safe, charming, with wonderful restaurants
Cons: A wee bit pricey, and a longish drive

When the pressures of work and school seemed a bit overwhelming, my girlfriend and I headed up to Mendocino, and looking back, we couldn't have picked a better spot.

Mendocino is about 3 to 4 hours north of San Francisco on the coast. The...

Pros: ocean sounds, soft lighting, flowers, redwoods, funky buildings, picturesque headlands, beautiful sunsets, fun window-shopping, good eats
Cons: lousy weather, stores and restaurants close early, hard to get to, not cheap

I've lived in many places in California over the past thirty years, including the Los Angeles area, the Bay Area, the Central Valley, Santa Barbara and the Desert. I've also traveled extensively throughout California (see my other reviews) and have...

Pros: Beautiful location, good shopping, small museum, great restaurants
Cons: remote location

Mendocino is located along the beautiful Pacific Ocean, about 150 miles north of San Francisco (3.5 hours), or about 540 miles south of Portland, Oregon. The North Coast of California is characterized by rugged foothills and mountains that tumble down...