For Thursday, August 7, 1997 Drummer Column, Gibbs, 731 words

Couples like us

Susan and I took a romantic weekdays trip up to Mendocino, by the sea. It only took us 11 years to get there, from the idea's inception.

We've visited plenty of places together in that 11 years. We've had fun in most of them. We've even been to Mendocino several times, with the kids.

Not until this trip, however, was the motive pure romance. And there are no better destinations for romance than Mendocino. The whole drive up is through wine country. The town itself is a collection of bed and breakfast inns surrounded by restaurants, sprinkled with gift shops and mist; it caters to people with bucks who prefer fine bedding and prime feeding. The drive home along the coast is a soothing close to a beautiful holiday with your sweetie. The horizon stretches as far as the memory of the trip.

The full romantic route would be to follow State Highway 128 all the way from Calistoga to the coast. This takes lovers through the Napa, Alexander, and Anderson Valley wine regions, where they can stock up on bedroom nectars and catch breakfast at the Jimtown Store.

Susan and I have driven the first half of 128 many times and have no desire to purchase any more Napa Valley wine glasses, so we skipped that portion. We drove up US-101 to Cloverdale and then caught 128. We gathered our nectar in Anderson Valley, which is reached by driving through the town of Philo. Philo means "love." Ahhhhh. Isn't that sweet?

We made five stops, including one for champagne. We found a fine red and a gold-medal white. The tasting rooms were full of couples like us. We met a teacher pair headed south to Inverness from Oregon. It was their sixth tasting. We had some good laughs.

We reached Mendocino early Wednesday and found plenty of lodging. We stayed at the Sweetwater Inn and splurged on their best room. Actually, it's a three-story converted water tower. The top floor is an open deck high above the rooftops, overlooking the town and the sea. By evening, many of the other cottages filled with couples like us.

Besides great rooms, the Sweetwater also has redwood hot tubs and a sauna. We used the huge public tub and met a local guy who gave us the skinny on all the town's restaurants. "There are just too many good ones," he said. "You'd have to stay for a month."

The Inn is sandwiched between two gourmet restaurants: Cafe Beaujolais to the east, 955 to the west. The smells of both kitchens mingled with the bubbles in the tub. Night began to fall.

Susan and I returned to our room, up the spiral staircase. We grabbed the blanc that was chilling in the bathroom sink, climbed the narrow stairs to the deck, and watched the sun set from recliner chairs. Relaxed by the tub, warmed by the spirits, we had a quiet snuggle hour. We wondered why we didn't do this once a year.

That evening we ate soup at the Moose Café, then strolled through town, past many couples like us. Besides the couples, we saw lots of female pairs. Without men around to bring them, I guess, they brought themselves. Mendocino is definitely woman heavy.

We turned in way early. We were not tired. In the morning we greeted the dawn back on the deck with coffee.

On Thursday we toured the Heritage House Resort down the road, made more famous in 1978 by the romantic movie "Same Time, Next Year" starring Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn. The place has 66 cottages spread over 47 acres of lush green headlands. Most rooms have unobstructed views of the ocean. The deluxe accommodations go for $230 a night. We stood watching the waves and had another quiet snuggle. The sea pounded the shore.

The next day we drove home along State Highway 1. In Point Arena we parked and asked a man on the street for the best restaurant. He said, "I happen to own the best restaurant in town, 'The Galley,' down at the wharf. Tell them Tim sent you and to treat you right." We did. They did. We had awesome chorizo omelets. I can still taste mine.

Now, we're back home doing chores. We stop to snuggle more often. We strongly recommend this trip for couples like us.