Lodging

Joe's year-round rental cabin in South Lake Tahoe.

A girl can take only so much fog.  So, after more than a week of gray, dreary mornings with the occasional blast of Arctic wind, I decided it was time for a dose of summer. The kind of summer that exists pretty much anywhere outside of San Francisco — sunshiny, hot, beach weather. Warm nights that only require only a sheet to sleep under.

Lake Tahoe, I thought to myself in a moment of inspiration, that’s just what our fog-shivering souls need! And though I could just have driven the family across a bridge for warmth, there is nothing like summer in Tahoe.

Turns out that my friend Joe’s cabin was available for the weekend and he offered it to us. He is in the process of leaving the management company that previously rented it and is now handling rentals himself.

The kitchen is well-equipped and open.

Joe’s cabin is in South Lake close to the Highway 89 and Highway 50 “Y” and quite easy to find. We drove at night so the kids could sleep and arrived at the cozy, immaculate, two-bedroom cabin with a gambrel-style roof in the dark.

It was perfect for us.

The kitchen is large, open and and well-equipped. The downstairs living space has two comfy couches (and one that felt like a pull-out — not so comfy), exposed wood and beams, a large dining room table, and a woodburning stove. The cabin has good feng shui and feels as though it had intuitively put together with thought behind it.

Retro Coca-cola memorabilia adorns the walls as opposed to the usual Tahoe kitsch. The entertainment system and wireless modem were both in working order, and carpeted stairs made it safer for our active toddler.

Upstairs the master bedroom has a second bath and across the hall a bunk room can sleep six. Extra bedding is piled neatly in the hallway.

In back is a postage stamp-sized, fenced in lawn with a grill and hot tub.

The cabin rents for $150 per night plus $150 for a cleaning fee and local occupancy tax.

Joe Mudnich’s Tahoe Cabin
2560 Chris @ Sierra Blvd
South Lake Tahoe
(415) 290-6438

Photo credit: Joe Mud

Posted by Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip

White Rock Resort Cabin

My husband left the Bay Area on Thursday for an eight plus hour drive to the Smith River in California. He’s an outdoor-kind-of-guy so he was excited to meet a former childhood classmate from Oregon to renew a friendship and watch the waves in the pacific ocean for a couple of days.  His friend selected the White Rock Resort, ocean front cabins off of highway 101 north in Smith River.

The cabins are individually owned an offer affordably priced, fully furnished one bedrooms with a loft. The large cedar decks come with a full-sized hot tub, some with ocean views. The kitchen is fully equipped with a microwave and oven, refrigerator with freezer and a bread machine (with a hot loaf waiting upon arrival.) For those not wanting to disconnect from the world wide web, there is free WiFi internet. All river cabins have BBQ and fireplace, there are also laundry facilities for washing the sand out of those beach towels.

View from the Deck of White Rock Cabin

My husband recommends the Nautical Inn Restaurant next to White Rock Resort and the cheap and tasty $4.00 Friday appetizers. Room rates for the cabins range from $150-$250 per night with a two night minimum required during the summer season. FYI, pets are allowed in cabins #12, #19, #22 & #28 with a $50 non-refundable fee.

White Rock Resort 1 (707) 487-1021

16800 Hwy 101 North

Smith River, CA 95567

Photos by Cory N. Brown

From Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip

Horses at Carneros Inn

Located midway between Napa and Sonoma Valley, the Carneros Inn is the place to go when you just want to get away from San Francisco, or anywhere, for that matter.  A scenic 45 mile drive from the City, the Carneros Inn is surrounded by 27 acres of grape vines and farmland, yet offers the sophistication and polish of a luxury resort.

My husband and I stayed at the Carneros Inn to celebrate my birthday.  We started our Sunday morning adventure with a ride on the Napa Valley Wine Train and then checked into the Bartolucci Garden Cottage, one of 86 private cottages sprinkled throughout the property. I was having a full circle moment as Andrea “Buck” Bartolucci was one of my first clients during my food and wine public relations days.  His Madonna Estate wines are well known in the Carneros region.

Carneros Inn Cottage

Being the blogging geek that I am, I was excited to learn the entire property provides high speed wireless access. I was looking forward to a dip in the adult only, infinity edged Hilltop pool and hot tub, but it was out of commission during our visit.  Fortunately, there was a second pool, designed for families and fitness, with a functioning hot tub. For those traveling with children, the family suites feature two separate bedroom cottages with a large private patio. The Carneros Inn, a member of Preferred Hotels and Resorts, welcomes children and is pet-friendly. If you are hoping to experience Napa Valley on a grand scale, the Carneros Inn also offers 2,400 square foot wine country homes. 

While breakfast is not included with the price, I highly recommend a stop at the Boon Fly Cafe for the homemade cinnamon sugar covered donuts.  At $1 a piece, these hot, tasty rings of fried dough disappear fast. 

Prices range from $480 for garden cottages to $2,700 for Carneros homes.

Carneros Inn Reservations 888-400-9000

4048 Sonoma Highway, Napa, CA 94559

The Blackthorne Inn is perched high in the trees above Inverness, Ca.

The wedding was two weeks away. Lots of details still needed attending to, not the least of which were shoes.

So, on a Friday afternoon I was in Union Square in San Francisco, shoe shopping with my friend Katie. We found a pair that matched the dress and and would work for my choreographed swing dance.

Then it happened.

Running for the bus, my foot caught on broken pavement and I went down. Hard. I broke my kneecap.

Strapped in a leg brace for the next six weeks, I could cross my honeymoon — hiking through Roman ruins on the Amalfi Coast, off the list.

The Blackthorne Inn is a romantic indulgence.

Wait — there’s a silver lining. Though we didn’t end up roaming Pompei or the cobblestone streets of Ravello, we spent the days after the wedding in a glass tree house perched in the Rapunzelian tower of the Blackthorne Inn in Inverness, Calif.

The Eagle’s Nest aerie, the stand-out of the four rooms that make up this one-of-a-kind B&B near the Point Reyes National Seashore, is simply the most romantic place I’d ever been. It’s a private, rustic-chic chamber floating above the treetops. The ultimate love nest — it has a secluded roof deck and sky bridge that leads to the hot tub.

The inn serves a hearty breakfast in the morning. Guests can dine alone, on the 3,500-square-foot sundeck, or in the glass solarium. Much of the construction of this architectural stunner is from salvaged items — doors of the old San Francisco railroad depot are now solarium walls.

Prices range from $195 to $325, depending on the room, season and special promotions. Check the website for specials.

Informed of our honeymooning status, owner/innkeeper Susan gave us a sweet discount on additional nights, making the decision to stay longer a no-brainer.

Last year, when looking for a place to propose to his girlfriend, I told my brother about the Eagle’s Nest. He booked it. And, within the walls of a tree house in Inverness, so another romantic story goes. Fortunately one without a broken patella.

Photos by Dan Dion.

Pistante's Coyote Den, South Lake Tahoe

My friend Joe mentioned a motel he’d returned to several times in South Lake Tahoe when skiing at Heavenly. So, last weekend, while spending the holidays in a rented cabin nearby, I decided to stop and get the skinny on the ominously named Pistante’s Coyote Den.

“We get a lot of returning guests,” Lorraine Pistante, the affable, motherly innkeeper told me. “Right now, half of the rooms are booked by people who come back every year.”

Lorraine and husband Earl Pistante acquired a tired, 16-room motel called the Sundowner on Emerald Bay Road in 2002, and set about updating it. They incorporated outdoorsy themes that reflect Tahoe’s nature and wildlife — coyotes, bald eagles, sunflowers — into the dated, generic motel rooms. Many of the beds have rustic headboards hand-crafted from logs.

Prices range from $50 to $235 depending on the size, season and weekday versus weekend. Non-themed rooms cost slightly less.

The Suite is a good option for families and groups of up to six. It has two rooms, three queen-sized beds, a microwave and a refrigerator.

Pistante’s is next door to legendary S. Lake Tahoe breakfast joint, Ernie’s Coffee Shop, which was packed with locals and out-of-town skiers both mornings we stopped in for generous platters of pancakes and scrambles.

Amenities include free WiFi, complimentary Continental breakfast, baked cookies and coffee or tea in the evening, a year-round hot tub and a picnic area with barbecue.

There are tons of activities in the area — skiing, sledding, casinos, hiking, biking hot air balloon rides and any lake-related sport imaginable.

Oh, and you don’t have to leave Rover at home, Pistante’s is a dog-friendly establishment.

Photo by Lisa Dion