22 MENDOCINO
MENDOCINO
Embraced by grassy meadows and the blue Pacific on three sides,
adorned to the south by an ever-changing sculpture of river, sea, and
sand, the village of Mendocino is surrounded by stunning natural beauty
and age-old patterns of life. Seabirds nest on nearby islands as they have
for thousands of years, whales swim by on their primordial migrations,
and river otters play and procreate in Big River.
Decades of caring by the people who live here have preserved the
splendor of Mendocino and its surroundings. Mildred Benioff and Emmy
Lou Packard protected the headlands from development with the creation
of Mendocino Headlands State Park in 1972. Thirty years later another
prodigious effort saved the Big River watershed, where one can peacefully
walk, bike, or kayak along a lovely and protected estuarial river.
The Mendocino Art Center began attracting artists from all over the
world in the late ‘ 50’s. Their imaginative spirits resulted in a blooming
of all the arts: poetry and theater, sculpture and painting, opera and
folk music. One such flowering is the now-renowned Mendocino Music
Festival.
Mendocino’s Historical Review Board ensures that the village remains
a tranquil and historic place to walk, shop, dine, lodge, and relax. Note the
absence of fast food chains, box stores, and supermarkets. Nor are there
billboards, traffic lights, or parking structures.
What makes a village a village? Old wooden buildings? Colorful
rambling gardens and roads with uncertain edges? Water towers and old-fashioned steeple churches? Whatever it is, Mendocino’s got it!
ROY DUFRAIN JR.
• Private Cottages with Hot Tubs • Romantic & Quiet • Pet Friendly • Oceanview Suites • Fireplaces & Kitchens SWEETWATER INN
707-937-4076 • 800-300-4140
44840 Main St., Mendocino
www.sweetwaterspa.com
CAFE BEAUJOLAIS
Dinner Seven Nights a Week, Starting at 5: 30 pm
Now Serving Lunch Wednesday Through Sunday
Fresh Bread from Our Wood-fired Brick Oven Available Daily at the Walk-up Window in the
Garden. Seasonal Outdoor Dining. More than 50 wines served by the glass in Reidel stemware.
