A birthday weekend in Mendocino

I celebrated my birthday last week, and we took off to spend the weekend as a family in Mendocino, California. I had never been and was eager to discover this gorgeous region of California. And it was no disappointment.

Mendocino is a coastal community in northern California. It’s known for the cliffside trails and beaches of Mendocino Headlands State Park. Nature is abundant, greenery is greener than your eyes are used to, and the fresh air of the ocean is a delight to the senses.

We visited the Russian Gulch State Park and its beautiful 1909 Point Cabrillo Light Station.

We even witnessed a play session between a mother and baby seals playing in the water, away from the Pacific strong currents (look very close or zoom into the photo below to get a peak).

Miss Daisy came with us and had a blast : fauna, outdoors, water, she was truly in her element. After the rough times we’ve been through with her health lately, it was so good to see our good old crazy Miss Daisy! By the way, she’s doing a lot better and she can now almost close her left eye, woot woot!

We popped a bottle of champagne for the occasion – and also to congratulate Inès for finishing officially high school. Can you believe it? I still can’t.

We all completely unplugged. We hiked and walked, experienced new food, talked, napped, read, all those things we tend to put in the back burner when we’re busy with life. It felt so good to reconnect deeper.

We stayed in a dog- friendly vegan resort arranged in wooden cabin-style suites, with wood burning chimneys. We also learned a lot about healthy eating (I realized I had so many preconceptions about vegan food!), and even the girls were surprised that the food was “so good considering it was made only with vegetables”. That’s a compliment, right?

For me, although I loved the culinary experience, I still don’t think I’m ready (yet!) to live without cheese, crème fraîche or yogurts. Please don’t hate.

This was the perfect way to celebrate one more candle for me, surrounded by the people I care the most about. Honestly, every birthday lately makes me realize how beautiful it is to celebrate life and its wonders as opposed to counting the number of wrinkles your face has gained in a year. Here is to counting adventures and bucket-list memories, not the number of candles we add to our birthday cakes! Cheers, Si-