wanderlust wednesdays: bolinas, california

Wednesdays are for wanderlusting. I love travelling and exploring different parts of my city, state, country and world! I'll be sharing trips every week with photos, directions, tips and tales from my adventures.  Bolinas, California.

Travel time from San Francisco: just over an hour. Ideal trip length: day. Nice to haves: car, bathing suit, surf board. Directions: Drive North on the 101 across the Golden Gate Bridge. Once you are on the Marin side, take the exit for CA-1 north towards MIll Valley/Stinson Beach. Stay on for about 17 miles then turn left on Olema Bolinas Road. Continue onto Wharf Road and you are there. You essentially go around the Bolinas lagoon. It's the west side sister of Stinson beach.

I drove up mid-morning and arrived in time for a lazy lunch at Coast Café (lunch is served 11am - 3pm). There's an outdoor seating area, which is nice on a hot day. No ocean views, but it is very close, and there aren't really any other options. On a weekday, it will probably be pretty slow, but the service was nice and the food pretty good--not amazing but good for what it was. After lunch, I wandered into the Bolinas Museum for some art and then walked east to edge of the Bolinas lagoon and watched a man teach his son how to surf, which was pretty adorable. Then I just took my time walking along the beach, collecting shells and sticks and such. Sometimes there are lots of surfers, but this day there weren't many, just a nice clear beach and ocean to stare out at.

If you want to try surfing, you can check out Bolinas Surf for lessons. They have private and weekend group lessons, as well as a surf camp coming up in August. They also rent out everything you need if you don't actually have the board or attire. There's also the Marin-Bolinas Botanical Gardens that is open to the public on the weekends.

Close enough you can use a sick day to make the trip; far enough you'll feel like you are on vacation far far away.

Have you been to a spa in Bolinas? What was your experience? Leave a comment below and share your travels!

my backyard...

San Francisco. April. 2013.

When Bernal Heights is in your backyard, it's hard to ever get all that down. Just walk up Folsom (start at Cesar Chavez or anywhere really) and follow the trail all the way to the top. Anytime of day is awesome, but sunrise or sunset are the best. There will be adorable dogs. It is similar to Los Angeles' Runyon Canyon, as it feels like a hike in the middle of the city, but it is much less crowded and you don't sweat because the weather is always nice and it's just an easy incline. On a clear day you can see the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge and everything in between.