Mendocino Vacation - Homebase

John and I spent our second 4th of July in a row in Mendocino, and this year's trip was even more incredible than last year's.  We both attribute this to the fact that we stayed in a cute cottage this time that allowed us to relax much more deeply than a hotel room.  You don't want to do all your TV-watching and book-reading from the same place you sleep.  It gets a little dull.

The tiny bedroom in our cottage was perfect - and we loved that they had the same brand of organic duvet cover that we use at home.  The bedroom opened up to our private hot tub where I sat most afternoons getting a tan while reading a Jodi Picoult book.  It was as incredible as it sounds.

John ordered flowers for the cottage, so when we arrived the whole place as filled with the scent of lilies.  It was wonderful.

The two huge windows in the living room had mesmerizing views.

The views were particularly mesmerizing for little Harper, who could not believe her good fortune to be able to watch every guest's every move.  She was particularly interested in the four-legged guests, of course.

John and I laughed hysterically and she would dance to and fro as people, dogs, and birds would move across the window pane.

The fireplace was hooked up to a thermostat and was the only form of heat for the unit (I didn't even know that was a thing).  During our visit it was 70 during the day and maybe 50 at night, so we actually had use for the fireplace even though it is July.  Besides, who doesn't love a good fire?

Yet another thing to love about living on the West Coast - all ocean views are accompanied by sunset views.  We caught them every night we were there, mostly while simultaneously watching a movie on the Apple TV we brought along for the trip.  Multitasking at its best, if you ask me.