Weekend getaway: Santa Rosa - Ukiah - Mendocino

I've been wanting to document my recent trips around North California but was too lazy to do it and today has been kind of slow and chilly.. a perfect day to stay home and finally got a work around posting these late posts, so here goes..

Brunch! The trick to having a good getaway is to start with an awesome brunch. We picked this farm-to-table gem nested in the town of Santa Rosa called The Naked Pig and boy did they not disappoint. We ordered their porchetta sandwich and bacon battered waffles -- regretted right away for not ordering more because they are delicious.

Our first stop was Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve. The entrance was hard to spot so make sure to keep an eye for a small parking lot. There isn't a grand entrance like other more popular state parks but this park is definitely worth a stop if you're looking for some nature therapy deep in the redwoods. We stayed a night in Ukiah and stumbled upon this place called Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery which was an interesting addition to our trip.

After a fully rested night, we drove to Russian Gulch State Park for a 3 hours hike and it literally felt like we're hiking in fairy tale:

When we could no longer feel our legs, we ended the day with a beautiful sunset along the Mendocino coast..

After the hike, we spent the night in the charming small town of Occidental, which I self-proclaimed as the Stars Hollow of Northern California <3.

We opt to stay at a local bed and breakfast called Inn at Occidental which is a delightful place to spend the night at. I just love the idea of waking up to home-cooked breakfast.

We ended the trip with a little detour to nearby Fort Ross Historic State Park and had a nice picnic from some leftovers from the previous night.

I can't wait to come back and explore the rest of Mendocino!