Hopland, California

The drive from San Luis Obispo to Lake Pilsbury on a good day is about 6 hours. The drive on a Friday afternoon, through traffic in Silicon Valley, San Francisco and Santa Rosa is a bit more painful. So after 6 hours into our drive and still at least 2 hours left to go, Martin and I decided to pull off the road and stay the night in the wine country before finishing the drive. Without a reservation anywhere and it being a weekend, we finally found vacancy at The Hopland Inn in, you guessed it, Hopland.

As a quick digression, one of the stories I remember most from my childhood and the drive up to Lake Pilsbury involved a fire at the Hopland Inn. As the story goes, on our way up to the Lake, my dad made his usual pit stop at the Hopland Brewery for one drink while we waited in the car. Upon leaving the bar he noticed that a fire had started on the roof of the hotel, located just across the street. Based on natural instincts, he went across the street, told the receptionist that the hotel was on fire and to call 911, and subsequently went upstairs to the roof to put out the fire himself. And whether it was my active imagination, my dad’s exaggeration or actual truth, I vaguely remember my dad mentioning he had peed on the fire to put it out (with enough beers from the brewery, this might actually be possible).

With this type of history, I was, needless to say, actually kind of excited to be staying in the hotel that had held my interest for so many years. And based on our one night there, I would stay in Hopland again! It was such a cute old hotel, with a long, oak wood bar and a fully restored library where Martin and I were able to enjoy one last glass of wine before heading to bed.

We awoke refreshed and ready for the final portion of the drive to the Lake. But not before breakfast at the Bluebird Café, with complimentary cinnamon buns, and a quick wine tasting. Even with the leisurely morning we were still on the road by 10:30am.