Baja North and North Beach

In an unexpected turn of events, Martin and I had to cancel our much anticipated and eagerly awaited trip to Mexico.  And so we found ourselves home for the weekend with nothing to do… the dance card was quickly filled.

While we weren’t heading to Mexico, I was still craving margaritas so Friday night we headed to the Mission for margaritas and authentic Mexican food.  While it wasn’t Baja California, Baja North was a second best. 

Drinks were kicked off at Velvet Cantina with strong margaritas, Pacificos and chips and salsa.   My margarita and the chips and salsa were tasty and exactly what I wanted, but we needed a bit more sustenance, so one (or maybe two) drinks later we left and headed a few blocks east to San Jalisco for a proper dinner.  Walking over, we reminisced about the various houses we had looked at in the neighborhood and how different our lives would have been if we had bought in the Mission rather than North Beach…Martin’s only comment “if we had bought here (the Mission), we would be living in Germany already”.  Looks like we made the right decision.  And that decision was reinforced two nights later on Sunday… 

The one big upside of the canceled trip (other than the ability to attend an afternoon at Sam’s on Saturday to formally say goodbye to Hurricane McKane who just moved back to Colorado…but that is a different story) was our ability to attend the North Beach Citizen’s Annual Italian Dinner.  We went last year and had a great time; this year surpassed all expectations.  The food and wine were delicious as in prior years.  The atmosphere was jovial.  And more importantly we re-met old friends from last year, were introduced to new ones, heard about some other great organizations in the neighborhood (as well as some other great parties/fundraisers) and ended the night with the “who’s who” of North Beach at Original Joes for one last drink.  It was unreal and the perfect reminder as to why we love our neighborhood.   

I Feel Dirty

With Easter Brunch at my sister’s house on Sunday locked in, I planned a nice little get away for Martin and I in Calistoga for that Saturday night.  And what would a trip to Calistoga be without a dip in the world-famous mud bathes!

After some serious research, I booked the couples experience at the Golden Haven Mud Baths.  Our treatment was to include a dip in the world famous mud followed by a cleansing shower, whirlpool in the mineral water and then a blanket wrap to help in the cool down process.  Excited for something new, I told all of my co-workers and was provided with only a mild warning:  it is very hot and the mud gets everywhere.  I wish they had included a few more details.

We arrived at the spa thirty minutes early and used the time to get some sun at the pool.   Thankfully we had brought our bathing suits…we weren’t going to need them for the actual treatment and packed them as an afterthought.  At promptly 3pm we were led into our treatment room, a decent sized room with an L-shaped tub in one corner, showers along the wall to our right and a whirlpool in the opposite corner.  My first reaction: the room was filled with a pungent, unidentifiable smell: not quite sulfur, not quite mud, something just in between.  That smell filled our noses and the experience until we left for the blanket wrap (and I swear I could still smell it on occasion throughout the rest of the night). 

Our attendant gave us the breakdown of the process and walked us through the benefits of the mud.  But more importantly she gave us instructions on how to get into the mud.  Unlike a water bath that you can just step into, the mud is heated from the bottom, so the closer to the bottom, the hotter and sweatier the experience.  For the mud bath, we had to sit on the side of the tub and shimmy our way “into” the bath and, once floating on top of the mud (because this was not fine, silky mud but rather thick sticky mud) we had to wiggle, shake and force ourselves into submission…imagine lying naked in a mud hole, wiggling and pressing your body into the dirt…mud was literally getting everywhere and I was the one forcing it.

Once submerged, the attendant came back into the room to help cover any missed, uncovered spots and to apply a honey and thyme mud mask (because no part of me should be clean…although it did help to damper the smell).  And then she left again for us to relax and enjoy the moment.  Martin and I lay there motionless, unable to move for fear of getting dirtier (if possible) and trying to figure out what the hype was all about.  We were hot, sweating profusely, inhaling toxic fumes and the only respite we had was the cold washcloth on our forehead.  Oh and did I mention the shower cap?  Yeah, I was rocking one of those, making my head itchy as well. 

After what felt like an eternity, our attendant came back in and told us our ten minutes were up and it was time to shower and enjoy the whirlpool.  But first, and in this order: Martin had to throw mud at me like the grown adult he is; we had to get out to the tub with the same level of care as getting in; and finally remove the mud from every orifice of our bodies.  It took ten minutes in the shower to finally remove all physical traces of the mud and then we were back to sweating, this time in the whirlpool spa.

The best part of the experience was being led from the pungent mud room to the spa room (an oasis of calm and clean with eucalyptus scents in the air and soothing music) for our blank wrap (aka nap time).  We were wrapped in hot blankets and left to relax for fifteen minutes…I took the opportunity to take a nap…Martin alleges that he didn’t fall asleep but I swear I heard a few snores coming from his direction. We were woken up at 4 and led to the final shower of the day and then said goodbye to our attendant. While I felt relaxed, I am not sure how much was due to the mud and what was thanks to the nap. 

Our walk home Martin and I reflected on the afternoon and agreed: while an interesting experience, we do not feel the need to ever do it again.  And in respects to the health benefits I think I prefer a naked sauna with the Europeans than having to sit in the mud again.

A Few Beers Please

The good news about our trip to Calistoga was that it only took a few beers to fully recover from the mud bath experience.  I had booked us a night at the newly renovated Sunburst Motel just a ten minute walk into town.  We used the walk to take in the scenery, enjoy the warm weather and, later that night, to sober up on our walk home. 

Slightly hungry from the spa, we headed straight into town in search of an outdoor casual restaurant for a beer and snack.  We found our destination at the Calistoga Inn Restaurant and Brewery with its perfect outdoor patio along the creek.  We ordered beers and to my pleasant surprise, Martin forewent his normal healthy cravings and suggested the buffalo wings and fries.  I was in my own private Eden!

A few beers later, we decided to wander the town before selecting a restaurant.  Wandering, led us to Suzy’s, an amazing old bar that had cold beers and the Giants game on.  And as if the afternoon of bliss that had started with the wings and fries couldn’t get any better, Martin introduced me to some of his many bar tricks using the drink coasters…I never knew he was so talented!

A few more beers on and we found ourselves shopping along the main road, stopping at Maxine’s to snag a cute mid-century modern ice bucket that we couldn’t live without and clearly a must for any newly married couple.  With the shop about to close we didn’t stay long and instead continued on in search for a place for dinner that included good food but was “classy” enough for our casual attire and flip flops.  We found Hyrdo Bar and Grill where we wrapped up the evening with burgers and one more beer.

The walk home under the stars helped to clear our heads and unfortunately Martin’s stomach…shortly after getting back to the room I found him digging into the $7 jar of M&Ms.    

We packed up the following morning and took the scenic route up to Dana and Ray’s for Easter Brunch.  While we physically had left Calistoga, I could still smell the mud from the mud baths throughout the following day… or maybe that was the stale beer breath from the night before.