If you didn't catch part one of this series yet, you can read it by clicking here.
Once we knew we'd be flying into San Francisco, our next decision was figuring out where we'd spend the first couple days of our trip. Our initial thought was to wait until the last minute and book an Express Deal through Priceline in the SF. While that is a great option in most cases, we ended up finding this place about 45 minutes outside the city. I say it a lot, but we have country souls. While we love venturing into big cities for the food, coffee shops, parks and thrilling atmosphere, we're also pretty introverted so it can wear us out quick.
For me personally, where we stay on vacation is a huge part of me actually enjoying the vacation. And for this particular trip, I knew we'd be pushing ourselves a lot (long days of hiking and exploring big cities). So knowing we'd have beautiful, happy, clean places to recharge at the end of the day was a top priority.
This place was a last minute booking. And we'd return to it in a second. From the long winding drive to the house, to the many skylights that leaked sun into the home throughout the day, we loved it all. Simply put, it was magic. Read on to find out why.
(The link to this beautiful Airbnb listing can be found at the bottom of this post.)
We pulled up to this place excited, but travel weary. Both Jonathan and I had been awake since around 3am that morning. The kids were sick of being constrained to seats and I think we were all hangry.
We stepped inside this home and my mouth popped open like a soda can. Joy fizzled up inside me and just kept chuckling to myself, "Are you kidding me, God? How can You be this good?!"
The vaulted, sky-lit ceilings. The wood beams that glowed like warm honey. The heart-opening view off the back deck. It was all much grander than we expected and a glorious launching point for our trip.
The house was open, airy and bright. It all flowed together in a effortless, peaceful way. There was only one bedroom but because of the tall ceilings, we hardly noticed. I'm serious when I say we could have stayed here for a week longer and been perfectly happy to do so.
My favorite story from this place was our first morning there. The entire home was encased in old, tall trees. As in, we could look out any window at anytime of day and see nothing but trees (except for on the back deck, with that gorgeous view of Tomales Bay).
That morning, we each woke up in our ways, slowly, with no real plans for the day. The sun rose slowly through the mist and shimmered through the green canopy over head.
To the left of the back deck, there was a gigantic Butterfly Bush. Jonathan suddenly noticed that the tiny black things whirring all around it weren't insects.
They were hummingbirds.
I can't explain it, but I've been delighted by hummingbirds my whole life. I truly believe Jesus remembered that and lovingly included it as a sweet love note to be tucked inside this trip.
Me and Behr snuck onto the deck and watched them whiz and chatter by with the sunrise warming the earth behind us. In those moments, I felt seen. I felt loved.
My Father knows me.
I think what surprised and fascinated me the most about Inverness were views as we simply drove around. I'd never seen anything like it. Imagine steep, treeless hills rising and falling sharply on all sides. Greens and golds around every turn. We were constantly gasping, pointing and feeling wonder expand in our chests as we wound through the hills.
A little bonus about this location was the quaint, hidden gem of city named Point Reyes. This tiny place feels like you're walking into a party where everyone knows each other but is also really excited that you showed up too. The people here were friendly and informative. The grocery store was admittedly pricey but the bread from there was an amazing treat. Our favorite places were the bakery and bookstore with their charming, creaky floors and eye-rolling good pastries.
There were a lot of early mornings here (because our kids don't sleep in ever). There were a lot of days spent in our pajamas, eating frozen lasagna for lunch, and tickle fights on the giant bed.
We slowed down and drank deep of the Lord's goodness here.
Things I want to remember:
- The way the wind tossed the trees in emerald praise above our heads just outside the door
- The sunrises and sunsets here. Each glorious in totally distinct ways.
- The first night when Scout hit a wall of exhaustion and confusion and the only place she would be consoled was Daddy's arms.
We were sad to leave this place and hope in hearts to come back one day. Inverness, CA not only gave us this lovely, restful house but also the adventures of hiking in a hills that looked straight out of Irish fairytale, a walk in a grove of ancient cypress trees and a golden evening on the pacific shoreline that about made my heart implode from the weight of happiness we experienced.
But more on that later.
Part three coming soon....
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Travel Notes
- You can find the link our home in Inverness, CA by clicking HERE.
- If you want the best of both worlds (small town feel but access to San Francisco) and don't mind driving a little, considering staying in Inverness. We would totally do it that way again.
- The tiny road that winds up to this place is hard to spot and basically a one lane, so be aware of that!
- This place is full of windows so if your kids sleep better in the dark, it's something to keep in mind.
- There was only one room but there was a giant closet in the master room where we put Scout's Lotus Crib.
- Speaking of which, it's from Guava Family and we can't recommend them enough. We bought one year's ago for Behr and still use it! Scout's Lotus Crib was generously sent over by Guava Family for me to review at my request. Full post on that coming soon!