Travel

Why I Love Sausalito, Segment 3493842

So, I know I mentioned this the other day, but I’m one hundred percent obsessed with the little city of Sausalito and am currently plotting my move there. First, I just have to win the lottery. Pshhhhhh

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Until I scratch off my winning ticket, however, I’m content with just visiting and Almanzo and I were lucky enough to score a pretty sweet hotel room there on Saturday night that was heavily discounted. Y’all know me…I’m always the obsessive compulsive planner in situations like this but I have to say—sometimes it pays to call a hotel at eleven o’clock at night looking (pleading) for vacancy. Or maybe it was just the desperate tone of my voice after standing all day at Outside Lands, battling hippies and drunks alike. I honestly don’t know what it was…..but I’m not complaining. No, not in the slightest tiniest bit.
We staggered into Casa Madrona around eleven thirty, me with greasy pigtail braids and a face that clearly said don’t-mess-with-me-just-give-me-a-shower and Almanzo just simply carrying a change of clothes, holding his toothbrush in his mouth (I love it when he does that). We clearly looked more like we should be staying in a hostel than a luxury hotel but that’s just how we roll.
The room they gave us was the last room vacant in the entire hotel and it was gloooooorious. And, as luck would have it, we had actually forgotten a bottle of our wine in the restaurant downstairs a few nights ago, so while Almanzo checked in I grabbed it and the whole thing just unfolded perfectly. Don’t you love it when that happens? Check out the sweet deck in the back:

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And the windy outdoor staircase up to the room…

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It was more like an old Victorian cottage than a hotel room…I still can’t believe we got so lucky!

So, while I was busy scrubbing the grime from my arm hair and relishing wondrous hot water, Almanzo was busy taking some serious night shots from our balcony. Check these out—I couldn’t believe the top one was shot in pitch black, with zero flash!

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Here’s the same view in the morning
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I just don’t know how he does that…..but I’m trying to learn. Maybe I can get him to do a photography 101 post on here sometime…that would be lovely, no?
Some other fun shots from our mini-vacay in Sausalito:

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Like I said, I’m anxiously working on my lottery scratch off skills. I’ll keep you all posted on how that works out for me. Until then…

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Back to the drawing board.

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  • Mo@MommyRD
    August 17, 2010 at 7:40 am

    Aren’t some of those spontaneous decisions the best?! Glad y’all had a great time in that precious town over the weekend. I want photography lessons as well. 😉

  • Heather (Heather's Dish)
    August 17, 2010 at 7:47 am

    um, can i come live there too? lottery shmottery…

    beautiful pictures!

  • Lindsay
    August 17, 2010 at 7:51 am

    Gorgeous photos!! Although I’ve never been, I can tell by your posts and photos why one would want to live there so badly!! Looks beautiful!

  • Heather
    August 17, 2010 at 7:53 am

    Beautiful! I love CA, would love to live by the H2O like that.
    And yes, Almanzo should definitely do a photography post! Those shots are awesome 🙂

  • Lauren @ louisianagrown
    August 17, 2010 at 7:54 am

    You two are living the charmed life just to be able to visit such a gorgeous place! 🙂

  • Scargosun
    August 17, 2010 at 7:55 am

    I love Sausalito! My BIL and SIL live in Novato and when we were last out there (too long ago) we went on a bike ride around there. I’d love to get back there!

  • Maria @ Oh Healthy Day
    August 17, 2010 at 7:56 am

    I feel your love for Sausaolito. It’s like this beautiful little haven, so close to the city, yet so far. We always drive through on our way to Napa/Petaluma, etc. and once we get off the bridge and all that city ruckus (ruckus? I’m showing my true Southernese here) is behind us, we both breathe a sigh of relief.

  • Tracey @ I'm Not Superhuman
    August 17, 2010 at 7:56 am

    Gorgeous! I’ve only been there once but I agree; it’s so cute. I love how spontaneous you are. I need more of that. Me, I’d have booked a hotel six months ago, when I planned the trip. Being a control freak only comes in handy at work.

  • whit
    August 17, 2010 at 7:57 am

    I just visited there at the end of July and fell in love also. I encountered a girl that lives across from the market and she just walked across the street to get her groceries in their brown paper bag. Every thing there was so fresh and picturesque. I sat on a bench and just drank in the view. So lovely.

  • Jaime Ramsay
    August 17, 2010 at 8:05 am

    Looks gorgeous! Great night photos as well.

  • Jasmine @ Eat Move Write
    August 17, 2010 at 8:06 am

    Those pics are amazing!!! That’s funny you looked more like you should be going to a hostel.

    That is definitely an amazing place for a mini-vacay. Hubby and I are looking for a weekend getaway in NorCal. Looks like a nice little spot.

  • Nancy @ The Wife of a Dairyman
    August 17, 2010 at 8:08 am

    I LOVE Casa Madrona….it’s where my hubby proposed to me almost 8 years ago now. Had dinner at the restaurant, proposed on the winding stairs overlooking the city and we stayed in one of their beautiful rooms. I hope you reach your goal of moving to Sausalito….such a beautiful city:) I love visiting and should actually do it more often considering I live 20 minutes from there.

  • Camille
    August 17, 2010 at 8:16 am

    You are making me fall even more in love with Sausalito.
    My only problem with it is that it is so darn crowded!

  • Suzanne de Cornelia
    August 17, 2010 at 8:20 am

    Love it! While the photos of Sausalito are very pretty–in December those hills are lushly green not a bit summer wilted. Trust me, you do not need to hit the lotto (altho that would be tres jolie) to score a great place in Sausalito–or any pricey town in California–just need to be resourceful–which you are x10.

  • Jessica @ How Sweet
    August 17, 2010 at 8:21 am

    It looks SO beautiful. I would want to live there too!

  • Elli @ 16 and Losing It
    August 17, 2010 at 8:37 am

    Looks like a beautiful place! So many great pictures too! I don’t blame you for wanting to live there! Good luck with your lottery tickets! 😛

  • Courtney (Delightful Devours)
    August 17, 2010 at 8:43 am

    I love that idea! I would be so excited for photography tip post!

  • Heidi Lyn
    August 17, 2010 at 8:43 am

    I love Sausalito! It’s quite possibly the perfect little California seaside village. What a gorgeous room. Ya’ll scored!

  • Mary (What's Cookin' with Mary)
    August 17, 2010 at 8:45 am

    Would love a photog 101! Pls Alamanzo!!! 😀

    Sausalido looks like my kinda place… My kingdom for a teleporter 😉

  • Estela @ Weekly Bite
    August 17, 2010 at 8:46 am

    What an adorable place!! I don’t blame you for wanting to live there!

  • Amy @ Amy Starts to Run
    August 17, 2010 at 8:50 am

    It looks like an amazing place! Your drawing board doesn’t look half bad either. A glass of red makes everything brighter 🙂

  • Lauren
    August 17, 2010 at 8:51 am

    The colors in those photos are so incredibly vivid! I am impressed. 🙂
    I am also working on your mixed cd as we speak. I’ve never tried to e-mail one before so we shall see how this goes!

    • jenna
      August 17, 2010 at 8:52 am

      you’re so sweet!

  • Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg
    August 17, 2010 at 8:52 am

    I second the need for an Almanzo lesson– those shots are gorgeous!!

    I have many places that I will live, as soon as I win the lottery 🙂

  • Angharad
    August 17, 2010 at 8:57 am

    I love spontaneous weekends away! I am all about them. This summer has been jam packed full of them. But yes, start saving your pennies if Sausalito is where you want to live. Sigh.

    P.S. It would be AWESOME if Almanzo did a photography tutorial AND if you did a fresh pasta tutorial tonight…just sayin’.

  • Jeanne
    August 17, 2010 at 9:00 am

    I’m on my way there in a week, and you’ve pushed me to explore Sausalito a bit more! Thanks for the push!

  • Lisa
    August 17, 2010 at 9:23 am

    What a scenic place! I’m adding Sausalito to my list of “Must Visit”!

  • Rachel
    August 17, 2010 at 9:26 am

    I would LOVE it if he did a photography post! Those pictures are incredible. Looks like a fun night 🙂

  • eatmovelove
    August 17, 2010 at 9:32 am

    Okay, so now I want to live in this place I’ve never even heard of before. By the water is the best isn’t it?
    Love the last picture.

    Y’know why? Because it just goes to show when people are envious of somebody else or think someone else has got it so good – that everybody has the right to want and go for what they want.

    Everybody has the right to not be content and want more out of life. And noone should make you feel like that’s wrong or that your “lucky” now and should accept it and be grateful for it because they’ve got it “worse”. Who’s to say what’s “worse” in this life?!

    Were all individuals. We all have the right to our thoughts, feelings and dreams. So even though you got a book deal, and get to travel and live in CA 🙂 – …you STILL want to win the Lotto – and your still at the kitchen table. 🙂

    (and yes, I’m well aware that your post had nothing to do with that and I went off on a stupid, pointless tangent…;)

  • Annie@stronghealthyfit
    August 17, 2010 at 9:34 am

    Looks like a wonderful city!

  • Sarah B
    August 17, 2010 at 9:43 am

    So gorgeous! I vow to make my way back down to California someday, and have a little houseboat in Sausalito.

  • Sarah (Running to Slow Things Down)
    August 17, 2010 at 9:47 am

    Your hotel looks so stunning!! And those night shots are awesome. 😀

  • adrienne
    August 17, 2010 at 10:09 am

    Jenna,

    Your post brought back lots of fond memories. My family lived in Sausalito for a couple of years when I was attending college in the city. I lived in the dorms during the school year, but moved home for the summer. One summer I worked at a gift shop on the street level of Casa Madrona (this was a long time ago – late 1980’s) and dated one of the valet parkers. It was a fun summer, to say the least!
    I still go down for a visit from time to time. It’s one of the cutest towns in the Bay Area.
    Later in life, I moved to Tiburon. Have you been there yet? Not as quaint as Sausalito, but still a great place to spend a day – or night!

  • Erica
    August 17, 2010 at 10:19 am

    I don’t know what’s more amazing, the pictures or Sausalito itself! Absolutely breathtaking! I can easily see why you are dreaming of moving there.

    And that hotel room?! House?! Whatever, it looks fabulous!! It totally makes my whole trip when something like that happens. Love you to and A!

  • Chicago Cuisine Critique
    August 17, 2010 at 10:21 am

    Beautiful pics!

  • Kathleen
    August 17, 2010 at 10:29 am

    Pictures are gorgeous! Who wouldn’t want to live there?!

  • Kathleen
    August 17, 2010 at 10:30 am

    Pictures are gorgeous! Who wouldn’t want to live there?!

  • Danielle
    August 17, 2010 at 10:32 am

    Yes! PLEASE have a photography 101 post! I would love to learn and am actually purchasing my FIRST DSLR TODAY! Wahoo! Quitting time (yes I read your bolg at work:] ) can’t come soon enough!

  • trailmomma
    August 17, 2010 at 10:42 am

    Sausalito is the best. We have stayed at the Casa Madrona too. Beautiful.

    Next you should try Tiburon. Stay at the Waters Edge Hotel (http://www.jdvhotels.com) gorgeous!

    The best way to do it (especially with family in town) is go to SF, rent bikes, ride the route that takes you over the bridge through Sausalito and ending in Tiburon and then ferry back over to SF with the bikes to return them and ferry back. If you have bikes of your own, then start in Tiburon . . . amazing sites and awesome experience for visiting family members.

  • Rachel
    August 17, 2010 at 11:11 am

    Glad you had a nice time! What a beautiful city.

  • Teresa
    August 17, 2010 at 11:22 am

    Jenna, I don’t blame you for lov’n that place. It is breathtaking!!!!!!!!!!

  • amber's notebook
    August 17, 2010 at 11:52 am

    I love sausolito! What a fun place to stay!! I am going to have to check it out!

  • Tina
    August 17, 2010 at 12:04 pm

    What a beautiful little trip! And Almanzo does take some awesome pics!

  • Kate
    August 17, 2010 at 12:36 pm

    That taco truck photo is my favorite image – so strikingly charming in its simplicity…it instantly takes me back to another time. Beautiful photography!!!

  • Lauren at KeepItSweet
    August 17, 2010 at 12:39 pm

    Oh now I really want to go back there. Amazing pics and I’d love to see his photography 101!

  • Katie
    August 17, 2010 at 12:45 pm

    Oh WOW those pictures are absolutely beautiful! I’m so jealous!!

  • R @ Learning As I Chop
    August 17, 2010 at 12:51 pm

    Looks so nice! I love all of the boats

  • kate
    August 17, 2010 at 1:21 pm

    I love seaside towns like that! Ill add it to my must-travel-to list!

  • Amanda @ Cakes and Ale
    August 17, 2010 at 1:49 pm

    I was in Sausalito last summer and oh, if I could wake up to that view every morning… I’m not sure I could possibly have a bad day! One of the days we were there it was kind of foggy and rainy and the whole place had a kind mystical magic feeling to it. Like Narnia. Summertime Narnia. With boats.

  • Katie
    August 17, 2010 at 1:50 pm

    I don’t think I’ve ever commented here before, but I’ve been a long time reader and I love the direction you’re taking your blog. Just wanted to say that. Your photography gets better each day! I dream of a new camera…and knowing how to use it. 🙂

  • Chelsea (Chelsea's Chew and Run Fun)
    August 17, 2010 at 1:53 pm

    There are so many charming and quaint towns not unlike Sausalito surrounding the Bay Area. Have you been to Alameda yet? I love driving through it and looking at the homes. My mom grew up there, and I my uncle currently lives there with his girlfriend.

    Those shots are gorgeous! I can’t tell you how much I love this new ELR format!

  • Kristin (Cook, Bake and Nibble)
    August 17, 2010 at 1:56 pm

    Beauty! Perfect night, I’m sure!

    xo
    Kris

  • Rachael
    August 17, 2010 at 2:00 pm

    Beautiful photos, and thanks for inspiring happy NorCal memories for me!

  • sarah k. @ the pajama chef
    August 17, 2010 at 2:29 pm

    beautifuL! i wanna go now please 🙂

  • Kasey
    August 17, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    Gorgeous Pics! I would love a Photography 101 Post 🙂

  • Staceyhttp://stacey-healthylife.blogspot.com/
    August 17, 2010 at 4:02 pm

    Wow lucky lady, looks lie a great view.

  • Lindsay @ Pinch of Yum
    August 18, 2010 at 5:52 am

    I definitely have found some really good deals last minute on hotel rooms. We stayed at a super nice, trendy, downtown hotel in Chicago for just 60 bucks by booking it the day before. Too bad us planners can’t know this ahead of time… but maybe the forced spontaneity is a good thing.