A Day at Mar Vista Cottages on Anchor Bay (Hotel Review)

We arrived at Mar Vista in almost total darkness, so waking up here was a chance to discover everything for the first time. D was, as always, the first to wake the next morning, and I hustled her out the door to explore the grounds while her brother and dad slept in. We cautiously explored the garden, lifting roofs built over the plant beds to keep them warm and smelling various herbs.

As Tom, one of the owners walked by, he mentioned the barrel of carrots near the donkey pen, and D's eyes lit up. Can you guess what we did next?

Feeding the Donkeys at Mar Vista Cottages

Then E joined us for a brief jaunt before we returned to the cottage for breakfast. D was thrilled to show him everything she had seen so far, from the garden, to the donkeys, to the family-sized swings with a view of the ocean.

D and E explore the grounds of the Mar Vista Cottages

Then we returned to the cottage, and I cooked up those farm fresh eggs. I had no idea how deep yellow fresh eggs can be - our pancakes looked as if they had food coloring in them! I wish I was a proper food writer so that I could describe how our simple scrambled eggs tasted - all I can say is that they were just much eggier than any eggs I've made before. It's like discovering French chocolates after eating supermarket candy all of your life.

Kitchen in Mar Vista Cottage #12

Then we were back outside to explore. We somehow managed to arrive in time for absolutely perfect weather (the day before it had rained all day), and the kids were thrilled to spend the entire day exploring the grounds.

Looking for Frogs in the Pond at Mar Vista Cottages

D and E explore the woods next to the Mar Vista Cottages

Even Eilan looks happy!

After lunch (PB&J back at the cottage) we ventured across the road to the beach. Anchor Bay is the type of stunning coastline I associate with this part of California, and of course there was absolutely nobody there besides us.

Walking Down the Steep Stairs to Anchor Bay

It was a steep walk down to the beach, and we made the kids double-triple swear that they would walk back up all those steep steps themselves (except Eilan who got a free ride). But once we were down the steps, it was absolutely worth the effort. I only wish that I had dressed the kids in their rain pants so that they could comfortably play in the wet sand. Even so, they love checking out the seaweed, writing in the sand and running away from the incoming waves.

D at Anchor Bay on the beautiful Northern California Coast

Next it was time to gather eggs from the hens. I cannot believe that I don't have more pictures to show of this - quite possibly I was too busy enjoying the moment to snap any. Searching for the eggs (which were all conveniently located in hen roosts and not in the bushes that we enjoyed searching anyway) and feeding the hens was the highlight of our stay. For the kids, it was quite possibly the best part of the entire trip.

Gathering Eggs at Mar Vista Cottages

Finally, with the sun setting, it was time for dinner. The kids convinced me to bake up brownies and throw a birthday party for the teddy bear that had greeted us in our cottage, and then after dinner they went on a night walk with their dad while I settled the baby back down to sleep. I probably don't need to say it, but with all that time outdoors they drifted off pretty quickly tonight.

The next morning, we got up and headed off to our next stop. It's probably clear already, but we really enjoyed our time at Mar Vista, and what seemed like a bit of a risky venture turned out to be the hilight of our entire road trip. A mom never wants to see her children cry, but part of my heart felt a little warm when the kids broke in to tears as we said goodbye to Mar Vista and drove away.

Filed Under: hotel-review travel-stories

5 comments | Posted on February 24, 2010 | Save to del.icio.us

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