San Francisco’s assorted collection of venture capitalists, latte liberals and blackberry addicts  getting on your nerves? Get rid of your iPod, Blackberry, and anything that needs a battery and head for Point Reyes and enjoy a lazy afternoon siesta with the cricket and frog chorus replacing your iPod. Watch the ethereal beauty of the Point Reyes sunset and the clear skies with moonlight and stars shing over Inverness Ridge.

Wake up to the sound of the seabirds after a good night’s sleep and enjoy a solid breakfast of Granola, poppy sees cakes, fruits and a choice selection of coffees, teas, and juices, with a majestic view of Tomales Bay and Inverness Ridge and the salty tang of the Seashore filling your nostrils. Don your explorer hat and whip out the zoom lens to shoot over 400 dazzling varieties of herons, mallards, and other birds swooping in a for a landing right behind your room, with turtles, river otters, rabbits, deer and the elusive fox wandering around unconcerned about the human interloper.

These are just some of the things you get for a weekend getaway at the Black Heron Inn, located next to the Point Reyes National Seashore, one mile from Point Reyes Station and about one hour away from both San Francisco and Napa. If nothing else, the Black Heron makes sure that you won’t starve to death.

Free breakfast when you check in, a wet bar packed to the rafters with plates, cutlery, coffee maker, electric tea kettle, toaster, napkins, coffee, tea, cereal and enough provisions along with a refrigirator with milk, ice, bottled water and enough juice to last out a decent middling siege.

Additional amenities include a television with cable, VCR and a CD player and wi-fi internet. The rooms are utilitarian, with simple decor, solid oak and Victorian furnishings, a simple shower and a clean and comfortable, but firm bed. Room rates start at $350 for the Bay View and the Ridge View rooms with private entrances and decks, with $500 for the Grand View Suite which is spread over two floors.

There are literally no other humans or any human activity anywhere in sight. there’s a  wildlife pond right next to the Bluff on which the Inn is situated, and its a perfect place to start an exploration of Point Reyes’ natural offerings, with a hike along the 70,000 acres of protected seashore that awaits you when you walk out. You can go shopping for mementos and essentials at the Point Reyes Station, and spend some time at Limantour Beach. From the Point reyes Visitors centers, you can saddle up for horseback riding and enjoy the adventure of sea kayaking.

While you’re connected to the internet, and there’s a phone you can use at the Inn, cell phones don’t work here and you’ll be relatively unplugged from the wired world of San Francisco for the duration of the weekend.

Info: 51 Cypress Road Point Reyes Station, California (CA) 94956; (415) 663-8621

Web Links: www.blackheroninn.com, Point Reyes hotels

Posted on April 3rd, 2008 by PLing
Filed under: Bed & Breakfast, Parks