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(More customer reviews)This cinches it: California is just the d**ned coolest state in the nation. Yeah, I know we have our urban crime, poor air quality and bottom-notch public school systems (don't get me started..), but Holy Cannoli, what a place to vacation!
Offbeat Overnights is a short guide to the quirkier spots to rest on your travels through the Golden State. Every non-institutionalized hotel, motel, B&B and Inn is reviewed briefly in this book with one condition: it must have a twist. Some charming, silly or just bizarre aspect of your overnight experience must make it noteworthy in a world gone amok with the generic. Both the famous and "secret" lodgings are covered here. For example, we've all heard of the barbie-pink Madonna Inn at San Luis Obispo with its themed rooms (reason enough to visit right there), but would you have known to stop by:
·The Chimney Sweep Inn in Solvang - themed after the Chronicles of Narnia both inside and out of its six cottages.
·St. Orres lodge in Mendocino with its Russian-inspired copper domes and handcrafted wooden filigree. You can feast at the acclaimed restaurant on locally-caught and -harvested gourmet creations.
·An Elegant Victorian Mansion in Eureka , lovingly restored and entirely run by the owners who love to dress up in period costumes to complete the authentic Victorian atmosphere. Unbelievable attention to historical detail!
·Shadow Mountain Ranch in Julian, which has eight wooded acres and themed cottages such as the Tree House (yes, it is), Enchanted Cottage and Gnome House. I just have to see this one to believe it.
·Coronado House in Coronado, which is for legal purposes a dance lesson package that features a free overnight stay in one of its guest rooms. The owner calls it "Dance and Doze" (D&D) and creates authentic Leganese-American breakfasts and picnic baskets.
The author has personally visited each of these over five hundred establishments and provides a short summary and basic info in the listings. If I had one beef with this guide it would be that there weren't enough pictures, but the descriptions entice nonetheless. There is an undercurrent of enthusiasm for the delightfully uncommon experiences to be had at these offbeat inns run by inventive owners. She does state in the introduction however that no matter how wonderful, any place that wasn't clean, friendly or unusual enough was simply eliminated.
There is ever so much more to be explored, and suddenly I feel that I never really knew my home state. This book was printed eight years ago to date, so much of the info may be outdated by now. No doubt several wacky Californians have added new fab getaways since then. Would an updated reprint be too much to hope for? Meanwhile, there's plenty here to occupy my vacation planning for the next decade.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle
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