A Trip up the Coast

We made a day trip north of San Francisco to Point Reyes Station on Saturday. Eating at the Station House Cafe, I had the Drake’s Bay oysters. They’re grown locally in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. They were large and meaty, but I made the silly mistake of ordering them breaded and fried. Next time I’ll get them raw on the half shell so I can savor all their briny goodness. I shared a piece of mixed berry pie and a scoop of vanilla ice cream with my daughter. Amazing!

Next door was the Point Reyes Farmer’s Market. It’s nearing the end of the season for tomatoes and peppers. The second round of lettuce and mixed greens is starting to come in. I bought some strawberries.

A walk of a couple blocks took us to the famous Cowgirl Creamery inside the Tomales Bay Food Co. building. I bought some of each of the three cheeses sold by the cowgirls.

We left Point Reyes and drove over rolling hills inland to Petaluma, stopping along the way to pet a herd of goats. The town of Petaluma, with its Victorian gingerbread houses, has a nice farmer’s market in Walnut Park (2-5 on Saturdays) with local produce, baked goods and crafts. Saw my first apples of the season!! I can’t wait till they really kick in.

We drove back home to the Bay Area with a full day in our heads. I’ll serve the cheese with fruit for dinner tonight.