Springtime in Northern California!

Spring brings lots of good reasons to hit the road and consider a trip to Northern California! One of our favorite luxury boutique hotel sites, Mr. and Mrs. Smith Hotels gives plenty of reasons to enjoy the mustard fields in bloom, quieter Tasting Rooms in wine country and warm, sunny days. We thought you would enjoy these ideas from their portfolio of lovely locales.

A cultured, cosmopolitan melting pot, San Francisco is as alluring for art-lovers and museum-hoppers as it is for party-seekers and street-food junkies. Criss-cross the city via cable car and stroll the SoMa district for a whistlestop tour of out-there modern art. Stay a couple of blocks from bustling Union Square at Starck-designed Clift, and toast this vibrant city with a mandarin lemongrass martini in the hotel's see-and-be-sceney Redwood Room bar. Hit Highway 1 and head south to Big Sur, the 90-mile stretch of cliff-lined Pacific shore that swoops between Carmel and San Simeon, three hours south of San Francisco. Redwood-lined valleys and wildflower-filled meadows are a soul-uplifting antidote to caffeinated city time. Follow in the footsteps of Big Sur's literary hero, Henry Miller, with an visit to the sculpture garden at his cliffside library (www.henrymiller.org).Wine-lovers, sip award-winning vintages right where they were created. We love Bonny Doon Vineyards (www.bonnydoonvineyard.com) in Santa Cruz; Le Cigare Volant is their must-try earthy herbal red. Sybarites, be sure to pause at Post Ranch Inn for some serious pampering in their shaman-staffed spa, followed by inventive Californian cuisine at Craig von Foerster's award-laden Sierra Mar restaurant. There's never a bad time to fly to San Francisco or to hit Northern California's easy-to-navigate highways. March to May see mild, sunny days. Rain creeps in from late November to February, but between storms you're rewarded with bright sunshine. From December to March, add whale watching to your agenda... Here at Jonathan Edwards Winery- we have been trying to find an excuse to visit this gem in Sonoma while visiting wine country. Beltane Ranch is a working ranch and quaint B&B surrounded by olive groves,vineyards and woodland hills of Sonoma Valley. This has long been on our wish list of places to stay!