Toni's Vintage Trips: Mendocino Vintage Dreaming

I had the extreme pleasure this weekend to leave the boundaries of the city and travel to western Sonoma County (near Russian River). I was visiting friends who have a cabin in the redwoods and on Friday we drove up Highway 1 to Mendocino about 100 miles away on a very windy road with show stopper views of the coastline. Mendocino is a Northern California destination that many tourists visit in the summer. Luckily, the tourist season hadn't started yet and we were able to walk around and see the town with few people. I was looking for 2 stores that sell vintage/resale clothes. Unfortunately, one of them has closed since my last visit a few years ago. I did visit Una's Curious Closet and enjoyed meeting Una and filming her darling store. I also got a gorgeous scarf there and put it on immediately, as it was a little bit cold. After walking around and having coffee, we drove out to the bluffs above the ocean and had lunch.

We drove back down the coast and stopped at Jenner, which is where the ocean meets the Russian River. We saw a colony of seals living on the river side of Jenner Beach. Actually saw them surfing into and out of the ocean. Then we drove a short distance up the Russian River to Duncans Mills, which has the most out of sight vintage store, Jim and Wiillie's. At my last visit, I bought a cherry red translucent Bakelite bracelet there that I later had appraised at $300-$500. And I so enjoy visiting with Jim Raidl who owns the store and always has interesting things to show me. On this visit, he shared a Bakelite horse broach that was so beautiful. He is also now carrying amazing feather hair jewelry and earrings made by a Native American artist in Southern California.

The last stop of my trip was on the way back to the Bay Area at one of my favorite stores, Aubergine in Sebastopol, which is a combination vintage store and music venue. Hope you enjoy the photos and please check out the seals. Cheers! Toni