We asked Tom about how they got into the eco-friendly resort business. He met his wife Renata in 1962 in Spain, though he's from Brooklyn and she's from Pennsylvania. He worked in public administration and knew how to make a fuss about the environment, economy, education. She managed luxury hotels including the Four Seasons in SF. It was her dream to have her own place. She managed Mankas Inverness Lodge, then they shopped for a place where they could work with the local economy, environment, and community to help everyone thrive. They arrived at Mar Vista and transformed the place -- the cottages used to have shag carpet, now they are open and elegant. Renata has impeccable taste, and Tom takes care of the finances. He spoke of the risks they undertook, their complementary skill sets, and it seems like they've been having an exciting marriage for the past 50+ years. I asked how they got married, and they were riding in the car in Texas and she kept asking, then he finally made it happen. It turns out they do weddings at Mar Vista, and Renata does it in style.
We say goodbye to the goats. One of them, Lela, continues to rub on Jay and follows us back to the cabin. Jay thinks its his grandfather checking me out and wishing us luck on the ride. We are lucky to have his blessings.
Jay cooks us food to take on the road and we leave around 1pm. We'll be back! We eat our lunch at Stewarts Point, looking much nicer than the other day after the Kings Ridge ride.
We stopped at the Timber Cove Inn for a photo and were warned of the road up to Jenner.
The road is narrow, on a 600ft cliff, no guard rail, hilly, with traffic, and the fog was rolling in. Any of these factors would be fine on their own, but together it was frightening. The cliff below was rugged and raw. While I could not have coached the whole windy stretch, we focused on the moment getting through to the next peak. Surprisingly, the cars were very nice waving, holding peace signs, thumbs up, and tooting their horns, as if they knew we were doing something crazy, and they were cheering "right on." There were cows in the road too.
Thank god we made it through to Jenner. I don't believe in testing God, but I'm glad he was there for us.
The cliffs then became less steep but the fog increased. Jay said it was like out of Harry Potter. We saw sea lions too.
We made it to Bodega Bay at 7pm. Total ascent was 3440ft. While the ride to Gualala was the toughest, this was the most terrifying. The coast is raw. It brings adrenaline, so that you don't feel your muscles as you push through, you just focus on making it. Today offered enough excitement for the next several months. Jay is embracing it -- a requirement for dating a strong young woman -- and he rode like a pro. We couldn't have done it alone.
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