Cowboy Hideaway Adventure
by Louisa & Mark Amirault

A riding vacation story

Horse people don’t always marry other horse people.  For this reason, it can be a little difficult for an equestrian to find a horsey vacation that his or her spouse will enjoy or even agree to.  My husband Mark and I won’t be taking any trips to Ireland for cross country training or to Spain for classical dressage training, because he’s just not into horses.  He feeds them for me when I’m sick, he unloads countless bales of hay, and he has been in the saddle once or twice.  However, a riding vacation is an oxymoron in his mind.  The Cowboy Hideaway Adventure caught our attention because it combined my love of horses with wine country and San Francisco.  We could fly into the city, drive up through Sonoma, taste some wine, ride through the mountains of California…and the Cowboy Hideaway website mentioned something about Seabiscuit too!  Furthermore, they offered a half-week package that worked out great for us, as we didn't want to be away from our little girl for too long.  In this article, Mark and I will both share our experiences from our Cowboy Hideaway Adventure.  - Louisa

Mark: After a long day of travel, our plane finally landed in San Francisco.  It was seventy-five degrees and sunny…nice. We had a little trouble finding the rental car, but it all worked out and we were on our way down the 101.  I called the Bay Landing Hotel for directions.  Leia, at the front desk, answered with a kind voice and told us to get off at Millbrae. At that moment I looked up and saw “Millbrae Ave” on the sign in front of me.   I blazed across 4 lanes of highway to get off. The hotel was right on the bay, just five minutes from the airport.

The hotel was very nice, clean, elegant and affordable. With the Cowboy Hideaway discount you can get a rate on a room you could not touch anywhere in the city. 

After check-in, we grabbed a good meal at the Elephant Bar, which was next to the hotel.  They have all kinds of cuisine at a decent price, and they have Sierra Nevada on tap… my personal favorite.

Louisa:  I agree. The hotel was perfect.  We had a great view of the bay from both our hotel room and the restaurant.  Our vacation was off to a great start.

Mark:  I would definitely recommend allowing yourself a day to do some sightseeing around the city. As a former resident of the Bay Area, I took Louisa on a tour of the various sights that I used to enjoy while cruising around on my steel horse.

Skyline drive is a great winding road that runs along the mountain peaks between the Bay area and the ocean. On a good day (San Fran is known for its fog), you have scenic vistas that overlook the entire bay area and the ocean.

Louisa: Yeah, about that fog…early morning is not the best time of day to take the Skyline drive, like we did at 6am.  I had a picture in my head of being able to watch the sunrise from the beautiful scenic road, but instead, we were driving the winding, steep road in thick fog…with deer running out in front of us.  Not what I had in mind, but it was still interesting. Wait until after 10:30 am to take the drive, if you want views. 

Mark:  We decided to keep going north cross the Golden Gate Bridge and head into the Muir Woods. For a mere five dollars per person and a short hike, you can go deep into the redwood groves and see some of the tallest trees in the world. It is a great National Forest that has options for every adventurer.  You can follow the main path/boardwalk right into the heart of the redwood groves. For those of a more adventurous nature, pick up a map and try some of the more challenging trails. Take a bottle of water though, the temperature rises exponentially after the fog clears up.

Louisa: As with most tourist areas, if you want good parking and to avoid the crowds, get there early.  By the time we got back to the car at the Muir woods, all the additional parking lots were full and people were parking on the street ¼ of a mile away.  After the four mile hike we opted for, I was glad that we didn’t have to walk far to get back in our car.

Mark: San Francisco is an adventure in itself, from Lombard St. to Fisherman’s wharf there is a lot to see. Take the time to go up and down some of the streets, it’s amazing that people park their cars without rolling them down the hill. The city is very easy to navigate. Everything is in a grid, keep going in one direction and you will hit either the water, Rte. 101 or Rte. 280. The city is also well marked with signs to get you where you want to go.

Louisa: I hated the streets.  I will never drive in that city.  Never!  My heart was racing and my toes were clenched at every stop sign.  Stopping on a 45 degree angle is madness!  Cars aren’t dependable enough. I wanted a horse!

Mark:  Fisherman’s wharf has some great places to eat with plenty of souvenir shops. We chose Pompeii Grotto, which had good service and decent food at a reasonable price. There are plenty high-end seafood restaurants to try, but we were looking for a quick lunch so we could keep on going.

Pier 39 has the famous Sea Lion area. Hundreds of Sea Lions sunning themselves on the docks entertain kids of all ages. Don’t forget your camera. Take a walk through the pier, and try some of the many delicious food options available to you. We opted for a waffle cone. Near the outdoor mall, Jack Sparrow had a crowd gathered for his amazing pirate comedy show.

Louisa: Uh, don’t you mean Captain Jack Sparrow?  Okay, enough about the city. Our readers want to hear about some horsey stuff.  Let’s move on!

Mark: Sunday was the start of the run up to the Cowboy Hideaway. We did not have the meet the group until 2:00 at the Benziger Winery, so we had plenty of time to explore wine country. Before we left for the trip, I consulted Anne Zollinger, one of the owners of the Cowboy Hideaway. She recommended visiting the Viansa winery for lunch. After checking out the area and doing a little wine tasting, we headed to Viansa.

Louisa: Viansa is a beautiful Italian-style villa on top of a small peak overlooking the surrounding area. The outdoor wood-fired grill was accompanied by beautiful seating areas all with incredible views. I had pizza, and it was delicious.  Because it was big, I shared it with Mark after he ate his Italian sausage sandwich…but to be honest, I could have eaten it all by myself.

So, we went to the Benziger Winery to start our Cowboy Hideaway vacation.  We met Anne and asked her a few questions.  I was surprised to learn that the Cowboy Hideaway was a new business for Anne and her business partner, Jeff Irvine.  All the trail horses were young Rocky Mountain horses they had purchased last January.  They had been using quarter horses in the first few months, but with many of their clients being older, the smoother, gaited horses seemed like a smart move. 

Next we met Debbie from Portland, OR. She was going to be vacationing with us.  It was a small group this week, so the three of us would have the hideaway to ourselves. 

We took the tour of Benziger, and what a great tour it was!  I learned so much about wine.  The tour guide was very knowledgeable.  The weather was gorgeous…a trend that I couldn’t ignore.  

Mark: After purchasing a bottle of Port and Chardonnay at Benziger, we hit one more winery before heading up to the Cowboy Hideaway.

Louisa: Yuck, port. I don’t like port, but it was Mark’s birthday. I let him purchase whatever he wanted.

Mark: In what seemed to be the middle of nowhere, we took a left off the main drag and started the two mile climb up the mountain to the Cowboy Hideaway. There is a reason Anne suggests 4 wheel drive. We were spinning the tires in the front wheel drive Hundai Sante Fe we had rented at the airport. We caught a glimpse of the ranch horses on the way up, including the new colt, whom we would come to find out was an amateur Houdini and would slide right under the fence and head for piles of hay kept outside the paddock.

The Hideaway is a beautiful log cabin style lodge nestled into the mountainside. The first thing you notice is the enormous porch with the outdoor fireplace and custom furniture made from a variety of materials found on the property. Next is the entry into the kitchen, 12 person dining room table, breakfast bar with organic snacks set out, local wine opened and ready to go. What a welcome!

The inside is all you would expect from a mountain lodge. It has vaulted ceilings throughout and windows everywhere so you do not miss the view. THE VIEW! The best way to describe it is a panoramic painting of the California landscape which can be seen from any side of the Hideaway.  The interior is adorned with specialty lighting created by master craftsman, all leather furniture, super plush linens, I could go on and on. In the midst of it all is the centerpiece of the living room, the beautiful stone fireplace.

All in all it is the type of lodge you would expect to see in a magazine.

Louisa: I loved our room.  We had a very high, comfy four-posted bed. There was a Jacuzzi tub and a glass shower with a view. Our first morning there, I was able to watch deer grazing from my shower.

Mark: Day 1, after a great night sleep on the most comfortable bed I’ve ever been on, we got up and started to get ready for the day.  We were going to be doing the trail run into town.

Louisa: The ride into town is usually at the end of the week, but since we were only there for three days, Anne thought we should experience it. It is a good eight hours.

Mark: Louisa and Debbie are accomplished riders, so even though I am a novice, I figured I could handle it with everyone’s help.  Unfortunately, I tried to unplug my video camera that morning. You’re asking why that was unfortunate?  Well, as I went to stand up, something snapped in my back.  I was now hobbling around like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Not the best position to be in before a long day of trail riding.  I almost bailed, but 4 or 5 Tylenol took the edge off, and I hadn’t flown all the way out there to spend the day at the Hideaway by myself.

So we took the drive down to the horses to meet Bill (the Wrangler) and get set up with our Rocky Mountain mounts for the day.

Louisa: Bill was such a wrangler! He even had a Wrangler shirt on. 

Mark: Bill went over some quick training and safety exercises with us so we could get to know the horses.

Louisa: Yes, the three point safety check was something we were to do every time before getting on the horse to make sure they were listening to us.  We were to have them lunge around us in either direction, back and soften their necks to the rein pressure in both directions.  In addition, we spent some time mounted in the pen, practicing more exercises.  What a great thing!  All horses are unpredictable, and anyone who gets on one should be shown how to stop a horse. I’ve been on other guided trail rides that teach the rider nothing, and I always wonder, “what if..”

Mark: Hurting and not being as “horsey” as Louisa or Debbie, I was happy to take the time to get to know my lady, Peaceful Tango. We had a good connection and soon we were working our way down the trail. The rocking motion of the horse was actually more comfortable than standing up, so with that as a relief and Bill having stocked up on the Tylenol, I was good to go.

We worked our way down the mountain, through some beautiful walnut groves and on into town.  The entire time Bill (a true Cowboy) shared his knowledge of the land, the horses, the history of the area and of cowboy poetry.  He seemed to know everything and everyone in the area.  From the market value of a walnut tree to the owner of the property we were riding across, Bill was a great tour guide and spending our days with him was one of the highlights of the Cowboy Hideaway experience.

Louisa: My mount “Ozark” and I shared a pear from the pear grove.  It was the best I'd ever had.

There was some really steep terrain when we weren’t in the groves. These horses were amazingly sure footed.  They never stumbled.  I imagine my fat draft cross back at home, with his giant platter feet, wouldn’t have been as graceful in these hills.

Ozark, was about the best little horse I could have imagined.  “Uncomplicated” is the word that best fits her. She had boundless energy, but never tried to take off or break gate on me.  Her ears revealed to me that she was the most easy-going mare I’d ever met. She was just happy.  Nothing bothered her.  She was everything you love about a mare and nothing you don’t.  She was a pro at the ripe old age of seven

I was very surprised to find out that all these horses were very young. Some of the mounts were as young as four, and I don’t think the ranch had a horse over nine. 

Mark: Feeling like I should have a six shooter in my belt, we moseyed on into town, side by side.  We worked our way down Main Street, rode up to the local watering hole, tied up, got the horses some water and sat down for a beer and a hearty meal. 

Louisa: The “watering hole” was actually a really cool restaurant called the Blue Wing.  We ate outside on the patio so we could watch the horses…and because it was California

Mark: Jeff, one of the owners of the Hideaway, joined us for lunch and gave us more history of the town and the Hideaway. He also introduced us and the crew to the owner of the restaurant.  Glen Ellen had a great western town feel, the old blacksmith shop was still standing, and all I needed was the 10 gallon hat to be in a true Western movie. What a blast!

Read on: Continue to Page 2

 

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