#12: Unplug By The Sea | River's End Inn

Mr. Ex liked—or should I say, likes, because I know his craft beer hobby (drinking and buying, not brewing) will never go away--to go on what I referred to as “Beercations.” If you’re picturing dudes hitting up different breweries to drink craft beer, then you would be absolutely correct. His favorite breweries are in California, particularly Santa Rosa, and back in August 2017, he was thinking of going again. I told him that if he waited until the end of the month, we could make it into a real vacation.

For the record, I can’t stand the taste (or smell) of beer. It smells like piss and from what I’ve tasted? Piss. Or what piss must taste like. I was willing to visit one of his favorite breweries (Russian River) if there was something else we could do in the area. We did some research and found some things to do. And so it begins: a 5-week mini-series here on the journal on “Things To Do In Cali”.

Mr. Ex booked us into the River’s End Restaurant and Inn. This place sits overlooking where the Russian River dumps into the Pacific Ocean. I honestly don’t remember how he found this place, but we were looking at pictures and thought it would be a great place to stay.

So he booked it.

And then I went on their website to do a little more reading. Guess what it says on their lodging page?

“Our rooms are designed for couples looking to rejuvenate. Renewal begins by having no TVs, no telephones, and no data ports.”

And no Internet. Bwaha.

He somehow missed that when he booked the room. For someone who’s phone is like another hand, disconnecting for two days was pretty hard. We’d be talking at dinner and we’d be like “Yeah, let’s look that up online. Oh. Right. Never mind.” LOL This place really does force you to unplug and enjoy your surroundings.

Honest to God, our surroundings were amazingly beautiful.

Our room wasn’t a room at all, but a really, small, cozy cabin. Cabin #3. River’s End is considered to be a boutique inn. They have five cabins and the one we were in was the smallest. The queen-sized bed dominated the space, but there was still room for a leather chair, a small refrigerator and two nightstands.

The piece de resistance was the view. The large sliding glass door to the deck overlooked the river and the ocean. The Russian River is right in front of us and then, on the other side of the beach is the Pacific Ocean. The same day we arrived, we checked out that beach, Goat Rock Beach.

We ate dinner at the Inn both nights. Even though we ate inside (it got cool at night), the views were still amazing and I have to admit the sunsets rivaled the ones here at home.

I loved being able to disconnect and would love to go back. Even though Internet access wasn’t available to the public, it was available to the quaint little seaside town of Jenner. We paid with a credit card and we all know you need some kind of outside access to run cards.

Taken on the beach, facing our cabin across Russian River. Goat Rock Beach | Jenner, CA Photo Credit: Miz Celise

And yet, not everything was perfect:

• The mini fridge never cooled down, so we couldn’t keep our bottled water—or his beer—cold. Good thing we’d brought a cooler.
  
• There were no screens on the sliding glass doors. During the day, with that direct sunlight, it got warm in the room. It would’ve been nice to have been able to keep the door open to let some air in. Without letting anything else in. (Read: critters)
  
• There were pull down shades instead of actual curtains. Those things were easy-peasy to pull down, but pulling them up was a whole different—and frustrating—story.
  
• No irons. At least not in our cabin. Maybe that little luxury was relegated to the bigger cabins.
  
• The restaurant only served lunch and dinner, not breakfast. The only saving grace was that they mentioned three places nearby where we could go for that.
  

The drive up to the inn was fabulous, but a little scary. We made sure that we weren’t out past dark because you had to drive through a forest.

Yes, a forest.

And as cool as it was during the day, with dappled sunlight coming through the trees and being able to see all the homes that had been built there, driving that rode at night—with no fucking street lamps!—was a death trap. There might as well have been a sign that said “Visitors should not drive through here after 6pm or you will die.” LOL Seriously. We made sure to hit up the Safeway in town for snacks and water before it got dark because there was no way in hell we were going to navigate that windy road at night.
 
We as a society spend so much time on technology, we use it to avoid actually talking to people. Like, face-to-face. Being able to disconnect here had been easier for me than it was for Mr. Ex because his phone was always—and probably still is--an extension of him. It had always be within hand’s reach, even when we were eating.

I had planned to use the two-day “tech blackout” as sort of our own marriage counseling session. While we did talk, it was nothing of significance. As usual. After being with him for so long, I could tell when he started to get uncomfortable.

Getting too deep in the feels was always an uncomfortable place for him, and once again, the things I wanted to say never got said.

Sunset on the patio. River's End Restaurant | Jenner, CA Photo Credit: Mr. Ex

But I would still recommend this place for couples wanting to unplug and reconnect.

As a honeymoon spot for newlyweds wanting to unplug and connect.

Or for singles wanting to unplug and reconnect with themselves.


IF YOU GO:
River's End Restaurant & Inn
11048 Highway 1
Jenner, CA 95450
Tel: (707) 865-2484 ext. 111
info@ilovesunsets.com