CAMPING, in a sleeping bag, with the sky as your ceiling, near a stream? It might just be the most sublime thing in the world, and on other worlds, too, if they happen to have sleeping bags and streams and skies. But there are ways to remix the camping experience, to add new elements and to bring certain flavors and feelings to the forefront of the fun, and glamping is at the center of that movement. You're bedding down near the trees, and birds, and open sky, but on a bed, and not in a nylon bag, in a well-appointed tent. It's an inside-meets-outside sort of vibe, with the "outside" end of things ruling the school (after all, you're not in a cabin, which is more inside-meets-outside with an "inside" lean). A number of spots around California have glamped it up, in recent years, and awaiting the seasonal openings of those places in cooler climes is something glampers eagerly anticipate. And one is just ahead, on...
FRIDAY, MAY 11: That's when Mendocino Grove, which is just a tuck and/or pinch outside of Mendocino proper, opens for its second season. The 37-acre property, which is perched on a "... forest bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean," is pure relaxed luxe, with 60 tents, of the Safari- and Family-style types, tents that are pretty dang kitted out. Kitted out=warm comforters, nice cotton linens on the beds, lanterns, butterfly chairs on the redwood decks just outside the tents. Kitted out part 2? Look for the "(l)uxurious bathroom facilities," complete with showers (yep, the H2O is toasty, which is ideal on the Mendo coast), EO bath products, and towels (plus, yep, toilets and such). Want to hike into Mendocino? It's 20 minutes away. Want to hang out by the community campfire? It's crackling, in the early part of the day and in the evening, so take an Adironack chair. Want to hammock the day away? Hammocks in the meadow await.
FOR MORE INFORMATION... on glamping, the property, the comp breakfast bar each morning (posh coffee is standard), and all of the Grove-good add-ins and details, wend your way to the Mendo-based property's site now.
