Marketing and Exploring around the Lake

Saturday we went to a Farmers Market in Kelseyville, which is on the other side of the lake, taking in the sights on the way. It was a small farmers market. We tasted some olive oils and really liked the one that had blood oranges infusioned into it. We bought that and of course had to buy some bread to go with it, that was being sold at another booth. We also bought some cherries, apricots and peaches. Love this time of the year when fruits are so plentiful and fresh from the local farms.
We then headed on around the lake to Upper Lakes, which is a small pioneer town on the northern end of Clear Lake. It is one of the oldest settlements in the area and is a pioneer, logging and ranching town.
It is also the gateway to the Mendocino National Forest.

We had decided to have lunch at the Blue Wing restaurant in town, which is located adjacent to the historic Tallman Hotel. The restaurant is a recreation of the town's original saloon built in the 1880s, which was demolished during prohibition.The exterior has seating on the veranda and in the garden that is between the restaurant and the hotel. This is where we sat as it is a pet friendly place and dogs are allow in the garden area. Savannah got a bowl of water and attention from the people who worked there. I love finding little restaurants in small towns that serve delicious, out of the ordinary food and this is one of them.  They serve what they call California style with a twist. We had fried calamari with roasted garlic aioli, sweet potato fries with chipole dip and an especially interesting dish called arancini, which is ristotto fritters with filling of goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes, and spinach. Yummy. Of course a little wine and we had a relaxing lunch with sounds of the garden fountain in the background.   The hotel itself also dated back to the 1890s and was reopened in 2006 after being restored to its original beauty.                                                                      

Tallman Hotel