In this culture of commuting, hurrying, constant sound bombardment, too little sleep, too much to do, too much talk, not enough meaning, yellow hazy skies, conditioned air and tasteless convenience foods ... you need a break!  Imagine a day at the Historic Requa Inn:

You check in and have a cup of tea while you settle in and get acquainted with the old place; later, a glass of Humboldt County wine before dinner in front of a toasty fire.  You peruse the overflowing bookshelves and find a great novel you’ve been meaning to read. 

Dinner. The idea of having dinner with twelve total strangers makes you a bit uneasy -- until you sit down at the big table and find that the couple next to you visited Iceland last year, a place you have been been longing to go, and the conversation is off and running. The food comes out in leisurely courses: homemade carrot and red bell pepper soup; organic spring greens with a light balsamic vinaigrette; grilled fresh halibut with lemon aioli; big bowls of fresh steamed vegetables and roasted potatoes circle the table, from person to person, in an old-fashioned family-style service. You lean back, look at the river flowing by, and feel your cares drift out to sea. 

After dinner coffee and conversation in the living room with a fascinating couple from Australia.  They are planning tomorrow’s hike in the redwoods, too.  Nine o’clock.  You are so relaxed you feel sleepy even though your bedtime is normally midnight.  Your room beckons.  The night sky from your open window.  So many stars!  The air is incredibly fresh and cool.  You hear the surf pounding.  A hot bubble bath.  Then you crawl into your bed with its crisp white linens and cuddly down comforter.  The novel must wait. 

Pastel dawn.  Perfect stillness.  You are awake, no alarm clock required, relaxed and refreshed.  Mist rises from the river.  Patches of fog nestle in the redwoods.  A sea lion barks, breaking the silence.  You smell coffee and bacon.  Your mouth waters as you throw on jeans and go downstairs to greet a glorious day in Requa and the redwoods.   

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountain is going home; that wildness is necessity; that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.”-- John Muir

Come home and splash in the fountain.