Sunday, October 12, 2008

Ode to Bodega

Over the weekend we headed out to our old stomping grounds of Bodega, Ca. It’s a very small town out in the country passed through when heading west out to the coast. One of those places where everyone knows everyone else and there’s a real sense of community that’s pretty rare these days.

Back in the day, there was such a wonderfully eclectic mix of characters living there… surfers, hippies, artists, fishermen… lots of eccentric types to keep things interesting and then being a quaint stopping point on the way to the beach, you’d get tourists and bikers as well.








Once upon a time, Lucas and I lived behind the general store (big blue building in first photo) in an old water tower converted to a tiny studio, right in the heart of town. This consists of the general store, the surf shop, the teeny coffee shop where Lucas used to work, the post office, firehouse, a handful of shops to entice the tourists, and the social hub, The Casino, a biker bar with two pool tables, ACDC, Patsy Kline, and Bob Marley in heavy rotation on the jukebox and the most impressive collection of taxidermied animal heads you’ve ever seen (not to mention this wallpaper behind the bar)… God I miss that place!



Bodega also has the claim to fame that the famous church and schoolhouse scenes from Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” were filmed there, and the town is known for being quite haunted. While I can’t back up the haunting claims first hand, I can attest to the fact that the birds in that town are actually quite friendly ;)

All of the above photos are via various flickr photostreams and link to the original source when clicked on. It was funny to randomly come across that photo of the laundry line which I really love, then to read the description and find out that it belongs to my brother-in-law’s mother, haha! It seems the picture was taken by someone just passing through town… small world :)



We were actually there for a party in honor of our old and dear friend Tim’s recent marriage which happened out of state in his lovely bride’s hometown back east. This was a chance to celebrate at home with friends and family.

We had a wonderful time and the setting was absolutely breathtaking, with gorgeous gardens and pastoral views! We got to hang out with so many people we hadn’t seen in years, it was almost like a reunion of sorts. It all brought back memories of a really fun time in my life and we got a chance to show off the little one too :)





Speaking of little ones, I kept trying to take pictures of Tim’s precious daughter in her adorable pink fairy princess dress, but I wasn’t using the flash and she was fluttering about so much that all the photos turned out fuzzy in this really wonderful way. Almost as if she were an actual fairy I had captured :D


This is our good friend Joey, who is someone that we do still see on a regular basis as he lives right down the street from us. He’s posing for this photo to show off his new Missa-thrifted vintage plaid western style shirt, so seasonally appropriate with its orange and brown hues, if I do say so myself, unlike his somewhat inappropriate footwear ;) This is one surfer who lives in flip flops rain or shine!

Then Joey turned the camera on me and I think it’s quite obvious that I’m clearly more comfortable being photographed when it’s just me and my self-timer alone in the backyard ;) Not my most inspired outfit I’ll admit, but I was wearing my recently thrifted cardigan, so there you go.

Also, once the sun went down it was FREEZING cold and I was happy to not be in a dress or skirt. I threw on a knit scarf and hat and was a whole hell of a lot cozier than Mr. Flip Flops I'm sure!

Hope you all had wonderful weekends as well! :)

17 comments:

Rox said...

I'm jealous of your new cardi, it looks awesome! Your post on Bodega really makes me want to plan a California road trip for next spring. I miss Northern California :(

Anonymous said...

Incredibly beautiful! Makes me want to go there - if it weren't for the distance (me living in Germany, although we admittedly do have our own "Indian Summer" this autumn...)

Why, oh why did you move away from this pretty place? If I could trade lives with you back then, I'd do so without even thinking about it for a second...

BTW: I absolutey love, love, love your blog from the very first moment I stumbled across it - checking you out several times a week. Such a precious family and such an enviable sense for the cutest findings ever!

And, last but not least: Your boots are beyond gorgeous!!!!

Greeting from Germany,
Steph

MOUSEVOX VINTAGE said...

i love small towns (i grew up in one myself!) - there always seems to be a certain sense of nostalgia that exists in small towns that isn't the same in bigger cities.

this place looks lovely & i'm happy to have stumbled upon your blog!

Anonymous said...

I have not been to Bodega, but I am also a California girl... Your new thirfty sweater is way cute.

Amanda said...

i wnt to move to bodega! it sounds amazing...

love the photos and your rad boots!

Missa said...

Thanks you guys!

Rox: You should definitely plan a North Cali road trip, so lovely in the Spring! Did you ever live in the area?

Steph: Such a very sweet comment, thankyou! Ultimately our careers and wanting to buy a home (prices are pretty steep out there) took us away. But we do dream of one day being able to afford to own property out that way :)

p.s. for those interested, the boots are Campers and were not thrifted. I got them last year very much on sale and they are still the most expensive pair of shoes I own!

amy merrick said...

I have an interiors book from the 70's that has photos of the Bodega schoolhouse and it's neat transformation to a residence. So fun to find a picture of it here because I was planning to post about it soon!

Diane said...

Your cozy narratives tie all of your photos together in the most perfect way - every time! Glad you had such a nice weekend. I think we all just want to step into a picture to enjoy Bodega too!

Alexa said...

I just feel like I took a vacation reading this! What a charmed life.

BTW, I just tagged you ;)

Jen said...

What a quaint little town - those photos are beautiful.

Chronicles of Dolliedaydream said...

Gorgeous blog Missa - a lovely glimpse into your world :-) Your photos of Bodega have got me nostalgic for Nevada City in Northern California! I spent a month there a few years ago at a yoga ashram. I love these American small towns like something from the movies - Kitty

Couture Carrie said...

Love this post! Beautiful pics, esp. the surf shop :)

xoxox,
CC

Apryl said...

I miss Bodega Bay.. Goat ROck and Portuguese Beach... We went back to visit in April after 6 years, I grew up in Santa Rosa and was so excited to visit all my old haunts and take our son H to them.. mostly he was impressed by the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Jelly belly factory tour but thats 4 year old boys for you.

My parents live in Idaho now so I don't know when next we will visit Northern California (We live in the middle of England) but I'm still a California Girl at Heart.

Thanks for find all the lovely photos.

Skye said...

What a lovely little place - maybe not haunted, but definitely has fairies!

My husband also wears thongs (as we call flip flops here) every day of the year, unless he's dressing up for a meeting or something and wears his chucks. My friend's husband also wears his thongs everywhere, so she got him fancy leather ones to wear to the office and for their wedding he wore them with a nice suit!

loveology said...

Wow, what a wonderful and interesting ppst.
Of course, you look wonderful again.
And that third picture from above...what a dream! <3

Milla said...

Wow, this place kind of reminds me of the Island, only the Island has less shopping. Still, just a sweet little place with lots quirky businesses. Well you can make up your own mind when you come visit;)
Looks like such a fun party, and you and clover are being cute as per usual.

Sparrow Robi said...

My grandparents had the lumber mill in Bodega & your post is beautiful. I love Bodega. I can still smell the inside of the store and hear the sound the swinging door made when you entered. I loved the old art studio called "full circle", maybe? it was to the left of the store and had really cool stuff. Everyone knew everyone in town and it was lovely. My Mom and her sisters actually went to school in the old school house & my aunt was one of the little girls running down the street in the Birds. It's neat to know such a town, they are rare anymore. Do you happen to remember the old doll museum? I've tried to find anyone that remembered it for some time. It was amazing as well. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.