Anderson Valley & The Mendocino Coast Are The New California Dream
by Kim Westerman
published in Forbes on September 28, 2020
The original “California Dream” was a Gold Rush psychological fantasy, a microcosm of Horatio Alger’s myth of picking oneself up by one’s bootstraps (unfortunately popularized by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s) still weirdly entrenched in the cultural narrative of the U.S. But we all know that California, while still gorgeously beckoning, is the place you come to spend all your money, run from wildfires, and perpetually try to have enough time in between jobs to simply enjoy its bounty. However, if we flip the script, and the dream’s reward isn’t financial prosperity but rather spiritual gain, then the Golden State does, in fact, offer a home — most particularly in the Anderson Valley and along the Mendocino Coast.
These two contiguous areas epitomize what — in my very subjective, un-humble opinion — California was meant to be: a welcoming wonderland of free-thinking, consciously hedonistic stewards of the land — who also happen to have a way with hospitality.
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The Madrones feels like a little village where the most important parts of civilization are at your fingertips, including The Bohemian Chemist, California’s most aesthetically pleasing herbal apothecary and spa specializing in locally sourced, sun-grown cannabis. This is also where co-owner and designer Jim Roberts can often be found. His unparalleled taste is a throughline here, visible property-wide in the attention to the minutest detail.
