Birthday Weekend. Part Deux.

This past Saturday, we left Bodega Bay and headed down the coast back to San Francisco. Chris is passionate about his seafood which makes sense considering he grew up near Boston (I am lucky that my tastes have evolved beyond my initial predisposition toward iceberg lettuce, Chili's and Olive Garden that comes with having grown up in Phoenix). So when I mentioned that there might be oysters, really good oysters, to be found along the drive, Chris started salivating in some sort of Pavlovian response.

We stopped in a small town called Marshall. Calling Marshall a town is an overstatement, as its population of 50 is less than the number of people that live in my apartment building. But I digress. If I'm correct (and it's likely I'm not...I could research it, but I'm feeling a bit lazy right now), Marshall is also home to Hog Island Oyster Company and Tomales Bay Oyster Company. Unfortunately, we were not prepared to partake in either fine company. Each location has tons of picnic tables for oyster loving folks to bring mesh gloves, shucking tools and coolers full of additional food and beverages to spend the afternoon shucking oysters. We were on vacation and not only did we not have said tools, we didn't want to do the work.

Luckily, we found the Marshall Store and it did not disappoint. Not only was the food delicious, but 6 gigantic oysters, half a crab, fish tacos and shrimp cocktail all totaled about $40 (as opposed to that crappy meal we had at some Bodega Bay "seafood" spot that was about $60). We ate outside overlooking the bay and it was gorgeous. Chris made it known that if we lived close enough, we would be eating there daily. And that was my long winded endorsement of the Marshall Store.

We then proceeded down the coast through Point Reyes to hit up Cowgirl Creamery (if you don't live in California and haven't tried their Triple Cream, you have my deepest sympathy as it's DELICIOUS!!!). Point Reyes was cute and quaint, even if the vibe came off as "hippies" and new age folks with six figure incomes clad in North Face gear (no offense to North Face). We picked up the creamery's sample pack of cheese (triple cream, goat cheese, blue cheese and a delightful cheddar), some membrillo (quince paste) and some almonds and headed back home. It was a great weekend all in all...it better have been, otherwise I gained three pounds just because.