If you go:

Smiley's Schooner Saloon & Hotel rooms $84-$94. 41 Wharf (at Brighton), Bolinas, 868-1311, www.coastalpost.com/smileys.

Bolinas Book Exchange 22 Brighton (at Wharf), Bolinas.

Whale Watch Inn, rooms $180-$300, 35100 Highway 1 (at Ohlson), Gualala/Anchor Bay, 800-942-5342, www.whalewatchinn.com.

Gualala Arts Center 46501 Gualala (at Old Stage), Gualala, 707 884-1138, www.gualalaarts.org.

Four-Eyed Frog Books Cypress Village, 39138 Ocean (at Cypress), Gualala, 707-884-1333, www.foureyedfrog.com.

Hill House Inn rooms $150-$300, 10701 Palette (at Lansing), Mendocino, 800-422-0554, www.hillhouseinn.com.

Blair House rooms $100-$210, 45110 Little Lake (at Highway 1), Mendocino, 707-937-1800, www.blairhouse.com.

Gallery Bookshop 45098 Main (at Kasten), Mendocino, 707-937-2665, www.gallerybooks.com.

Mendocino Headlands State ParkLake and Heeser, Mendocino, 707-937-5804, www.parks.ca.gov.

Events

48th annual Art in the Redwoods Festival, Gualala Arts Center: August 13-16, featuring a fine-art exhibit, vendor booths, live music from Kronos Quartet, and a quilt raffle. www.gualalaarts.org.

Mendocino Writers Conference, College of the Redwoods, 1211 Del Mar (at Ocean View), Fort Bragg: July 30-Aug. 2; workshops, readings, and lectures for poetry, fiction, children's lit, memoir, and more; www.mcwc.org.

Recommended reading

Richard Brautigan, In Watermelon Sugar (1968)

Anne Lamott, Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith (2007) and Hard Laughter (1980)

On the Mesa: An Anthology of Bolinas Writing (1971)

Ann Packer, Mendocino and Other Stories (2003)

Read more articles from Summer Guide:

Fun Times from Uncle Sugar: Fifteen fabulous ways to stimulate the local economy.

Cheap Musical Thrills: Give your ears — and your wallet — a summer treat.

A Pint-sized Pub Crawl: Tour the city's breweries and brewpubs this summer.