Pick veggies, collect eggs, make breakfast at Mendocino cottages. And don’t forget to pet the goats

Tom and Renata Dorn transformed a dilapidated 1930s resort on the Mendocino coast into an enchanting B&B — but with a twist. At Mar Vista Cottages at Anchor Bay the couple renovated the property’s 12 cottages and cleared the trails winding through the surrounding redwood forest and down to the beach. But instead of building a dining room in which to serve breakfast, they added a vegetable garden and a pen for 120-plus egg-laying hens so guests could help themselves to fresh ingredients and prepare their own. When my husband, Paul, and I stayed here recently, we made our own lunches and dinners too. We saw no reason to dine out because we enjoyed our cozy cottage and the fun of picking veggies, collecting eggs and tussling with Willy, Wally and Wiley, the pet goats.

The tab for two nights: $500 for lodging; $150 for food; $180 for tours; plus round-trip airfare to Santa Rosa and car rental.

The bed

Our one-bedroom cottage featured a bed outfitted with soft flannel sheets and puffy duvets, a well-equipped kitchenette with a gas stove, plus a dining table and two comfy armchairs facing a picture window that offered an ocean view. On the deck, we sipped Mendocino wine and watched the sunset tint the distant coastal cliffs pastel pink.

The meal

“Look what I got!� a 4-year-old guest called to his mother, proudly holding a zucchini he had picked in the garden. He and a few other children later helped gather eggs in the chicken yard. I joined in, enjoying the tickle of bobbing beaks as the hens gobbled feed from my hand. The next morning I scrambled their eggs for a sublime breakfast. For our dinners, I cooked just-caught Ling cod and homemade sausages purchased at Gualala’s gourmet Surf Market. Both entrees were enhanced by garden-fresh heirloom-lettuce salads.

The find

Margaret Lindgren, owner and guide of Unbeaten Path Tours, led us on a hike along the windswept cliffs of the Point Arena-Stornetta lands, part of the protected California Coastal National Monument, 14 miles north of Mar Vista Cottages. She pointed out the region’s dramatic bluffs and offshore rock formations, explaining how they provide a crucial breeding ground for more than 200,000 seabirds.

The lesson learned

Don’t forget the Wet Wipes. Despite my fondness for goats and chickens, I couldn’t resist an encounter with the wild animals at nearby B. Bryan Preserve. The 110-acre conservation center is home to more than 80 endangered African antelopes, zebras and giraffes. When one giraffe gazed at me through Lady Gaga eyelashes, our tour guide persuaded me to offer it a yam slice held between my teeth. My reward was a surprise “giraffe kiss.�

More info:

• Hotel: Mar Vista Cottages at Anchor Bay, 35101 S. Highway 1, Gualala, Calif.; (707) 884-3522. Limited wheelchair accessibility.
• Food: Surf Market, 39250 S. Highway 1, Gualala, Calif.; (707) 884-4184
• Visit: B Bryan Preserve, 130 Riverside Drive, Point Arena, Calif; (707) 882-2297). Limited wheelchair accessibility.
• Unbeaten Path Tours, (707) 888-6121