YOU'LL WISH TIME COULD STAND STILL.

Byline: ERIC NOLAND Travel Editor

OLEMA -- In a bookcase near the sleigh bed was a selection of videotapes and DVDs, and among them was ``Groundhog Day.'' We drifted off to sleep the first night as Bill Murray wrestled with the curse of being trapped endlessly in the same day.

At dawn, we wished we could have shared his fate.

The Olema Cottages is an enchanting, pleasantly funky little enclave of accommodations about an hour's drive north of San Francisco. It is convenient to Point Reyes National Seashore, and is an ideal place to take up residence for an unhurried sampling of the various artisan tastes of western Marin County.

Emphasis on residence. The property has three cottages and two guest rooms, and two of the cottages have fully appointed kitchens; the remainder have mini kitchens, with just about everything but a range. The cottages also have barbecue grills, and guests of the other rooms may use one in the yard.

So it's quite possible to stock up on goodies on a rambling tour of the region -- oysters from Hog Island, steak from Marin Sun Farms, bread from Bovine Bakery, cheese and side dishes from Tomales Bay Foods -- and settle in for a home-cooked feast.

Over a two-night visit in June, we got quite comfortable in the Sunflower Cottage, which has its own fenced yard with a bistro table and chairs. In the living room was a wood-burning stove, well stocked with firewood, though the summer evenings weren't nearly cold enough for that. The view through the windows took in a horse corral and a bucolic hillside topped with a mature cypress tree.

It is all overseen by Kelly Emery, who perfectly balances the innkeeper art of being cheerfully gracious but not the least bit intrusive.

We appreciated her little touches most of all: window boxes bursting with flowers, cut flowers in the room, old garden implements used as decorations on the grounds, many of them overflowing with shrubs and blossoms. To enter the fenced yard from the parking area, meanwhile, you pass through a door cleverly framed here out of doors, without walls.

At any hour of the day, that yard is pretty lively, with chickens, ducks, cats and a laconic old dog.

The dog's name is Yogi, and he's got an unusual habit. He'll find an egg that one of the chickens has laid and gingerly carry it around in his mouth, sometimes for an entire afternoon.

``I guess because he's the land steward, he roams around, and when he finds an egg, he recognizes that it is a special thing,'' Emery said.

And if Yogi drops it, ``He gets so sad. I don't think he thinks of it as food. I think he looks at it as something to be looked after.''

Nightly rates at the Olema Cottages start at $145. Coffee and tea is provided in the rooms, so if you pick up fresh pastries at Bovine Bakery and fruit at Toby's Feed Barn in nearby Point Reyes Station, you're set for breakfast.

Up the road from the Olema Cottages, along the east side of Point Reyes National Seashore, is Manka's Inverness Lodge, a World War I-era hunting lodge that has been transformed into a woodsy, upscale inn of 14 rooms (rates from $215).

There are four free-standing cabins, a boathouse down on Tomales Bay that has two units, and some lodgings tucked away on a ridge.

Manka's is exclusive to the point of being secretive -- on its Web site, you won't find an address, driving directions or a map. Prospective guests are also advised to make reservations months in advance, and the cancellation policy is punitive (14 days in advance or you pay the full rate).

But if you desire seclusion and an opportunity to fully unwind, you've come to the right place. Even the rooms and cabins that are close together are screened with riotous shrubbery, such that you're likely to feel you're the only residents of the hillside.

Our unit (Room 7) had a Japanese soaking tub on its deck, one of four accommodations so equipped, and it provided a divine spot to decompress from a day exploring the countryside.

The historic lodge ambience was maintained in every corner of the room, with leather chairs, dark-wood paneling, red-plaid pillows, a trophy deer head mounted on the wall and a stone fireplace. Old, leather-bound books lined shelves -- the poetry of Wordsworth in multiple volumes, for example.

You might be stunned at how late you sleep here, which can be attributed to the dark canopy of mature oaks, the setback from the main road and a supremely comfortable bed, outfitted with a generous featherbed pad, like a detachable pillowtop.

The bathroom furnishings are true to the historic period, though everything works. There was a claw-foot tub, plus a massive walk-in shower with a rain-pan showerhead directly overhead. The time warp is so thorough that even the hair dryer is hidden away in an antique box.

IF YOU GO

OLEMA COTTAGES: 9970 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Olema. (The Olema Inn -- an excellent option for dinner -- is a short walk away.) Cottages are $180 on weekends and holidays, $160 Sunday through Thursday. Guest rooms are $165 on weekends and holidays, $145 Sunday through Thursday. www.olemacottages.com; [phone].

MANKA'S INVERNESS LODGE: On Argyle Street, just west of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard near the town of Inverness. Rates from $215 to $665. Restaurant serves dinner and breakfast (the latter to lodge guests only). The restaurant is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. www.mankas.com; [phone].

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) On the grounds of the Olema Cottages, Yogi the dog carries around an egg laid by one of the resident hens.

(2 -- color) no caption (bedroom)

(3 -- color) A whimsical sign points the way to Manka's Inverness Lodge, with its upscale accommodations, below left.

Box:

IF YOU GO (see text)