Sonoma County Fairgrounds Santa Rosa, CA

Monday, May 7 - Arrived at Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa around 3:30 pm. The park is huge with RV section separated from other areas of the fairgrounds. The sites are close, but not too bad, all gravel roads. The price is right and with Passport America 3 day- discount of ½ price is even better at $10 a night. .

Wednesday, May 9 - Knee has disrupted our usual tourist trips, but decided to try the truck to see the 19th century town of Bodega, infamous as the setting for Alfred Hitchcock’s film “The Birds.” Potter School (1863) and St. Theresa’s Church (1860) were historic landmarks featured in the film.
Until the Fall of 1775, the Miwok and Pomo Indians lived peacefully in the coastal mountains and valleys of what we now call Sonoma County. Their lifestyle revolved around the seasons, hunting and gathering from the land and harvesting the sea and rivers. Little changed over hundreds of years until the first white sails were spotted off the coast. The Spanish sloop, Sonora, carried Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra Mollineda and a group of explorers to anchorage at the mouth of Tomales Bay at the southern end of Bodega Bay according to a journal kept by a member of the company. Slowly moving north from Mexico since the mid-1500s, the Spanish claimed vast areas of land for Spain and sent back tales of the glory of California. This attracted explorers from other countries throughout the world. But it wasn't until the early 1800s that white settlements began to spring up along the coast. By 1812, Russian fur traders were looking for new sources of otters and seals and came south in search of better food supplies for their northern settlements. With the help of local Indians, they built Fort Ross 24 miles north of Bodega Bay.
By the mid-1800s, Mexico had gained independence from Spain and in the process, granted the land to Mexican citizens and soldiers. General Vallejo and his family were among those who established hundreds of thousands of acres of ranchos along the coast and inland valleys in what is now much of Sonoma County.
One of the settlers was Captain Stephen Smith who married a Peruvian, Manuela Torres, and became a Mexican citizen in order to receive a land grant. Together they established Rancho Bodega bordered by the Russian River to the north and Estero Americano to the south, a large portion of the Bodega Bay Area. Firman Camelot founded the town of "Bay" in the late 1800s, which later changed its name to Bodega Bay.
Bodega Bay in Sonoma County is a popular visitor’s destination and located on the Pacific Coast just 68 miles North of San Francisco. With a population of 950 and 45 ft. elevation. Hiking trails abound in this area. It was a beautiful drive even though the closer we got to the coastline, the fog got much worse. The road was full of twists and turns with the usual hairpin turns that leave my stomach very uneasy. Flowers were everywhere you looked. In addition to vineyards and wineries you also see herds of cattle and sheep, orchards, gardens and many different varieties of farms. We gazed upon beautiful lush hills with cattle of all types grazing. We have seen more cattle in California than we ever did in Texas. Upon reaching Bodega Bay around 4pm, we took some photos, but the fog was getting thick. We had to fill the truck with diesel at $3.30 a gallon at Spud Point Marina.

The most prominent geological feature of Bodega Bay is Bodega Head, a peninsula that forms the protective arm between the ocean and the bay. The San Andreas Fault runs right through it, separating steep rocky bluffs from sandy dunes. Atop the bluffs, grasslands rise more gently to the coastal ridges. The Head provides a dramatic vista and the ideal place to watch whales migrate south twice yearly in January/February and April/May.

Leaving Bodega Bay we traveled along Highway 1 that runs along the colorful crests and bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and offers a number of turnouts where motorists can stop and explore secluded beaches and caves. Ray got out to take a picture and it was a shocking 52 degrees and we had traveled under an hour where the temp was at 72 degrees.
We saw Goat Rock Beach from a distance and turned at the junction of Hwy. 1 and Hwy 116 to go back home. It is at this junction with the town of Jenner that the Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean. We saw the train depot at Duncans Mills that used to bring tourists in traveling to the coast. That all changed when people starting to use the automobile for travel and by 1935 the last train rolled out of the town of Duncans Mills. Fortuneatelhy for modern-day visitors, this was not the end of the town. Duncans Mills has been restored to closely match its earlier appearance and it’s easy to imagine a train chugging into town with a load of city slickers from San Francisco. The depot has been turned into a museum.
Doran Park is a strip of beach formed by the currents of Bodega Bay. The ocean side is ideal for water sports such as surfing and body boarding while the harbor side offers a salt marsh which is a habitat for a variety of birds. At the end of Doran Beach is the protected entrance to the harbor where the fog horn keeps a constant watch.

Sonoma County Wineries – Most people don’t realize that Sonoma County is the place California wine making started in 1825. Sonoma Valley is a federally-designated wine appellation region, meaning that the climate, soils, and topography of the valley produce grapes of a distinctive and extraordinary character. Ranked as one of the top wine producing regions in the world, Sonoma Valley boasts more than thirty award-winning wineries and, with some of the oldest vineyards and wineries in the state, is recognized as the birthplace of California wine-making.
Saturday, May 12 - Around 9am we took short ride over to the main fairgrounds where they were having an English hunter/jumper show through the Pick Wick Equestrian organization. The horses were so beautiful and spirited. Some riders we saw taking their horse through the course and taking the jumps looked inexperienced, while two others looked very experienced and jumped the hurdles without hesitation. Ray rode the bike to the coast today as the sun is out and winds are insignificant to take a lot of pictures.
Monday, May 13 - We drove over to the coast with perfect weather, stopping along the way to see the town of Sebastopol and buy some bread from Wild Flour Bread store. Bought several scones and a loaf of their white bread. It has a hard crust but the inside toasted is wonderful. http://www.wildflourbread.com/. Wild Flour Bread features organic sourdough breads, scones, biscotti and coffee drinks. Working with a wood fired brick oven they produce beautiful hard crust breads that our customers come from miles around to taste. They also have sticky buns, cheese fougasse and either the Bohemian (apricot, orange and pecan) or the Egyptian (pear, fig and candied ginger) and an endless variety of scones.
After navigating the extremely rough road on the coast heading north to Jenner, we stopped at noon to eat lunch at River’s End restaurant perched on a bluff overlooking the mystical Russian River entering the great Pacific Ocean @ www.ilovesunsets.com. The vistas are breathtaking and beaches are endless. Restaurant is located one hour and 45 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge and has been around since 1927. Originally built as a restaurant and inn for the loggers and fisherman; today the River’s End serves visitors looking for the ideal romantic dinner or just searching for renewal. It was elegant, with every table having a great view. I ordered Wild mushroom soup and a Northern Coast Chef Salad that had dungeness crab, bay shrimp, jack cheese, avocado, hard-boiled egg, wasabi tobiko, and seasonal greens with a lemon, ginger vinaigrette. It was memorable. Ray played it safe and ordered a cheese burger.
We kept heading north on US 1, but with travel at 35 mph and crazy hairpin curves, we finally turned around without reaching our destination at Rhododendron State Reserve. We were gone five hours and Mitzy was patiently waiting at home.
Saturday, May 20 - Today we drove to see the Petrified Forest outside Santa Rosa about 30 minutes. Due to my knee we couldn’t visit all the sites as it was all uphill and very rough terrain.

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