Day Tripping in My Backyard (Sebastopol to Point Reyes National Seashore)

There is a wonderful stretch between the last few weeks of July and into August where there is a little span of calm before the next storm.  I love this time of year.  Summertime should be enjoyed and languished in, if at all possible.  Go smell the roses, I am! 

Fantastic Scenery

 

My parents came for a visit two weeks ago and we did a lovely tour around Sonoma County.  I’ve lived in this area for four years and am finally settling into it and exploring.  If you are in the area or visiting, I highly recommend this drive. 

Starting point – Sebastopol.   We drove out Hwy 12 (to Bodega) to Wild Flour Bread Bakery 140 Bohemian Highway, Freestone, CA – http://www.wildflourbread.com/ – Hours: 8:30am to 6:00pm Friday, Saturday, Sunday, & Monday.  I don’t know if I can describe how good this place is, there was and always is a line out the door.  The scones are mind-blowing and their garden is absolutely beautiful.  If you’ve ever driven by, you’ve smelled their baked goods baking – stop next time! 

Wild Flour Bakery

 

 The little Antique Store & Gift Shop next door Enduring Comforts was the shopping hit of our outing.  My Mom (a high-ranking member of the Retail Therapy Royal Line) was impressed and kept saying that it was the best store we saw all day and she can’t wait to come back.  Thea who owns the store is lovely, has a great eye and gives 10% of all new (non-antique) items across the board.  A GREAT place to buy gifties.  

We then jumped on the Hwy 1 to make our way to Point Reyes National Seashore and Point Reyes Station – My husband and I have made this trip a number of times with family and friends – it is a great day trip from North Bay or San Francisco.  There are terrific places to stop for amazing seafood, shops and sightseeing along the way… 

Oysters Outside on the Bay

 

We sat along the Bay and had a dozen BBQ & Chorizo Oysters on the half shell and a super creamy bowl of New England Style Clam Chowder at The Marshall Store – 19225 State Route 1.  This place is great, tons of locals with their dogs, cyclists, Harley riders, and more – it seemed like everyone was coming here for a moment of bivalve bliss.  

The drive from the Marshall Store out to the Bear Valley Visitors Center, Point Reyes National Seashore is stunning (and it was a grey, cloudy day).  Rolling hills, 1 block towns with a post office and general store, and the smell of eucalyptus and the sea, twas de-licious.  

Bear Valley Visitor Center open: weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and weekends and holidays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays open until 6:00pm through September 4, 2010. 

All campsites are accessible only by hiking, biking or horseback for the backcountry sites, and only by kayak or boat for the Tomales Bay sites. There is no car or RV camping available in the park. And is by PERMIT ONLY. 

We then headed  out to Drakes Beach and the Kenneth Patrick Visitor Center 

Allow 30 minutes for the drive from the Bear Valley Visitor Center. 

• From the Bear Valley Visitor Center, head north 0.2 miles (0.3 km) to Bear Valley Road.
• Turn left and follow Bear Valley Road 1.75 miles (2.8 km) northwest to Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.
• Turn left and follow Sir Francis Drake Boulevard 13.4 miles (21.4 km) west to Drakes Beach Road. Tip: Follow road signs for “Lighthouse” until you see a sign for Drakes Beach.
• Turn left and follow Drakes Beach Road 1.6 miles (2.6 km) south to the Drakes Beach parking lot.

Drives like this on the West Coast make me utterly thankful that the U.S. has park services, land trusts and conservationists. 

Grey but Gorgeous

 

After taking in the ocean and of all things a Gopher on the beach… we headed back inland to Point Reyes Station, a lovely town with great shopping, a one-of-a-kind dive bar/tavern, and the fantastic Cowgirl Creamery.  

Cowgirl Creamery – They just came out with a new cheese – ‘Wagon Wheel’  which is made with milk from neighboring Straus Family Creamery at their new First Street Creamery in Petaluma and aged on site for two months.  It is AWESOME for a raclette (if you don’t know what this is you should it’s the Swiss version of fondue).  The purveyors are knowledgeable and generously provide endless samples. 

In 1997, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith opened Cowgirl Creamery in an old barn, made it beautiful, put in a small plant for making hand-crafted cheese, bought organic milk from the neighbor, Straus Family Creamery… and the rest is history! 

The Cooks behold the power of Cheese!

 

Old Western Saloon - This place gets 5 out of 5 darts on the dive bar dartboard rating scale.  Built in 1890, ‘tis a real live Western saloon with swinging doors, original cash-only cash register, gorgeous stained glass, potbelly fire burning stoves, pool tables, darts, live music, excellent jukebox, and colorful locals.  First time we went in a few years ago was during the holidays.  My husband and I were all alone chatting with the bartender. Unbeknownst to us it was Toys for Tots days for 3 of the local Harley crews – and the saloon was a pit stop -all at once we were surrounded by black leather and facial hair – it was awesome and we had a blast talking with the lot.   

Cowboys, Bikers and Us, oh my...

 

Toby’s Feed Barn - I love this place – who combines a feed store, art gallery, great gifts and organic produce?  The Giacomini family who opened and has run the place since 1942, that’s who!   They host a myriad of events, concerts and fundraisers for the community… heck, Alice Waters spoke there last weekend.  This is a classic California gem; don’t miss it…and the guys that work there are super sweet. 

Last but not least on our trip was dinner – we stopped back by one of our favorites (my parents fell in love with this place).  Nick’s Cove – http://www.nickscove.com/ – 23240 State Route 1, Marshall, CA 

The food was stellar, it always is… Dungeness Crab Cakes with Meyer Lemon Aioli, I had the Grilled Hanger Steak – which was perfectly cooked.  My Mom had the whole Branzino with caramelized fennel.  Also good is a quick drive up to Nick’s for Oysters and Bloody Mary’s, which rock as well. 

Carnivores Only!

 

All-in-all a GREAT day trip.  Let me know if you take it sometime and have any stops to add! 

Cheers
Heather 

Lovely Gardens at Wild Flour Bakery

 

Power to the Passion Flower

Now More Than Ever – Integrity & The Golden Rule as Life is too short…

Integrity has always been important, but it seems to me with the economic times, job loss, etc…. now more than ever businesses and people in general are relying on personal recommendations as well as social networking sites.  Resumes are now scanned but LinkedIn and other social networking sites are being studied and references are definitely being checked.  

After working in the Corporate Event Industry for close to a decade, I know a ton of people and because of that I am receiving job inquiries, resumes and requests for recommendations on a daily basis.  Fortunately I have many repeat clients which means I work with many of the same event managers, venue managers, catering people, even the janitorial staff so I’m  constantly reminded of how small the web is that each of us weave as individuals and as businesses.  

I am continually thankful for the loyal and professional clients, partners and colleagues that Creative Maven has in its network.  The old adage “Life is too short so surround yourself with good people”  has never been more true.  Okay, the true “old  adage” as my Father (and Warren Buffet) would say is “Life is too short to work with a–holes”.  Mr. Buffet’s other quote that I like is  “In looking for people to hire, look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.” — Warren Buffett. 

I Binged the “too short” phrase a couple of days ago and found book on the subject… I’ve downloaded it on my Kindle, I’ll let you know how it is  The No A–hole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t.

Another great article that I have bookmarked is this one:  ”If I were to ask you what attribute is the most influential in regard to the success of a business, would you know immediately which one is the most important?” – The 7 Principles of Business Integrity.  http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2004/07/13/the-principles-of-business-integrity

There have been many people (you know who you are ) who recommended me and gave me a chance when I first started working in the corporate world and am more than happy to “pay that forward” and make connections both B2B, B2C and people looking for project work. 

SO – when asking anyone for a reference or recommendation, be sure to have all your social networking up to snuff – we are all being Binged, Googled, Facebooked, Twittered, etc…  Business and personal are merging at a lighting speed paced, so be ready for it.  Mashable is a great social networking site that can help you navigate keeping your private affairs private.  Highly recommend you follow them on Twitter and Facebook if you aren’t already. 

I mentioned my Dad before and he worked for JCPenney’s for 4o years – he retired two years ago and I have the utmost respect for him as a businessman.  He is/was always so proud of and ran the stores he managed following Mr. Penney’s Golden Rule –  do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  My Dad and Mr. Penney are smart people.  Pretty much works for everything doesn’t it?    Happy Hunting!