Discover Sonoma County

Here are a few morsels to let you anticipate the fun you'll have in Sonoma County.

Enjoy the drama of waves crashing along the shoreline, pampering at spas, plush accommodations, and even camping as you drive north along Route 101/1 from San Francisco to Bodega Bay.

Make reservations at Osmosis in Freestone, Calif., and pamper yourself with an enzyme bath--and an incredible masage in an outdoor pagoda.This is the next best thing to being in Japan.

In Santa Rosa, choose from a variety of cuisine, from the stylish creations at Mixx, to traditional Swiss-French cuisine at LaGare. Save time for serious shopping. The Gables Inn offers truly elegant accommodations--especially their separate cottage--and a gourmet breakfast in a most elegant setting.

At Topolos at Russian River Vineyards, sample wines and enjoy Greek cuisine at their outdoor patio.

Quaint Healdsburg has excellent shopping and dining and, at the stylish Honor Mansion B&B, where you can even feed Koi.

At Petaluma, stay at the homey Cavanagh Inn, where you'll enjoy outstanding hospitality and a breakfast that will linger on in your memories. Don't miss a delightful Italian experience at Volpi's Restaurant, where you dine in an old general store and maybe hear Mr. Volpi play his accordian.

Quick Tips:

Bring your camera because you'll want to capture the many memories you'll make in Sonoma County.

While you can dine at very expensive restaurant here, you can, despite what you may have heard, find some quality restaurants at very reasonable prices. We'll tell you more about these later.

Whether you drink wine or not, don't miss touring at least one winery. Many of them offer outstanding shopping experiences for gourmet foods and equipment, as well as clothing. And it's always fun to dine at a winery because they seem to attract quality chefs.

Best Way To Get Around:

To give yourself maximum flexibility, plan to drive around the area. You can either rent a car (if it's good weather, treat yourself to a convertible and enjoy the sunshine) at the San Francisco Airport or you can make reservations to pick your car up in Petaluma and then take the handy bus from the airport.

Located just out of Santa Rosa, in the heart of Sonoma County’s lush vineyards, The Gables Bed & Breakfast takes you back to a bygone era of gentile refinement.

As you enter this stately 1877 example of High Victorian Gothic Revival Architecture, you’ll enjoy its soaring 12-foot ceilings. As you admire the three Italian marble fireplaces and rich mahogany spiral staircase, you’ll come to the same conclusion that we did: they certainly knew how to build homes in those days.

Named for the 15 gables that adorn the home, the Gables Bed & Breakfast Inn has been artfully decorated by Judy and Michael Ogne. Actually, if they didn’t enjoy operating the Gables so much, Judy could easily be a decorator. She has very tastefully recreated a formal Victorian elegance, yet has given it a soft, gentle homey comfort.

For a truly romantic stay, try to reserve their quaint William and Mary’s Cottage. This is a completely separate, self-contained romantic hide-away next to Taylor Creek. It has a wood stove, living room, hospitality bar, a whirlpool tub for two, fluffy bathrobes, TV, VCR, a video library, private phone line, quality toiletries, and, best of all, in the upstairs loft, a queen-size bed, layered with elegant linens and a plethora of pillows.

We toured all of the rooms and, while we thoroughly enjoyed William and Mary’s Cottage, we feel that staying in the main home would be a lovely experience as well. All of the accommodations are so luxurious that you won’t want to leave them.

Judy and her husband, retired policeman Michael Ogne will give you plenty of recommendations for things to do in the area—as well as guide you to some of their favorite gourmet restaurants. But, do save room for Judy’s spectacular gourmet breakfast, tastefully served by Michael with warmth, as well as style and flair to match the elegant ambiance. With food like this, they could open a restaurant as well, but they are having too much fun making guests enjoy their luxurious hospitality.

Innkeepers Ray and Jeanne Farris offer you an outstanding array of features. Comfortable, elegant, but not overly fussy, accommodations come first, where women--and men--can feel at ease.

We stayed in the main part of their B&B, The Mansion, built in 1902, but asked Ray to give us a tour of the rooms in the next building, The Cottage (1912) because we wanted to see the artwork mural of his daughter, fine artist Dina Farris Appel. She has a distinctive style that captures the joy of Sonoma County as she depicts wines, vineyards and colorful balloon rides.

Our king-size bed with feather mattress was, as so many before us had written in the guest book, like sleeping in a cloud. (We enjoyed reading these entries knowing that these same people had not only stayed at this lovely B&B, but had stayed in our same room.)

While we savored the gourmet breakfast that, on this day, Ray cooked for us, we learned a lot about the town--and the interesting places to go. Ray and Jeanne even gave us various cards for a complimentary beverages at local restaurants.

We'd stay at the Cavanagh Inn just for the homey accommodations(we loved looking at their family mementos and Ray''s antique camera collection) and the gourmet breakfast and the delightful time we had conversing with Ray and Jeanne over a glass of wine, but this place has more. It's within convenient walking distance to let you discover Petaluma on foot. This is one quaint little town, and we loved it.

For more information, visit www.cavanaghinn.com

Eating a meal at Volpi’s Ristorante is like stepping into another era. I love this place because it's so authentic.

You get a clue that this isn’t going to be your seen-one-you’ve seen-them-all chains as you open the worn screen doors with their metal signs advertising bread. If you are reminded of entering a general store, you’re right because this property at the corner of Washington and Kellar has served as a grocery store for many years.

But tonight we’re not here to buy groceries, but to experience the off-duty world of Swiss-Italian dairy farmers. Local dairymen and their families here have been coming here since 1925 to relax at this restaurant and enjoy home-cooked meals. As a tourist, we know that we are experiencing the real thing—not dining at some touristy chain.

Although Voilpi’s serves a full range of food, the atmosphere is decidedly Italian, with Italian flags, red checkered tablecloths and Chianti bottle candleholders with their typical multi-colored accumulation of candle wax drippings. It’s elegant in the subdued candlelight of the evening, but also casual family and downright homey. Food, served a la carte or family style, is robust—and plentiful. Tonight an extended family ranging from grandma to preschoolers are gathered around three pushed-together tables to celebrate the baby’s first birthday. Mama even brought in the birthday cake from home.

We like to sit in the front room of the old general store so we can dine and still keep an eye on the action in the "back room," where you’ll find the ceiling covered business cards pinned up with dollar bills and pictures of people partying—yet no smoking.

When the dairy farmers were selling their wares when the store was operation, many of them would take a break and go into the "back room" to have a drink. Today, the back room is more of a local tavern, where the locals enjoy a brew, catch up with what’s going on, and, on the weekends, enjoy live, home-grown music.

If you’re lucky, you’ll be around in the evening when patriarch of the family, slim John Volpi, jaunts in, wearing a checkered shirt, jeans, cowboy boots—and a smile that says that he’s enjoying life. As he plays the accordion, you know that there’s nothing that he’d rather be doing. As you slip a fork into your homemade Tortellini Alla Panna (cheese tortelinni with proscuitto, mushrooms and peas in a cream sauce) or your Eggplant Parmigiana, and enjoy the real-world ambiance of this restaurant, we bet that you’ll smile too.

If you’d like to come back from your vacation refreshed and rejuvenated, make reservations at Osmosis for an enzyme bath and a massage in an outdoor pagoda. It's lilke traveling to the Orient without the jet lag.

In this serene, Japanese-like setting, your woes and cares will melt away as you enjoy the serenity of Japan in Sonoma County, California.

First, you take your shoes off and enter the relaxing ambiance of the reception area, where you are given a kimono and an explanation of the delightful experience ahead of you.

Then, to put you in a relaxed mood, you are given a soothing cup of enzyme tea, which you enjoy in a Japanese style room overlooking an incredibly manicured Oriental garden. Feel relaxed? Wait, there's plenty more.

From there, you head for the Enzyme Bath, where you are tucked into a delightfully warm mixture of aromatic cedar fiber, rice bran and over 600 active enzymes, which break down toxins, beautify the skin, and leave you relaxed and refreshed.

It’s like laying on the beach and having someone cover you with warm sand—only this really feels good. As you lay there, you move your body slightly, and you can feel new warmth permeating your body. An attendant comes by periodically to wipe your brow while you lay there overlooking the Japanese garden. This is luxury—and it’s good for you!

"This bath often relieves aches and pains," you are told, "and is especially beneficial for people suffering from tension, fatigue, and stress." All you know is that it is truly a delightful experience that you don’t want to end.

After the refreshing enzyme bath, you shower and then put on your kimono and then you can have a massage inside. But, to capture the true experience of Osmosis, make reservations to have a Pagoda Massage. Then you can leisurely make your way down the garden path to an outdoor pagoda where you will lie in luxury as a trained massage therapist will massage you with a Swedish/Esalen massage for 75 minutes of heaven. It’s incredible to just lie there and feel your tensions waft away as the sun shines in on you and you are surrounded by the sounds of birds.

Treat yourself to the Osmosis experience, and you’ll know what it’s like to be relaxed, refreshed and feel like your old self again. For more information, visit www.osmosis.com

No trip to Sonoma County is complete without a trip to at least one winery. For wine lovers, it’s a chance to taste before you buy, and to learn about new offerings. With over 100 acres of lush vineyards surrounding the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center, even those who aren’t into wine will have a delightful experience. I'd go just to see the gardens alone.

Located north of Santa Rosa, off Highway 101, this French chateau offers wine lovers—and those who would like to know more about wine—the opportunity to taste and learn about wines and wine and food pairings.

Ranked as one of California’s premium family-owned wineries, Kendall-Jackson selects fruit from the state’s best vineyards and blends it to create a wine that offers a consistency of flavor from vintage to vintage.

But the fine wine at Kendall-Jackson is just one of the attractions at this popular winery. This forward-thinking vineyard also operates one of the largest educational organic culinary gardens open to the public. Four cultural gardens: Asian, South American, Italian and French, are here, as well as a red-wine sensory and tasting garden, and a white wine sensory and tasting garden. Cooks will especially enjoy the culinary herb garden, and historians will appreciate the seed-saving garden and emphasis on heritage crops.

Best of all, there’s a large patio and picnic area where you can really relax and get into the California lifestyle yourself.

When you visit the Kendall-Jackson Winery, as well as their store in quaint Healdsburg, you’ll see why their logo is "How to Tour The Wine Country…In Only A Single Afternoon." http://kj.com

Healdsburg, in the heart of Sonoma County, California, could easily be nick-named “Home town USA.” With a gigantic square in the center and a park for strolling, relaxing, picnicking, and listening to music, it’s a way to return to a different era. This is definitely the place where you'd like to be on July 4th--or anytime you want to enjoy a homey, yet sophisticated atmosphere.

In the many boutique shops that line the square, you can enjoy a thoroughly modern shopping experience. We especially like Toyon Books where we look at books—and admire the Head Cat, Dorothy,originally a stray who is now very much queen of her bookshop domain.

At various antique shops, you can browse and, more than likely, find that item that you just can’t live without. And, if you’re looking for a refreshing trip to Thailand, check out Lotus Thai Restaurant.

Just a few minutes out of town, you’ll find the Honor Mansion. We weren’t able to stay there, but did stop in to see if we might look at their rooms. We liked what we saw and made a note that, when we return to Sonoma County, we’d like to stay here for a night, where they pride themselves on pampering guests. Homemade macaroon cookies are a specialty.

The Honor Mansion has elegantly appointed rooms, plus all those wonderful, sumptuous things you look for in a bed and breakfast—gourmet food, a lovely garden to work in, fireplaces, and a deck to relax on.

But, there’s one more thing that truly makes the Honor Mansion unique: they have some very friendly Koi, and provide their guests with food (and handy-wipes) so they can experience the delightful joy of letting these gentle creatures nibble the food right out of their hands. For more information, visit www.honormansion.com