November 10, ‘07
Saturday
Our campground is 4 miles north of Cloverdale, and right beside the Russian River. Some great tasting wines come from all over this area of California, and I’m sure the water from the Russian River has something to do with it. We had no more than checked in to this campground and we were underway to visit the Chamber of Commerce. We met with this lady at the Chamber that had the personality of a slug…it was pretty bad, but we did get enough information out of her to get a good start on the area. So over the next 4 days we were out “cruising” for towns of the area, wineries, lakes, rivers, and more of the Pacific Ocean. It doesn’t make any difference what state or country you are in there are towns and villages that are worth taking the time to visit, and then there are those that you just pass through. In visiting Healdsburg we found ourselves out of the car and going from one store front to the next…it was a great little “burg” (Healdsburg). The Chamber of Commerce here was 100% more enjoyable and informative than our last experience. This would be a great choice for our next home if we were looking…AND WE’RE NOT !!! We’ve been graced with great weather since we’ve been here so we’ve been looking for a good place to do some kayaking.
Lake Sonoma was suggested to us many times over and for good reasons.' The drive to the best kayaking area took us on a VERY narrow, WINDING and TWISTING, ride up and over some very high hills and ending at the edge of Lake Sonoma. The lake was made by damming and in doing so, it left a ton of inlets to go into and explore. We only covered one of the many legs of in our 2 hour paddle, but for the first time out in months, that was definitely enough. We also took the time to visit another casino…The River Rock Casino. High on the hill above Healdsburg we found a casino that busses people in from as far away as San Francisco. For the second time in as many visits to a casino, I came out money ahead. This time I left the machines with $100…notice I said “I” ??? Let’s just say Louise had a great time. Yesterday we took the Tracker and headed out for the day. Our route took us along the banks of the Russian River, winding through miles of wineries and vineyards, small villages, and cattle country before coming out at Bodega Bay and a place to have a picnic lunch.
We’ve also had a chance to shop at Costco and Trader Joes in Santa Rosa, and I’ve taken time to put a coat of polish on the coach when we get back in the early evenings.