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It was late Saturday evening and knowing that we had some miles to cover to reach the Sonoma Valley by Sunday we chose the straightest and largest road, I-5. Our thinking was that it would make the trip more direct and faster. Boy, were we wrong; I-5 was wretched! The roadway was full of potholes and bumps. Suffice it to say, I have been on dirt roads that were smoother and easier to navigate. I really wish our Interstates were better cared for and in many cases, greatly widened.

Added to our road woes was a fierce arctic storm that swooped down from the north with gale force winds. Lance fought the wind to the nearest exit at Panoche. It is in the middle of nowhere in the Central Valley. The entire exit consisted of several gas stations and some fast food joints, and yet we were never so happy to see them. We found a parking spot somewhat out of the wind, and we checked the weather.

Lance’s iPhone has earned its keep several times over and that night was no different. NOAA reported that the storm was roaring down in two parts. The first part we’d already met, then there was to be a brief respite around midnight before the second fury reached the Central Valley. So we formulated our plan of attack: rest until midnight and then get the heck out of Dodge.

Amazingly, the plan worked quite well. When we awoke at midnight it was eerily calm, as if the valley was holding its breath and bracing itself for what was yet to come. We hit the empty road and soon left I-5, turning off onto I-580. We found a place to finish the night, protected from the awful winds in the Central Valley by a small mountain range.

The next morning dawned clear and sunny with a light breeze. Since it was a Sunday, traffic was light as we crossed the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge north of San Francisco. The drive up Highway 101 was scenic and very enjoyable. By mid-afternoon we were hooked up at an RV park in Windsor a few miles south of Healdsburg. We chose the area since our friends Kelly and Elaine live nearby.

We last visited the area in 2006, and though this time it was spring, it looked much the same. The only discernible difference was the impressive increase in wine grape vines; while there were thousands last time this time they were literally everywhere. After all we were in the Sonoma Valley, California’s most productive wine grape growing region. It’s no surprise that Kelly and Elaine ended up here, considering the Kelly is a vineyard manager extraordinaire and they are both wine aficionados. We’re glad they’re here because it gives us a good reason to visit the area.

Briefly about the Sonoma Valley. The word sonoma comes from a native language, and while there are various translations, the one most commonly accepted is “valley of the moon.” The area has a long agricultural history, going all the way back to the Spanish. Grapes have been grown in the valley for over 100 years, though disease and the Prohibition put many of the vineyards out of business. What land isn’t growing grapes is either pasture for cows or has houses on it. The area is ideal for wine grape growing because the ocean breeze cools the valley after the long, hot summer days.

And the days are longer up here. Our day has expanded greatly since the sun doesn’t set until after 8 p.m. I don’t know about you but I find it hard to think about dinner while it is still light out. So, we now eat late which gives us more time to play after work — yippee! Speaking of dinner, we always enjoy our evenings with Kelly and Elaine since they usually serve up something fresh out of the garden, and accompany it with a luscious wine.

A visit to this section of California would not be complete without hooking up with other friends in the area. Tim was in San Francisco gearing up for yet another amazing summer of teaching people to sail on the San Francisco Bay. We were looking forward to seeing Tim again and meeting his girlfriend, Tiffany. So on Sunday we drove down for a picnic at Muir Woods National Monument, to be followed by a sunset sail.

First things first, Muir Woods is packed with people and has extremely limited parking. Most of the summer they run a shuttle, but it wasn’t running yet. So we attempted to meet there. We eventually found each other, but if we were to try it again we would meet at the “Park and Ride” lot under Hwy 101 and carpool.

The road to the monument is a narrow two-laner that steeply climbs over a ridge and then drops down into a small valley. Muir Woods’ 560 acres protects one of the few remaining groves of old-growth Coast Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens). Closely related are the Giant Sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) which grow further inland in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Coast Redwoods claim the title of tallest living thing, yet they are not as massive as the Giant Sequoias. The tallest Coast Redwood was recently measured in Redwood National Park in northern California at a whopping 379.1’ tall. That’s like a 38 story building—amazing!

The trees can live for over 2,000 years, an accomplishment which scientists credit to the tree’s bark. Coast Redwood bark is very thick and extremely rich in tannin which serves to repel both insects and fire, the two major leading causes of tree demise. The tree’s fire, insect, and rot resistant properties are coveted by lumber companies, and by the end of the 1800s the trees were harvested at an astonishing rate. By the turn of the century few of the giants remained and that is when William Kent and his family stepped in.

In 1905 the Kents purchased 611 acres of old-growth Coast Redwoods straddling Redwood Creek near Mount Tamalpais. To ensure the greatest protection for the trees the Kents donated 295 acres to the Federal Government and in 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt signed the monument into being. William Kent named the monument for John Muir, the naturalist and conservationist who inspired him.

Tim, Tiffany, Lance, and I hiked the Bootjack Trail which led us past the boardwalk area (and the crowds), along Redwood Creek. We had a wonderful time catching up on the past year and learning more about Tiffany. During lunch Tim filled us in on the area’s fame as the birthplace of mountain biking. In the early 1970s a small group of guys began riding their modified bikes down the steep sides of Mt. Tamalpais (Mt. Tam to the locals). Amazingly, they didn’t kill themselves, and over time they invented new braking systems and the sport caught on. Ever notice how a lot of those “You could kill yourself” sports were invented by guys? Hmmm…

After lunch we meandered back down, relieved to see that the crowd had thinned. This time we took our time along the boardwalk, admiring the tall, old trees. After parting ways at Muir Woods, we re-met Tim and Tiffany at OCSC¹ in a few short hours for our next adventure: a sunset sail on San Francisco Bay.

It was a perfect afternoon for it, sunny, clear and in the low 70s. Our sailing vessel for the evening was much larger than the boat Tim took us out in the last time we were here, and our sailing crew was larger, too. All told there were about 13 of us, and as soon as we were fitted with our foul weather gear and PFDs we loaded the boat and took off.

With Tim at the helm and several experienced sailors onboard, I settled in for a relaxing time. The wind was strong yet not vicious, the waves were gentle, and the view amazing. The sail was made even better by the presence of great people, wonderful microbrews, and delicious appetizers. A huge shout out to Barbara for taking such excellent care of our tummies!

As I looked over at the Golden Gate Bridge and downtown San Francisco it occurred to me that we were at the end of a road we started following back in southern Arizona, the trail of Juan Bautista de Anza. In 1775 Anza led a colonizing expedition from Tubac, Arizona to what is now San Francisco. Though Anza did not stay to found the presidio or the mission he mapped it and his encampment is commemorated near the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. As the sun made its way toward the horizon, Tim turned the boat around and soon the Bridge and San Francisco receded into the distance. Bye Anza.

As we sailed, Tim explained the reason behind the Bay’s popularity with sailors: the wind. Thermally-generated winds flow through the area, meaning great sailing almost every day of the year. The air in the north end of the Central Valley near Sacramento rises as it heats up which pulls cool air from the ocean inland. Or as sailors say, “San Francisco doesn’t blow, Sacramento sucks.” And I’ll leave you with that charming thought.

Photos: View our photographs from Back in Sonoma Valley, including Muir Woods and the OCSC sunset sail.

Notes: We arrived in Windsor on April 20th; we hiked Muir Woods and sailed on 04/27/08.

¹ OCSC is the sailing school and club where Tim works part of the year. ↩