I wouldn't worry too much about driving at night - the roads are all pretty easy to navigate.

On my "overlap" comment I see day 1 you want go to from Cloverdale to Geyserville to Healdsburg and then back to Sonoma Square. You will need to
pass through Santa Rosa and just beyond Glen Ellen during this day which you also plan to do the next day.

Getting to Hwy 29 to go north presumably takes you through Carneros if you are coming from Sonoma

I think you have a great plan I just saw a few areas where you would be doing the same trip back to back!

Another friend of mine who lives in San Mateo wants to meet us in Bodega Bay for lunch.

Can anyone recommend a good lunch spot there?

I agree with the 2.5 hour estimate from Agua Calienta to the airport. We often visit Sonoma, and always allot that much time.
Also, returning the rental car and taking the momorail to the terminal takes a good bit of time.

We loved the Bodega Bay Lodge & Spa, they have an excellent restaurant there called the Duck Club. We have had dinner and breakfast there a few times, but I don't know if they serve lunch. ***kim***

Could someone please tell me what the opening and closing time is for the majority of shops during the week, Sat and Sun?

Can't believe - we leave Monday for CA!!!

Thanks everyone for all of your help. You gave me info. I never would have gleaned from my (many) guidebooks.

We've made several adjustments to our itinerary along the way - Cafe La Haye not avail Sat night nor was Girl and the Fig, so we are eating at Deuce, then my friend who is Portugese, wants to try La Salette for dessert. We decided to do Meritage for Sunday Brunch.

We also booked a tour at Jordan - it just looks so beautiful. Friends wanted to do Opus One, but sold out, so we are meeting at Don Giovanni then doing Domaine Carneros on the way back to Sonoma.

Our wine merchant friends set us up with tours at Chalk Hill and Chapellet - Chalk Hill had a write-up in I think Wine Country Living and looks beautiful, Chapellet I know nothing about - can anyone provide info on the winery - grounds, buildings, wine?

Friends told us we HAVE to have lunch on the Auberge du Soleil terrace, and try Mustards. Our wine merchant friends told us we have to do the "Oakville Grade" at least once (good idea??) I know after this trip we will want to return - and that I probably won't want to leave.

I hope the weather holds. I checked weather.com and it seems to be 80's (?shorts weather??) and possibly rain on Sat. Hope not through the weekend, as we plan to see Sonoma Coast Sunday and meet another former East Coast friend in Bodega Bay for lunch. Can anyone tell me if Point Reyes is close enough to Bodega Bay to see while we are there?

I tell my husband people from CA are so friendly - plus I have many friends out there - that we just HAVE to move!! We'll see.

Thanks again to everyone, and will do a trip report when we return in one short week.

We've always enjoyed our lunches on the terrace at Auberge. Take some time to walk through the property, it's gorgeous. I bought a burgandy BB cap there recently that I get a lot of compliments on!

Save room for dessert, they're always wonderful there! ***kim***

Hi wanderer!
A few notes for you:
Breakaway is located in a nice shopping
center with an Albertson's (not Ralphs,but Safeway/Albertsons and Ralph's are pretty much the same thing-like Safeway they can be open 24hrs. or 7AM to midnight or the like.

Two restaurants that won't blow your budget: Maya on Sonoma Square and the Cellar Cat Cafe in Glen Ellen.

Point Reyes is close enough to Bodega Bay,and much more worthy of your time
IMHO. Either drive out to the Lighthouse
(for some breathtaking ocean/cliff
views)or take Limintour Rd. over to Limintour Beach and stroll.

The Seaweed Cafe in Bodega Bay has a
an excellent Sunday brunch that won't send you to the poorhouse.

From Last sat.evening-Sonoma was quite busy-parking aorund the square is at a premium-so be prepared to park on
side streets and hoof it a little-you won't mind-the area is lovely.
(Here's a little secret: Cafe la Haye
and others I imagine, CAN get cancellations in the 3-4:30 PM area-
we know this from experience :)

You will enjoy both chalk Hill and
Chappellet. That's all I am going to tell you, because something on your vacation must just simply be savored and not planned to the enth degree.

A drive over the Oakville grade would be lovely.

Have a safe journey!
R5

Agree with brunch at Seaweed Cafe. I think you'll enjoy La Salette. We've have dinner there when it was out on Highway 12 but it looks like a much nicer place now that they relocated.

My other post got messed up somehow.

We leave tomorrow, and I need to know where the hospitals are in Sonoma Valley, Napa Valley.

Mr. Wanderer was recently diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation - where his heart kicks into an abnormal heart beat sometimes.

They say alcohol CAN be a trigger, and he's advised to not drink more than one glass of wine a day (boo), and hasn't had ANY since the event. He swears he WILL imbibe out in CA though, and just in case this triggers another episode, I need to know where the nearest hospital will be, as doctors say if it happens again, he must get to the hospital ASAP.

We will be staying in Agua Caliente, but roaming all over the valleys. If anyone can give me the towns and even the streets, of the hospitals, I have brought a map along and will get a sense of them before we leave.

Try here for more help.

Name :-
Sonoma Valley Hospital

Address :-
347 Andrieux Street
Sonoma, CA 95476

Telephone No. :-
707-935-5135

Here is another you might call in advance for more guidance.
Click here: The Heart Center

Hospital Contact Information

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------





Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa
3325 Chanate Rd.
Santa Rosa, CA 95404-1997

For more contact numbers go to our Hospital Directory.

Main Switchboard: (707) 576-4000
TTY-TDD: (707) 575-7911
Family Practice Center: (707) 576-4100
Women's Health Resource Center: (707) 576-4800

Please contact us at [email protected]

Trusting you will always call 911
and ask for help of the good folks in your immediate vicinity in a true emergency,
when there are is no time for reading maps, I will give you a list

Healdsburg:
Healdsburg General
1375 University
707-431-6500

Napa:
Queen of the Valley Hosp.
1000 Trancas
707-252-4411

Petaluma:
Petaluma Valley Hospital
400 North McDowell
707-778-1111

Santa Rosa: (in addition to sutter)
Kaiser Permanente
401 Bicentnnial Way
707-571-4000

Santa Rosa Memorial
1165 Montgomery Drive
707-546-3210

Sebastopol:
Palm Drive
501 Petaluma Ave
707-823-8511

Sonoma (bodi gave you)

St. Helena:
St.Helena Hospital
963-3611

Here's hoping you won't have to use it!
R5