Saw this in the Press Democrat today....Even Snoopy knows about Bodega Bay!

Just discovered this wonderful audio tour of Petaluma! Petaluma is just 1/2 hour away from "At the Bay's Edge", and many travel through on their way to the coast. Petaluma is a wonderfully historical town full of Victorian mansions, antique shops, a downtown area that is along the river front, a theatre and opera house, and even a row of outlet stores just outside of downtown Petaluma! There's something for everyone! Enjoy!

The annual Bodega Bay Fireworks show is scheduled for July 3, 2009 at dusk at Westfield Park. You can see the fireworks right from "At the Bay's Edge". It's a smaller show, but always dramatic and a lot of fun....and a great way to celebrate the holiday.

My daughter and I just visited the McEvoy Ranch, an olive farm producing organic olive oil among other products. McEvoy is committed to producing their products in the most sustainable, handcrafted way possible, from using local sheep to trim back the grass to composting all of their waste to fertilize their orchards. As you will see in our photos, the grounds are absolutely gorgeous, too!

We learned a lot about the production of olive oil as well as how to taste the differences in oil. It’s not just a matter of the types of olives you grow or when you harvest them, you can also change the flavor with the type of milling equipment you use, the way you store the oil before it is blended and bottled, and how long stores or buyers hold onto it before it is consumed. In that sense it is a lot like wine, even though most people might not think of it that way (technically, it's a fruit juice). Unlike wine, olive oil is always more flavorful if you use it soon after it was bottled.

McEvoy makes style of olive oil that originated in Italy’s Tuscany region, and we found that their oil tasted very fruity and spicy. It was not all at like the ordinary olive oils we’d used for sautéing at home. If you get to taste an artisan olive oil, you’ll want to find flavors that are fruity, bitter, and pungent.

I would highly recommend going on their tours, you can see McEvoy's 2009 Olive Oil Ranch tour schedule here. Have fun and enjoy!

The Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat Station Bodega Bay Open House
is on Saturday, May 23 from 10:00a to 3:00p
at Motor Lifeboat Station Bodega Bay, Bodega Bay, CA

The Coast Guard Station Bodega Bay is opening up to the public on Saturday May 23rd. You can visit their station and tour their boats! They'll show you various demonstrations including basic maritime damage control, and a live search and rescue display with a Coast Guard helicopter and a Motor Lifeboat. You can see the Sonoma County Sherriff's helicopter and marine unit, and the REACH Air Ambulance will be landing at the station.

Sounds interesting and fun!

Salmon Creek's annual artwalk is coming up this weekend!

The Salmon Creek ArtWalk, though small by Sonoma County standards, is a highly regarded open studio art show. It was established in 2001 and has since become the premiere Sonoma Coast art event. The annual art show now showcases works in several media such as, Stained Glass, Photography, Custom Leather Design, Pastels, Painted Gourds, Sculpture & Mixed Media, Woodworking, Fine Art and more.

The Salmon Creek ArtWalk is a juried show that offers works by 15 to 18 artisans each year making the event ever changing, interesting and enjoyable.

Salmon Creek ArtWalk weekend is the perfect time for a stroll in vintage, quirky Salmon Creek village, the quintessential California beach community, one mile north of Bodgea Bay. It’s a weekend filled with wonderful original artworks, sunshine, beach…good for the eyes, good for the soul.

Here's the Salmon Creek Artwalk Schedule.

Enjoy!

The annual Castles & Kites celebration in Bodega Bay has everything it takes to be a crowd pleaser, the festivities take place at Doran Regional Park. It's not for the faint of heart, however, castle building can be a serious undertaking. But don't worry park representatives are on hand to give you the tools and molds to make your castle the best it can be. Also on hand are expert sand castle artists that make huge and beautiful sand castles.

And for kite afficionados, the sky's the limit. Local kite shops come to Candy & Kites and supply some incredible kites. You can fly your own kite, design a new one, or watch stunt kite demonstrations.

All for free.
11am to 4pm
You'll need to buy a $5 day use permit, which includes parking.

Address: 201 Doran Beach Road
City: Bodega Bay
State: California
Zip: 94923

Bodega Bay's Annual Fisherman's Festival is always a good time, with boat parades, crafts fairs, music, food, and wine, and this year was no exception. My grandson was in town and he loved the petting zoo (including starfish!) as well as the Coast Guard helicopter and the local fire trucks.

This is a picture of the boat parade that comes right in front of "At the Bay's Edge". Don't miss this event if you're in town, it's a whole lot of fun!

Here's a great site for you that details the 17 mile stretch of Sonoma County Beaches....from Bodega Head up to Jenner. These beaches are among the most dramatic Northern California beaches.

This resource also includes a list of Sonoma County Pet Friendly Beaches.

The 36th Annual Bodega Bay Fisherman's Festival is on April 4-5th 2009 at Westside Park, from 10am - 5pm. Here's just a partial list of activities....you can visit The Official Fisherman's Festival Site For More Info.

Live Music
Entertainment
Wine Tasting
Seafood
Food Booths
Beverages
Crafts Fair
Exhibits
Children's Events
Kite Flying
Raffle Prizes

Special events:

Golf Tournament
(707)875-3538
Boat Challenge
Parade of Pets
Llamas on Parade
Boat Parade
* Blessing of the Fleet (This is always special for us as the boat parade goes right in front of "At The Bay's Edge" on Sunday morning at 11:30....then they head out to sea for the actual Blessing)

The annual Russian River Barrel Tasting is back....over 100 wineries participate in this fun event. One low ticket price allows you entry to all the wineries....for barrel tasting, future purchases, meet the wine makers, and sample current releases.

Check out my previous post on the Russian River Wine Road....it's one of the greatest secrets of this area up here....there are 140 wineries along this beautiful scenic road!

The San Francisco Chronicle published a great article on Olive Oil Tasting Tours in Sonoma that I thought you would enjoy.

Sonoma County is well known for its California Extra Virgin Olive Oil and olive tapenades. It's always fun to go olive oil tasting, and now the Sonoma Olive Festival is still in full swing through the end of February.

Here's a previous post I did on the McEvoy Ranch Tours as well. That was a lot of fun!

Enjoy!

Just saw this....it sounds like fun!


Valentine Art Walk
Friday, February 08th, 2008
02:00 PM - 05:00 PM

Join the 22 artists of Riverfront Art Gallery for the Valentine Art Walk, downtown on Friday, Feb. 8 from 5 pm.-8 pm. There will be wine, food and artists will share their art love stories with the public.
For more information: 707-775-4ART,
Location:
Riverfront Art Gallery
132 Petaluma Boulevard North
Petaluma, CA 94952
For More Information:
Contact: Jody
Email: jelliott@sonomacounty.com
Phone: 707-775-4ART

The Annual Petaluma Lighted Boat Parade was another year of fun sponsored by the Petaluma Yacht Club at the Petaluma River downtown.

A flotilla of holiday decorated boats filled the turning basin downtown to celebrate the holidays and to welcome Santa. It's always been one of Petaluma's featured and spectacular holiday traditions.

The history of this parade is quite interesting....it was actually started a quarter century ago by club members who sailed up the river from Gilardi’s Landing to the Turning Basin until it dawned on them that few could actually see the boats until they neared the downtown area. Now the parade is from the Petaluma Marina to the Turning Basin.

The first Lighted Boat Parade featured three boats. That number has grown to more than 35 boats in addition to an assortment of canoes and kayaks. Hundreds of people from not only Petaluma, but from all over the Bay Area line the Turning Basin to watch the spectacle. Depending on the tides, boats gather at the marina around 5:30 p.m. The parade starts at 6 and reaches the Turning Basin around 6:30.

Petaluma is just 25 minutes from "At The Bay's Edge" and offers many wonderful restaurants and activities as well.

It's crab season, and the beauty of staying "At the Bay's Edge" is that you can buy crab off of the boats, and cook it here, or eat out. It's a "win" "win" event for all!

Enjoy!