Of course I’m biased, the Wild Flour Bread down the road in Freestone is hands-down my favorite.  I think I could live on the Fougasse (gouda, onions, mushrooms, olives, red pepper) and they have a great variety of dinner breads and breakfast breads for everyone.  I love eating the bread still warm, and they have a beautiful garden with lots of benches and chairs to just sit out and enjoy the moment.  You should definitely check it out at least once when you come to Bodega Bay!

For those of you venturing further out, here’s a great article from Inside Sonoma that I just saw on top Bakeries in Sonoma.    We are so fortunate in this area to have an abundance of great food…so enjoy!

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. you can load up on field fresh produce on the Bodega Bay Community Center grounds near the Nicholas Green Children’s Bell Tower on Coast Highway 1. It will continue on Sunday’s from 10-1 through the 30th of October.

Here’s a full list of some of my favorite Sonoma County Farmer’s Markets.   We are very fortunate to have an abundance of fresh & delicious food here on the coast….and I really enjoy the environment of the Farmer’s Markets….can’t wait to visit this new one!

This year’s Festival Features:

• A beautiful, juried fine art and craft marketplace!
• Over a dozen restaurants and catering companies serving a variety of foods, with an emphasis on seafood
• 3 stages of excellent entertainment and a large dance floor!
• Great kids entertainment and games!
• An expansive Wine and Microbrew Beer Tasting featuring dozens of wineries and breweries

Click here for the completed entertainment schedule during the two day event.

Chancellor Ranch offers both beach and trail rides.  I’ve done one of the beach rides, as have many of our guests, and it’s both fun and a great way to experience the beach from a different perspective.

Their wranglers and tour guides accompany you along your ride, and they welcome both children and first time riders as well.

It’s a great time way to spend time on your Bodega Bay Vacation whether it’s for a special event or just for fun.  Have a good time!

It’s hard to believe it’s time for the 38th annual Fisherman’s Festival.    This year it’s on April 30 and May 1st at Westside Park in Bodega Bay.

The Fisherman’s Festival is always packed with music, food, and entertainment. A favorite attraction is the wine tasting booth, featuring more than 25 Sonoma County wines. Food booths have something for every pallet from lamb or oyster barbeque to local fish and chips, to vegi burders, salads, and sandwiches. Live music and entertainers perform on the band stage all day Saturday and Sunday. Artisans and vendors from all over California and beyond offer a wide selection of arts and crafts.

The festival has its origin as a celebration of the start of the Salmon fishing season and the annual Blessing of the Fleet. Saturday will feature a golf tournament at Bodega Harbour (707-875-3538) and at the Festival site itself a wooden boat challenge where participating teams build a vessel and then compete in a boat race.

Sunday morning will feature the blessing of the fishing fleet, when decorated boats parade out of the harbor to receive a blessing from local clergy. A flower wreath is cast upon the waters honoring the fishermen lost at sea. The festival is a great venue for kids, with a play area for face painting, spin paintings, games, free kit lessons, pony rides and llamas (and guest pets) on parade. There will be a drawing for raffle prizes from local merchants.

The Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Festival is a nonprofit organization run by local community volunteers under the leadership of chair Ginny Bassi. All proceeds of the festival benefit local service and volunteer organizations. For more information call the Bodega Bay Visitors’ Center at 707-875-3866.

Blessing of The Fleet

Sunday’s Blessing of the Fishing Fleet is the highlight of the Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Festival. These solemn annual blessings had their start more than 50 years ago when the event was part of the ‘Discovery Days Celebration’ and we had a thriving commercial fishing industry. Today it is part and parcel of the annual Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Festival weekend. (Discovery Days commemorated the discovery of Bodega Bay by Lt. Bodega y Quadra while surveying these waters for the Spanish in 1775).

At the first ‘Discovery Days Celebration’ event in 1958, some 17 festively decorated boats were blessed in the parade – appropriately led by Eddie, William and Steve Smith, members from the large local Miwok Indian family which began the commercial fishing industry in Bodega Bay in the 1920′s.

Today, even with a declining industry, the traditional annual blessing of the fishing fleet is an important observance for the entire community and acknowledges the key role of those who farm the seas, often at great risk to themselves. Local clergy officiate at the Blessing and a flower wreath is cast upon the waters honoring the fishermen lost at sea.

So come for some or all of the celebrations, it’s always a good time and it’s for a great cause too!

This Memorial Day marks the first annual Bodega Bay International Short Film Festival!

Screenings will be held at the UC Davis Bodega Marine Lab.

The web site says the jury panel and films are still developing, so I’ll update you as soon as I hear more!

Well, it’s that time of year again! The 16th annual Bodega Seafood Art and Wine Festival.  It will be held at 16855 Bodega Highway in Bodega, CA on August 28th and 29th.

The festival includes:

• Arts and Crafts Market Place
• Over a dozen restaurants serving seafood and delectable specialties!
• 3 Entertainment areas and a large dance floor
• Kids entertainment and Games
• The Bodega Seafood Festival Rubber Duck Races

The festival is always a good time, so come to enjoy yourself!

Kitesurfing is also very popular. The winds usually come up in the early afternoon and will be consistent for the rest of the day. Here’s a great video I just ran across, you’ll actually see the front of “At the Bay’s Edge” in the video as the windsurfers take runs in front of our Bodega Bay Vacation Rental.