Just a short drive north of San Francisco is Sonoma County, a vast and diverse landscape that includes everything from vineyards to redwoods, from pounding surf to leafy plazas. Every little town has its own character, from the laid-back LGBT environs of Russian River towns like Guerneville to tony Healdsburg, hippie-ish Sebastopol, artsy/agricultural Petaluma, and historic Sonoma, and the land between them is as powerfully beautiful and unimaginably varied as the towns. Iโm warning you ahead of time, Iโm going to be waxing poetic before this story is over, because thatโs the kind of feeling Sonoma County gives rise to: itโs a poetic kind of place.
Well that all sounds amazing, I hear you saying, but how do you actually get there, and whatโs there once you arrive? The scenic route is Highway 1, one of the most beautiful coastal roads in the world. As soon as you cross the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, the scenery begins to get spectacular, and as it twists and turns along the coast, itโs pretty sublime (though not exactly quick). This time, though, I head straight up Highway 101, saving the delights of the coast for later, and within forty-five minutes Iโm in Petaluma, the nearest Sonoma County town.
PETALUMA
I love Petalumaโs combination of chic and agricultural โ there may be stores with names like Earth Song or boutiques offering aromatherapy candles, but one of the biggest events in town is โButter and Egg Days.โ Since itโs so close to San Francisco, it has long attracted artists and craftspeople who want the studio space but donโt want to pay city prices. This has brought an artsy air to a town founded on poultry (youโll still see Petaluma chicken on many menus), and once youโve left the city on your Sonoma County adventure, itโs a perfect starting point and a charming place to while away an afternoon and get in the mellow Sonoma mood.
I walk along the Petaluma River and stroll among late nineteenth/early twentieth century architecture. I visit Vintage Bank Antiques, three floors packed to the gills with temptations in the gorgeous 1920s American Trust Building, where I almost buy a rustic 19th century grain bin (how on earth would I get that home?). Around the corner in Sienna Antiques, Iโm tempted by a nine-foot needlepoint panel with dragons and flowers, and a 1920s French puppet set. I have coffee served by the friendliest staff in creation in Acre Coffee before stopping in one of my favorite little eateries, Petaluma Pie Company, where you can get pies from a lunchtime mushroom/goat gouda to such sweet treats as dark chocolate/tart cherry. Want a sit-down meal? Check out Graffiti, set right on the river and offering a laid-back contemporary elegance and creative cuisine. As I leave the restaurant and head down 4th Street, a sudden gust of wind rustles some wind chimes outside a store into pleasant cacophony. Before long, the street corner is filled with people watching and listening as the chimes clang, like itโs a major event. Thatโs all I need to know about Petaluma.
DeLoach Vineyards
GUERNEVILLE AND THE RUSSIAN RIVER
I canโt linger too long, though, as Iโm headed to heaven on earth: the Russian River resort area. Since the 1970s, Russian River is one of the grand old LGBT resort areas in the country, on a par with Fire Island or Rehoboth Beach. As I drive along wooded River Road, a feeling overtakes me as it always does: Iโm headed to Russian River! Here in Guerneville and surrounding towns, thereโs a laid-back quality to the beauty, a take-you-as-you-are feeling that makes it my favorite LGBT resort destination.
Iโm trying something new on this trip, and rather than staying in a hotel, Iโve booked a house through Russian River Getaways. To put it simply: theyโre a great company, and I donโt hesitate to recommend them. They have houses of all sizes, in all price ranges, and if you have a few couples venturing to Russian River together, youโre actually paying much less than you would in a hotel for unrivalled privacy and truly wonderful quarters. Iโm in this amazing house with large, airy living room/dining room, fireplace for cool nights, and a wall of windows overlooking the Russian River. Bedrooms are large, well-appointed, and comfy, the kitchen better than anything I have at home, and the deck boasts a grill, hot tub, and incredible views all the way down the river (thereโs also a private dock and boat). The houseโs name? Not surprisingly, itโs โParadise.โ Thank you, Russian River Getaways.
If you want the amenities of a hotel, check out Highlands Resort, which Ken and Lynette McLean have run for twenty years. Itโs a typically Russian River story, this straight couple running an LGBT resort for decades, with its sweet little cabins and clothing-optional pool. Says Lynette in between bites of her homemade granola, โWe just started comparing every other place to here. Everywhere else came up short.โ It is, in fact, a pretty perfect location, a woodsy setting that takes you by the hand and says โyouโre going to relax now, arenโt you?โ
Guerneville has the comfort of a long-established mecca, whether you visit for Womenโs Weekend in May, Pride Weekend in June, or late July/early Augustโs Lazy Bear Weekend. Or just come whenever you feel the need for some beauty and a lot of fun. While the LGBT roots are unmistakable, and locals estimate that half of Guernevilleโs 5000 or so residents are LGBT, the area has recently been โdiscoveredโ by a young, hip crowd, bringing a feeling of resurgence. While Iโll always make time for such down-home spots as funky little coffeeshop Coffee Bazaar, now thereโs actually beginning to be a Russian River dining scene, thanks to such restaurants as out chef/proprietor Crista Luedtkeโs Boon Eat + Drink, where the emphasis on fresh, local food from flash-fried brussel sprouts to seared local duck keeps the dozen or so tables packed. Even tiny Forestville down the road boasts a restaurant as spectacularly cozy as Backyard, where chef Daniel Kedan dishes up โcomfort food plusโ in a lovely country house atmosphere. Not to be missed: their amazing version of chicken pot pie, topped with tiny buttermilk biscuits, and the chocolate budino, with a surprising hint of salted caramel. Great food, great ambience.
What gay nightlife exists in Sonoma County is in Guerneville: namely, Rainbow Cattle Company, which seems unchanged every time I visit: pool table, laid-back staff, and mainly male crowd whose age tilts upwards of forty. While youโre on a nightlife prowl (I use the term loosely), stop in El Barrio, a tequila bar recently opened by the owner of Boon, whose evocative southwestern dรฉcor and mind-boggling assortment of tequilas draws a mixed and mellow crowd to sip and chat. Youโll also want to see whatโs on at Triple R, a โparty centralโ kind of resort where you might relax in the piano bar or strut your stuff on karaoke night (open to non-guests).
Mainly, though, this area is about nature, and youโll spend your Guerneville days exploring some of the most gorgeous scenery in the area. I always make a trip to Armstrong Woods State Natural Reserve, where over 800 acres of redwoods beckon with their humble majesty. Come here during the week and you can almost feel the silence descend upon these trees that have been here for centuries. Spend an afternoon watching the sunlight filter through the branches of trees that rise hundreds of feet into the air. Stroll along verdant paths that lead from wonder to wonder. Are you relaxed yet?
If the answer is โnot quite,โ head to the river. Whether you choose to rent a kayak or simply stroll along its banks, let the ever-changing enchantment of Russian River take over, gently demanding that you let go of stress. I watch in delight as ducks dive-bomb into the water, birds tinged with blue and green dart between treetops, kayakers paddle by looking very, very happy, and the light moves across the river, dancing on the banks. Iโve been to a lot of beautiful places in the world, but there are very few that hold for me the magic of Russian River, and I suspect youโll feel it too. Itโs hard not to, so irresistible is the riverโs pull.
