Good morning!

Ahh...  Saturday morning.  My favorite morning of the week.  Quiet, a nice cup of coffee by my side along with my cat, Sam.  I still have the errands and shopping to do, but it's restful anyway.

Yesterday was glorious here, warm with highs near 80 and clear skies.  This morning we have fog which is starting to burn off.

As beautiful as the weather is, I do wish it would rain - for days.  We are desperate for rain because we haven't had any in what feels like forever.  The lakes and reservoirs are drying up, as are the aquifers.  Not-quite-draconian rationing is in place and the water rates will go up because people aren't using as much water so the water districts aren't receiving the money they need to operate.  Sounds like a bit of a Catch 22 but we're like flies on pins out here.  We're stuck with no options but not to use water at all.

On my way home yesterday I got the idea that I should start a little travelogue about Sonoma County.  Out of the way places to go and see, oddball things to do that are a bit off the beaten track.  Thinking about it further, I'll start with one of my favorite places to go: the Sonoma Coast.

It's rugged and beautiful.  South of us is Pt. Reyes and the Golden Gate National Seashore, but they might well have included all of the Sonoma coastline, too.

At the south end of the county is Bodega Bay.  That and the little inland town of Bodega, were where Alfred Hitchcock filmed 'The Birds'.  The school and the house next door where the crows landed and attacked the children are actually in the town of Bodega.  The waterside scenes were filmed in Bodega Bay.  The villages have changed a lot in the past 40 years, but the school is still there.

About 10 miles or so north of Bodega Bay is Goat Rock.  It's an interesting place - an upthrust of rock right at the mouth of the Russian River, which is one of the major rivers north of the Golden Gate.
In the spring and fall, when the killer whale pods migrate between Alaska and Mexico you can sometimes see them from the highway that runs along the hillside above the beach.

I have never seen it, or heard about it directly from someone I know personally, but through the local grapevine I have heard that it's really not a good idea to be on the northerly end of the beach during the whale migration.  Harbor seals use the beach for pupping and I rumor has it that the whales will chase the seals into the shallows in attempt to collect dinner.  Now if you're wading, or your dog is frolicking the whale might get confused.

Here's a link that includes information about the Sonoma Coast and the various beaches.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=451

In the above link, there are also links to photographs of the area.  It's rugged and beautiful and great for hiking or exploring.

If you ever come to Sonoma County, it's definitely worth a day trip.