We left McKerricher and braved the PCH headed for Bodega Bay, which is the town Albert Hitchcok’s legendary movie “Birds” was set and shot. The drive wasn’t long, but with seemingly countless switchbacks I was relieved to have had the brakes replaced. Waiting for us in the small California costal town was our latest set of visitors, a pair of my aunts and uncles – Joe and Sally and Bonnie and David. This quartet of family was part of our fantastic send off when we left Louisville and we looking forward to more family time with them. 

After a late afternoon of catching up, the following day we decided on a trip back up the PCH to see the sights along the coast. It was another morning of pulling off for great views, rocky shores, and deep drop-offs along the PCH. It also gave me a fresh perspective of the route we drove the day before and once again we were thankful for new brakes – yikes.

We ended our northern route at Fort Ross, a former Russian settlement and fort that overlooks the Pacific. We learned it was the southern-most settlement for the Russians who established the area to gather supplies for their rougher northern settlements along the coast of what is now Alaska. Once the US began our westward expansion and claiming land, the Russians moved out and headed back up the coast, leaving most of the fortress and its interior buildings. The property had changed hands a few times and at one time was even a resort but is now run by the California Parks Department. Fort Ross also explains why a few of the area’s landmarks, such as the Russian River Valley, earned their names. 

Instead of going the hotel-route, like all of our previous visitors had done, Joe, Sally, Bonnie and David went with an Air B-N-B, which was awesome. It gave us a great, comfortable space to get together and hang out. Of course, having laundry facilities and showers for us was pretty fantastic too. It also made dinner a bit easier and instead of trying to decide where to eat  with a table for eight, we were able to cook at home. And when I say “we” I mean Nikki. She knocked out a great family-style spaghetti and meat sauce later that night that made the evening feel much more like a night at home. Although it would be unfair to say Nikki did all the cooking that night. Because David did make the garlic bread, who in the minds of the kids, was not only the best garlic bread they have ever eaten, but are convinced he should open up “David’s Garlic Bread Store.” Who knew?

Just a few miles down from their Air B-N-B, was our campsite in Bodega Bay. Despite the paved slots and view of the marina, we’d classify it as “rustic” meaning we didn’t have any electric or water hook-ups. It also meant that since our solar is still acting a bit finicky, we were dependent on our generator to change our batteries so we could run our furnace during the cooler night. Needless to say the following morning I was a bit freaked out when I went to pull the starter and the rope broke. Bodega Bay is a cute little town, but little towns don’t have small engine repair shops so I had to scramble to find the nearest place who could not only fix it, but have it done that day. As luck would have it, a lady who ran one of the offices within the marina pointed me to a store in nearby Sabastapol, Hendrix Chainsaw and Lawn Equipment. They were incredibly understanding, very accommodating, got me in and ensured me I be back up and running later that evening. Shew!

While the generator was being fixed, we spent the day touring a few wineries in the Russian River Valley. Nikki and I were lucky enough to spend a few days in the same area a few years before with our good friends Beth and Scott and we were anxious to head back with the rest of my family. We started at a smallish boutique winery, Emeritus, who focused mainly on Pinot Noirs. Their wines were great and the setting was California-cool. Our day of tastings was off to a great start.

Next was Futhermore Winery. We learned they allowed you to bring food into the tastings so we stopped at a great local French cafe and grabbed sandwiches and pastries along the way. Their outside tasting and picnic area sat next to a small field of their freshly harvested vines. The kids played bocce ball and took advantage of wifi on their iPads as we sipped our way through the selections. The setting couldn’t have been nicer.

We ended our afternoon at Russian River Vineyards, which was one Nikki and I had really liked from our previous trip to the area. It was everything we had remembered. The wines were fantastic and their outside tasting area was shady and relaxing. With bottles in tow we considered the afternoon a success and headed back to the Air B-N-B.

On our last full day we went to UC Davis’ Marine Lab, which was a couple of minutes from our campground. The fully functioning lab is open for public tours on the weekends, so our timing was perfect. One of their professors lead the tour of the facility which started in one of the classrooms and eventually worked its way past aquariums, outdoor research fields, labs and finally to their tide pool aquarium that ran along the front of the building. Our tour group started with a couple of dozen people, but by the time we reached the tide pool, it was pretty much just us and the professor. There she reached into the large tank and pulled out a couple of spiny urchins to pass around as she talked about their life in the sea and how they get their food. All in all a great afternoon and a great learning experience for our two “Road Scholars”.