kathleen bonham

SMALL BUT UNIQUE - OCCIDENTAL

Another couple of miles down the road through valleys, with redwoods and spruces on one side and beautiful pastures on the other, Graton Rd. ends at Occidental Highway. We turned right and followed a route that lead us through dark redwoods over the coast range ridges before descending into Occidental, where Occidental Road intersects the Bohemian Highway.

At first glance Occidental looks like another proverbial wide spot in the road but there is a lot more to it than that!

The present day village has a population of only 1200 people but has an assortment of attractions.The main street is only 2 blocks but there are several restaurants, antique shops, numerous artisans displaying their special creations, a Japanese-inspired spa and a rare plant nursery. The original Occidental Hotel, built during the timber boom of the 19th century is still operating and its dining room is renowned for its Italian cuisine.

Occidental originated as a rail head that connected the Russian River Redwood Forest to the Sausalito ferry and the entire Bay area. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of board feet were shipped from Occidental on the railroad (NPCRR) on its way to construction sites further east and south.

Today, Occidental and its lovely country roads that radiate outward, are a favorite for cyclists, car clubs and motorcyclists.Every Friday it is the home of the Bohemian Farmers' Market and is located close to several award-winning wineries that are open to the public.

Stay tuned for our final segment and the Bohemian Highway, one of the most scenic drives in the whole state of California.

Kathleen Bonham

this mural is painted on the side of a bulding in the center of town as map and directory for visitors.

Sebastopol, Santa Rosa, Healdsburg

hA KATHLEEN BONHAM

COUNTRY AND VINTAGE HOME SPECIALIST SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

For reasons that are lost in the mist of history Halloween is a "BIG OCCASION" in the North Bay area of Northern California.The cover story of Datebook, the Sunday magazine of the San Francisco Chronicle has a survey of Halloween action around the region. Among the "hot" spots listed is my own neighborhood, the historic MC Donald district in Santa Rosa.The MC Donald area includes several blocks clustered around the old MC Donald Mansion, a 19 th century reproduction of a Mississippi plantation house. The neighborhood has always been a favorite place because of the wide avenues, mature landscape and charming architecturally diverse style homes.This creates the perfect environment for the witches and goblins that inhabit them on All Souls Eve. Families from all over the area come to see the sights and either get a trick or a treat!

As quoted in Datebook by a neighbor, "Many of our houses, including ours, decorate like crazy with fun Halloween themes. We often have fog machines, music, laser light shows to accompany the scary clowns in race cars or Harley Davidson's that we stage on our lawn. We go through roughly $400 worth of candy every year, but it is well worth it!

So if you find yourself in Sonoma County at the end of October the sights along McDonald Ave. and adjacent streets are well worth the "EXPERIENCE."

Kathleen Bonham

Country and VIntage SPecialist

Santa Rosa, Sebastopol. Healdsburg

After visiting the pumpkin patch we headed north toward one of our favorite places in West County, The Bread Flour Bakery ( the aroma alone is worth the visit!)

Graton, a charming village in its own right with antique shops, boutiques, and restaurants ( try Willow-wood if you have a chance to stop and you're hungry for interesting blends of foods.) It also has a day labor center for workers who help produce some of our fine wines, construction work and supply some of the "hard" labor for construction and agriculture. The center provides a regulated and orderly process and translation services as needed for potential employees and employers.

A few miles outside Graton the road takes a sharp turn south and directly in front of you is one of Sonoma Countys active and surviving apples farms, Walker Apples. What a great sign!

Nearby we were amused by the below grade street sign on a road leading down into a canyon.

Stay tuned as we travel down Graton Road to Occidental - through beautiful valleys, redwood clad ridges with creeks, canyons and sun-dappled glades!

Kathleen Bonham

Country and Vintage Homes Specialist

Sebastopol, Healdsburg and Santa Rosa

Traveling the Back Roads of Sonoma County / Fall Series

This weekend my husband, our miniature schnauzer and I went on a excursion along the byways of West Sonoma County.

The first segment of our trip took us along Hall Road going west through the Santa Rosa plain to Occidental Road to 116 going South. All along the route were scenes that attested to West County's peculiar combination of the bucolic, the whimsical and the free - spirited!

For example , this mailbox is approximately twelve feet off the ground. As it label indicates , it is only for AIR MAIL.

A few yards down the road, was a ranchers collection of old farm machinery. The centerpiece is a Vintage John Deere tractor with classic metal lugged wheels. I'm sure if you fired- her - up its two cycle engine would POP loudly enough to be heard in downtown Sebastopol.

A few more miles down the road were Hall Road turns south to intercept with Occidental Road, we came upon a coffee-clatch of Holsteins gathered for afternoon "snacks." Or was Clo visiting? For those of you who are not familiar with the North Bay, Clo the cow is the mascot for Clover Stornetta Dairy, a family owned cow ranch and dairy. Suffice to say she specializes on puns on her name, such as MarClo Polo!

This lone Holstein was perhaps Clos's lookout?

Mailboxes and address signs are another way to "create your own" expression with left over metal scrapes and poles that are so often part of farm life. We loved this "tin" man giving signal directions to "his" home.

Our final destination took us to Halls Apple Farm which also grows pumpkins and gourds for autumnal festivities. Check out the bounty of the season and the size of some of these pumpkins! If you look closely you can see my husband Jerry ( the guy with the Illinois orange cap on ) and our little schnauzer Neddie by the wagon.

The colorful richness of this apple tree reveals a darker truth thanks to the competition from Chinese imports, most of Sonomas apple crop is being left to rot on the ground. But that is another story for another day.

Stay tuned for more adventures on our Sonoma County Travels.Living in this part of California makes us thankful not only for our beautful vistas and bounties but the generous spirit of the people that live here.

Kathleen Bonham

Country and Vintage Home Specialist

Sebastopol, Santa Rosa, Healdsburg