CALIFORNIA DREAMIN', Day 9. August 1

August 1, and in 13 days in-service at school will begin, and this summer's five trips will be treasured memories, kept alive in words and photographs! We started off the day with another round of superb weather, and after a full breakfast at our hotel were ready to see the town of Healdsburg. We drove to the center square, got out and walked around the entire square. Healdsburg is a shopper's delight, with trendy boutiques, antiques shops, and art galleries. The compact downtown area is perfect for strolling, dog walking, and people watching, with coffee houses, wine bars, and outdoor cafes offering great diversion along the way. We stopped at a bookstore which was open--quite a few stores did not open until 10 a.m., so we did not linger long, but basically did a lot of window shopping after stopping at the bookstore. Our main focus of the morning was a short exploration of wine country. The Wine Road includes six of Sonoma County's 14 appellations, or wine-growing regions: Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Russian River Valley, Green Valley, Chalk Hill, and Rockpile. Located one hour north of SF and encompassing one million acres, Sonoma County is not just a wonderful place to grow wine; it is also one of the most beautiful and resource-rich places on earth. The wineries we focused on were VML (Virginia Marie Lambrix), known for its Chardonnays and its Pinot Noirs (we did not go in for tastings, but simply took picture after picture of its beautiful grounds and water moments); Hop Kiln, a scenic, historic landmark winery and gourmet marketplace producing Hop Kiln and estate HKG wines (each of us, individually, tasted various Chardonnays, Pinot Grigios and Pinot Noirs, and both Alexandra and Maureen bought a bottle apiece of a "Thousand Flower" blend and a Pinot Grigio, respectively); and finally Kendall-Jackson Winery, which specializes in wine and food pairing and is, in fact, adding a culinary center to its beautiful grounds, which we explored for a short while. After our wine explorations, we were off to Petaluma, which has what many consider to be one of America's oldest and best preserved historic areas: 19th c. Victorian homes, theatres, and iron-front commercial buildings which have been lovingly restored. We stopped at the Water Street Bistro for lunch, and I had a combination sandwich and salad. The sandwich, a watercress and cucumber combination, was marvelous. We walked by the side of the river shortly afterwards and took a few pictures, then stopped at the Petaluma Coffee and Tea Company, where we marveled at all the numerous different types of both beverages and Maureen bought some freshly ground decaffeinated Ethiopian coffee. After lunch we proceeded further south to Berkeley, for several reasons. First, Alexandra wanted to see and explore the Half Price Books and Records in Berkeley, since she is an employee of a Half Price in Louisville, Kentucky. While she was in the store, Maureen and I went to a coffee shop across the street to check our emails. I had a chai latte, and Maureen had a San Pellegrino. After about half an hour, Alexandra met us, and then we went to another venue in Berkeley, a Cafe Leila, where one of Alexandra's best friends from Vassar, a girl named Annika, is waitressing. They had a joyous reunion, while Maureen and I waited for them to catch up with each other's lives. After about half an hour, we left for the University of California, Berkeley, as Alexandra wanted to see at least part of the campus. We walked all the way to the main Campanile, and, since it was 5:56 p.m., we waited around for the striking of the hour and then listened to the carillon concert, which lasted about 10 minutes. Afterwards, we walked back to the car and drove to our next destination, the Corso Trattoria, an Italian restaurant which Maureen's sister Marilyn, who lives in Oakland, had recommended highly. I had some excellent bruschetta, while Alexandra and Maureen had a stuffed pepper with saffron risotto, mozzarella, and tomato sauce; olives (Alexandra) and spinach with garlic and chili flakes (Maureen). Very fine! Since the restaurant did not serve tiramisu for dessert, we decided to go to Scream Sorbet, run by a friend of Randy Fromme. I had hazelnut; Alexandra had hazelnut and pistachio, and Maureen had hazelnut and Santa Rosa plum sorbet. By that time the sun had set, and, after a few false starts, we found our way back to Mountain View. What an incredibly wonderful exploratory tour this was! It made us all love California even more, and cemented my resolve to return next summer to learn and appreciate more of this uniquely beautiful part of the United States! SV