After yet another visit to San Francisco airport, my third in almost as many days, to collect the hire car, we headed north from the city heading for Sonoma County. First though, the small matter of navigating ‘the beast’ around the relatively modest roads of the city. It isn’t often you pull up alongside a Range Rover and find yourself dwarfing them. We stopped briefly at Golden Gate Bridge for the obligatory tourist photos, we weren’t quite in the same spot to recreate the selfie shot when the kids were 1 and 3 on our last visit, but still such an iconic image.

 

Our next stop on our way to wine country was to be Muir Woods, home to the magestic Redwood Trees. They are absolutely gigantic. So straight, so tall, and so many of them close together. They have a very shallow root structure, and also tend to grow in clumps together, called ‘family circles’, which creates a pretty dense forest made up of trees going straight up to over 300ft. It made us feel like hobbits as we wandered through feeling rather insignificant and once again in awe of nature. For such a mature forest the wildlife was pretty sparse, although we did get to see some chipmunks which are just like little squirrels but a little cuter.

 

After filling our stomachs at the cafe, and Lottie and Hatty completing their junior ranger swearing in ceremony, we were once again on our way cruising along the winding roads up to Monte Rio, which was to be our home for the next couple of nights. It is about half an hour west from Santa Rosa and the heart of the Sonoma wine region. We passed through lots of vineyards, or wineries as they are called here, and checked into the hotel. After a bracing dip in the pool, for the kids and grandparents, we weren’t quite brave enough, we had our first US bar/diner with live music experience. The sense of familiarity was somewhat alarming, just shows how many American films and TV programs we must have watched. A fun evening eating far too much, the cake literally almost killed us, and enjoying some of the local beers and wines before turning in for the night.

 

We woke to yet another overcast day, somewhat chilly, which appears to be the norm on the west coast, before the sun comes out and burns away the low lying fog and cloud. After an early morning visit to a rather impressive organic food supermarket, where we ate breakfast outside on plastic tables whilst our picnic lunch for the winery was being prepared, we set off on another walk in the forests. This time Armstrong woods, just a short drive away. The majesty of the Redwoods, and the mystical feel of the forest, was as strong as when we had seen them yesterday for the first time. If anything, potentially more impressive, as the forest was a little more wild, and the trees even older, the two eldest being 1300, and 1400 years old! Unbelievable. We also saw a beautiful black tailed deer going about its daily routine.

 

We walked just about far enough to justify our afternoon at a local winery, Furthermore Wines, which is a small winery specialising in Pinot Noir. Naturally, being in the middle of the Russian River valley, we had to test out some of the Chardonnay on offer as well. A very pleasant couple of hours flew by in no time, the girls playing Boule, whilst we were treated to lots of different tastings and enjoying the picnic we had brought along. Before we knew it we were back at the hotel, once again the girls braving the pool, before testing out our American Football skills. Not sure I am destined to be a quarterback but the girls gave a strong wide receiver performance as we attempted to work up an appetite for dinner. Once again back to the local diner just a stones throw from the hotel for yet more live music, and this time we ordered more modestly, no pudding this time, which meant clean plates and even a little room to enjoy the bottle of Pinot Noir we picked up at the winery earlier in the day. As night settled in, beanies came out, and the wide receivers almost needed head torches to keep up their catching rate, just before we called time on a tremendous day.

 

For our last day we hit the nearby town of Guernville to load up on pancakes, eggs and coffee, before packing up ‘the beast’ and driving to the town of Duncans Mills where the annual Russian River Rodeo was being held. We had found out about the Rodeo as we drove into town on Friday morning and so got there early to ensure we could get tickets, with online ticket sales having been sold out. What a brilliant experience and what an eye opener. With the pace of travel so far, we haven’t had the opportunity or luck to happen upon enough local events, that we were also able to get tickets for, and it was brilliant to be the only tourists experiencing a truly local celebration. My only knowledge of a Rodeo is from watching old American films, Stir Crazy being the most vivid, and it was pretty much as crazy and wild as my recollections. Some amazingly impressive horse riding skills, the 8 year old boy riding a full size horse whilst lassoing steers being particularly the pick of the bunch, but also the range of ages, genders and all shapes and sizes taking part. Those brave enough to try and stay on an untamed horse for 8 secs on more without being thrown off generated the loudest of cheers.

 

Bucking Bronco Time

 

We never expected to find Rodeo on the California coast, not sure why really, assumed it would only be down in the Deep South and cowgirl/boy country. We also got a reminder of just how deep the Christian faith and Land of the Free sentiment runs in the American people, with a ten minute speech by the rather impressive orator of the Rodeo proceedings, culminating in collective  prayer, the national anthem and a lot of whooping and hollering for the Stars and Stripes. Any slight British uncomfortableness subsided pretty quickly for what was a very friendly, warm and entertaining spectacle. A true family experience for both the competitors and the spectators, we could have stayed for hours.

 

Steer Wrestling

 

However, sadly, we had to leave before the end of the Rodeo to make the drive back to San Francisco airport, my home from home, in good time to return ‘the beast’ and head for our airport hotel for our final night together with the Grandparents. As far as Airport hotels goes, its about as good as it gets, but with little locally by way of a community, we opted for takeaway pizza all bundled into a single hotel room reminiscing about our all too brief trip together. Japan awaits us tomorrow, with Wendy and Jim continuing their Californian adventure, heading south to Monterey. We offloaded a couple of items to the Grandparents to take home, items not expected for the rest of our journey, ponchos and beanies, and whatever food stuffs we can’t take into Japan, but otherwise the bags appeared suitably full and ready for what awaits us next. This last week has felt like a proper easy holiday, the language, the culture, the food, the navigation, etc, which has been a lovely hiatus and a chance to really relax and recharge the batteries. All goes out the window when we hit Japan tomorrow, and you know what, we can’t wait!

 

S, K, L & H x

 

N.B. More photos to follow