April 28, 2008...1:57 pm
russian river has gone to the dawgs…and chickens…
Cici and I left Nevada late, about 10 a.m. and drove via 88 down to Jackson… unlike in January, when we encountered lots of weather, snow, in other words, the morning’s drive was a breeze… we stopped off at the Sequoia drive-in before Jackson for a turkey burger, they have the best… Cici licked feet of all who would let her and got some treats…
We drove on the 12 which turned out to be the long way, got lost, and then got back on track on the 80 to the 37 and exited in Petaluma, a shortcut… then we got lost again trying to find out way onto River Road in Guerneville, our final destination.
Finally, after three people directed us to go in the wrong direction, we made it here to the Sonoma Orchid Inn… we could have opted to go the way I know to go, through Bodega Bay, but my neck and back hurt from all of the heavy lifting and packing the car, and I thought it would be quicker to go the way I didn’t know… duh… we will leave here and go to Bodega, visit Sebastopol, and get snacks at Trader Joe’s in Santa Rosa. We will then take the 101 north to the 128 up to Mendocino and Little River, CA this afternoon…
The Sonoma Orchid Inn is a sweet place. It used to be called the Ridenhour Inn… I love the new name. Owners and innkeepers of the inn for two years, Dana and Brian, instantly came out to greet us with their two dogs Saffy (Saffron) and Cori (Coriander), the spice dogs… Saffy offered Cici her own very special hoof chew which Cici confiscated immediately. I made her give it back and Saffy once again gave it up to her guest. What a generous little host. She’s really cute, too…
While we chatted and got the lay of the land, Cici decided to scope out and sniff the new digs. Ignoring Saffy almost completely, except to growl at the girl for having the audacity of taking her hoof chew back, at which point I took the chew away from her and gave it to Saffy’s owner. Cici is still wondering what happened to that yummy chew.
The inn has ten rooms, most of them pet friendly. We are staying in the Madrone room, nice and big, with a back glass door, a fireplace (the weather is too warm, shucks), a fan, very nicely furnished, a large bed, king or queen, a TV, no phone, wireless Internet…
http://www.sonomaorchidinn.com/rooms/madrone.asp
We’ve heard rumors about two hens/chickens who will be out to greet us soon… and at 9 a.m., we will have breakfast made from the fresh eggs and organic produce grown here… There are always fresh cookies and coffee out in the main room where the office is. All in all, it is peaceful and quiet and set off the road a tiny bit into the woods.
Nearby is the fabulous Armstrong Woods, about 5-10 minutes from here, rumors of a great Thai restaurant, which I would have tried but was too tired to move last night, and it’s about 20 minutes to Bodega Bay. There are wonderful wineries, and Healdsburg, Sebastopol, Santa Rosa and Windsor have some delicious chocolate yummies… we may check out later on our way out…
http://www.thechocolatelab.net/
106 Matheson Street – Healdsburg, CA 95448
Sweet Memory Chocolates
305 Center St
Healdsburg, CA 95448
(707) 433-5351
| Powells Sweet Shoppe Healdsburg
322 Center St Healdsburg, CA 95448
Tel. +1 707.431.2784 |
http://www.hempandchocolat.com/
Guerneville
http://www.camelliainn.com/specials.asp
Every week the inn celebrates chocolate with Chocolate Covered Wednesdays. Guests enjoy chocolate food, chocolate port, chocolate soap, chocolate candles, and chocolate body paint.
Don’t you just love the idea of Chocolate Covered Wednesdays…
Peter Rabbit’s Chocolate Factory
(707) 575-7110
2489 Guerneville Rd, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
| Heart’s Desire Chocolate | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (707) 528-9061 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th St, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
(707) 829-2178 2661 Gravenstein Hwy S, Sebastopol, CA 95472
(415) 479-5896 23 Pimentel Ct Suite A, Novato, CA 94949
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Cici sleeps while I write, all is well with the world.
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