We camped at the Elks Lodge in Petaluma, about 50 miles north of SF and visited some really nice shopping areas, restaurants and we went to a Funk Band performance at a local club.

The interesting thing about moving north of SF is that so many “hippie” progressive people live in the area.  The “yuppie” type and hippie type are all over and the conversations you hear at restaurants are VERY different from those in the south eastern US that we’re used to, as you can imagine.

Anyway, we then moved north into the Bodega Bay, Guerneyville area just west of the Napa wine country and camped at the Cassini Ranch next to the Russian River.  I had one too many Margaritas in our RV and then we went for a walk along the river.  I challenged Lynn to a “Thuuking” contest.  My three brothers and I had these contests over the years and the championship changed from brother to brother, although each of us would claim the grand championship.

Here’s how it works, so you pick up a small flat rock that is smooth and pretty much rounded all around and you put it in your index finger and throw it up and spin it and when it lands in the water, to win, it  must make a “Thuuk” sound.  That means there is little or no splash and there is “boing” or “clunk” or “thunk” sound.  It must be a perfect THUUK!!!

I love the way Lynn jumps up throwing the rock.  It’s so cute!

With my Margaritas, I could barely stand up but I got through it, Lynn was the champion that day and it was her FIRST TIME!  Bummer.

We went hiking along the coast putting on our hiking boots and taking our walking sticks. Going up hill I say these sticks give a “4 wheel drive” power!  Seeming to get upper body exercise when we use them.

My favorite golf course in all the US of A is the little 9 hole along the Russian River just west of Guerneville called Northwood.  It has bright green grass and huge Cedar and Douglas Fir trees on either side of the fairways.  You can hear other golfers balls, not ours of course, bounsing off of the trees and echoing down the fairway.  It is just a beautiful course and a beautiful experience.

 

Of course we went to Guerneville, just upriver.  This town is the pen-ultimate yuppie, hippie, and gay center of the area.  It used to be a logging, mining and cattle town until SF culture moved in.  Now, the cattleman’s bar is a Rainbow bar and the “boys” seem to have a boisterous time in there as Lynn and I walked by.

One last thing to share is the collapsing sea coast.  Lynn and I have been coming to this area for years and there were several houses propped on the edge of a cliff looking over the Pacific.  For years we laugh and said, “who would buy a house here, it could fall in the ocean!”  Well, it finally happened.  In the photo below you can see the cliff, it is far away, but maybe you can see the remains of at least three houses that were there the last time we passed by but are there no longer.  The irony of it is that one house that is still left has a “For Sale” sign in front of it.  You bet, we will buy that for our retirement home???!!!