We chose a beautiful route up along Tomales Bay on our way through Marin county and back into Sonoma county. There are lots of signs for BBQ oysters in restaurants. The bay is a prime oyster spot, and the Tomales Bay Oyster Co and Hog Island Oyster Co have been recommended to me. You can buy oysters and barbecue them right on the water; and bring a cooler to bring oysters home, if you’ve so inclined. An article about west coast oysters is here. Hog Island Oyster Co is also located in the San Francisco Ferry Building.

We didn’t indulge in oysters, but did admire the scenery, and the houses that have great views of the scenery.

And finally, I was able to stop near a farm to take pictures of the lovely cows that make such fine cheeses and milk and cream for the area.

Point Reyes Station is the town with the largest commercial area along the Point Reyes National Seashore, which looks like this on the map, with our drive from the French Marin Cheese Co. To the west, the park is supposed offer hiking and a beautiful lighthouse. I hadn’t heard found anything about the pastries in that area, though, so pfft…. we reserved that for a separate trip.

We walked around the cute town itself, whose commercial streets pretty much form an “I” shape.

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Isn’t it amazing that this seems to work so well?

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Like Napa, Sonoma is a town, a valley, and a county. When I woke up this morning in Napa, it was a little foggy, but I thought it might make for atmospheric drive so I aimed for the town of Sonoma. As if I’d wandered into Oz, Sonoma was surprisingly clear and sunny, with a mostly blue skies and rolling green hills.

This is just outside the town of Sonoma. I know what the word means, but I don’t know what the sign means.

The downtown is centered around a square, which has a park and City Hall in the center.

I was just on a morning mission to scope out the town, so I just walked around the lovely square, which is lined with shops on the outside.

Sonoma Cheese Factory is a landmark on the square. They’ve been making cheese since 1931, and are known for their Sonoma Jack.

Lots of jack. Lots of free samples. After I tried them all, I settled on the hot pepper one.

Adult cheese whiz.

Although it’s great fun to drive around wine country and visit what you find in the greens hills and valleys, a benefit of stopping in towns is that there are often stores operated by wineries that have tastings. Drunk driving is a big problem here, so such stores let you drink and rest and explore until you can drive again. In contrast, killing time in a rural winery’s parking lot is little fun.
I was excited by the popular Basque Cafe.

But I was in the mood for walking and the display was a little too monochromatic for me, so no tastings were made. I am curious about what they put in that gateau basque on the upper right, though…

The square is quite large, and it was a good stroll to see the variety of establishments. I was impressed to see an art house movie theater.

I was also impressed by the prospect of a quilt shop… or maybe the idea of it–I didn’t seek it out.

And how to get them hooked young….

The girl & the fig is probably the best known restaurant in town, and you’ll see their products, such as spreads and sauces, everywhere in the valleys and beyond.

With so much competition, having an historic garden can’t hurt.

There were also quite a few arcades around the square lined with little shops. Yes, this one has a store called Scandinavian Trends with a gnome in front of it.

Sonoma reminded me a lot of Healdsburg, which is a town in northern Sonoma County that is also centered around a square. The weird thing is that, despite the variety of stores and architecture, these towns also remind me of New England, with their modern quaintness and traditional quirkiness and assortment of jams for sale. The main difference is that New England rarely ever gets this dry and sunny.

Angwin. Such a great name that makes me think of an ancient and noble hamlet nestled into the Welsh countryside. Instead, it’s a town of about 2500 people at about 2000 ft elevation that is nestled into the Napa countryside 7 miles northeast of St. Helena. It fuels the Angwin Reporter.

I’m still trying to figure out what happened on my visit.

After a beautiful ascent up the side of a hill, careening soooo close to steep dropoffs, I saw the decorative “Angwin” town sign. Then there was a strip mall with a such things as grocery market, a laundromat, and a post office. I’d heard that there was a college named Pacific Union College here, and across the street, its campus started. At the next intersection, there were signs for college buildings to the right. I continued straight in search of downtown, and found myself driving through a tunnel of evergreen trees. A sign warned me that there would be curvy roads for the next 4 miles. So, I made a left and eventually circled back through a residential area to the strip mall, which I guess is Angwin’s downtown. And that was it.

Back when I was desperately looking for an apartment, I almost looked at one in Angwin. My desperation would have remained. It’s not a bad town, but I think I missed exactly what people do there…. where people go…. where people are….

I wanted to take pictures, but the sun wasn’t right for the strip mall itself, so this is the view looking across the street….

I descended back down the road, and hopped out of the car at a turn off.

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There were other turn offs with great views of the valley, but I was too busy keeping track of the curves to stop in time for them.I took the Silverado Trail back to Napa, which runs parallel to Hwy 29 on the east, and is somewhat of a locals’ road. It’s slightly curvy, right on the fields, and people drive really fast on it. Part of it looks like this.

The mustard is starting to come up, and soon the valley will be blanketed in yellow. It’s a big deal here. The Grand Opening Event of the Napa Valley Mustard Festival is being held at the CIA this weekend, and word is that it will be packed.

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I drove up valley to explore Calistoga today, which, at about 27 miles north of the town of Napa, is the uppermost substantial town in the Napa Valley wine region. It’s known for its waters — not only Calistoga Water, but also for its hot springs and mud baths. It also has lava deposits. The influence of tourists is reflected by the side-by-side folksiness and hipness of the town, and its cottage industry of inns. I’ve been told that it’s the place to go to party (this means that it has more than bar and they are regularly open past 10pm).If I were visiting the region, I would love to stay in Calistoga. It’s such a beautiful town with lots to explore on foot, accommodating all ranges of budgets and tastes. It’s a little secluded (and probably at least an 1 hr 45 mins from the Oakland airport), but at least it doesn’t have the autobahn of Napa–Hwy 29–running in the middle of it like most other towns.

The shops and restaurants are mostly along Lincoln Ave, the main artery of the town.

It’s really hard to take a good picture of a downtown street…

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This could be you.

I would be have been proud to come up with this name.

A restaurant named Stomp.

A couple of trains were converted into an arcade.

A laundromat with a view.

I had just about walked past this little cafe when I saw that they have Killer Brownies. I immediately turned around.

From the moment I saw it, I had my doubts. It was a little too light brown on the bottom and all those air bubbles compromised its density. It tasted like corn syrup with a little bit of cocoa. Not nearly rich or delicious enough to kill. I guess their Dreyer’s ice cream could do that instead.

Then I came across the Calistoga Creamery and Bakery.

At 2:00, they were closing down, but I was able to slip my way in for some treats in the name of Napa culinary research.

Now this is a brownie you can spend some time with. Rich chocolate flavor and fudgy-but-firm texture. I’d drive 27 miles again for it, and that means a lot because I hate driving and I’m picky about brownies.

If the brownie was a classic done right, this little gem was a novel surprise. If you pull up the latch-like piece of dough on the top, it reveals a ribbon of dough that spirals through pastry and ends in a latch on the bottom. Cinnamon-sugar is grainy on the outside and melted soft in the inside. The dough was somewhere between a cinnamon roll and croissant.

And finally, a sort of pecan brittle cookie. Soft on the inside where it’s not packed with pecans. Pleasantly pungent flavor, bolstered by brown sugar.

Anyway, Calistoga seems like a town that I’m going to enjoy exploring more, even if I felt a bit Rachael Ray-ish today. There are, of course, wineries up there, too….

And here is the tasting aftermath: