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January 2012
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Seniors 4 Travel
Remembering Our Week in Sonoma County, California - Part 3
We found it impossible to include in one column what we wanted to share with you about our week in Sonoma County. So, as you may recall, the following month we wrote a second installment. And now we write our third (and final) installment. Promise.
If you’ve been to Healdsburg and Calistoga in neighboring Napa County, you’ll agree both communities have much to offer beyond vineyards and wine tasting - not that there’s anything wrong with that!
Calistoga:
Calistoga is at the northern end of Napa Valley in an area of many unique geographical features, the most famous being Old Faithful Geyser. While not as well known as The Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park, the Calistoga geyser is, in fact, one of only three geysers in the world. Like its counterparts, the Calistoga geyser erupts every 30 minutes on average, and is known as a good indicator of earthquakes. When the eruption is delayed or diminished, a quake is likely within two weeks. So we were told.
On Calistoga’s Old Faithful grounds is a large picnic area where visitors can either bring their own lunches or purchase them at the snack bar. There is also a petting zoo. Have you heard of Tennessee Fainting Goats? Neither had we, but Calistoga’s Old Faithful petting zoo is home to some of these interesting creatures. Sorry, they don’t faint on schedule. Among other animals at the zoo are Jacob’s Four-Horn Sheep and several Guard Llamas.
Located at 1299 Tubbs Lane, a few miles north of the town, Calistoga Old Faithful is open year-round, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Phone: (707) 942-6463. www.oldfaithfulgeyser.com.
After visiting the geyser, Calistoga’s charming main street is the perfect place to spend the rest of the day. Enjoy lunch at a local eatery, browse the many art galleries, relax at a wine bar, and go window shopping.
A further note about Calistoga: When the town was founded in 1849 by Samuel Brennan, he imagined the location to be similar to Saratoga Hot Springs in New York, and declared it to be “the Calistoga of Sarafornia”. Known as a somewhat tipsy fellow, we can only assume he had his nose in the bottle that day. Anyway, the name stuck.
Healdsburg:
The picturesque, touristy town of Healdsburg is about 70 miles from San Francisco in the heart of Sonoma County. It was named after Harmon Heald, an Ohio native who traveled along with thousands of other Midwesterners to California in 1849 in search of gold. Bad health forced Heald to give up his search for gold so he found a suitable location and built his cabin that included a small addition which he stocked with goods to sell to the Indians and new settlers in the vicinity. For a short while the native population far outnumbered the white settlers and Heald’s little cabin and trading post stood alone under the majestic oaks. In time, more settlers arrived and the town built up around Harmon Heald and his enterprise. Healdsburg was incorporated in 1867.
Go to the Healdsburg Museum & Historical Society, at 221 Matheson Street, to learn more of the rich history of the area. The museum is open free to the public Wednesday – Sunday 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Healdsburgmuseum.org.
Visitors to Healdsburg would be well advised to bring along a designated driver since located mostly around the town’s Sonoma Plaza are no less than 20 wine tasting rooms interspersed among numerous art galleries, many of which cleverly also offer wine tasting. One might assume that after a few samples of wine, tourists will be more apt to part with their money and go home with a piece of art. We, however, managed to resist temptation.
Although after a week in Sonoma County, we came home with no expensive artwork, we do have rich memories of enjoyable times well spent – and some tasty bottles of wine.