While exploring Sonoma County's wineries on CA-12 or the Hwy-101 coastline you will want to stop in the river town of Petaluma and explore the recreational points of interest. Travel & Leisure Magazine named Petaluma one of the "Nation's Top Ten Getaways Near a Major City" and the boater's magazine Latitude 38, christened the city a "Top Ten Leisure Boating Destination" in the Bay Area.

Boaters choose Petaluma because they can dock in the heart of Historic Downtown and walk to restaurants, antique and specialty shops, nightlife or downtown parks. When we travel cross country with our sailboat we will make a trip back to explore this place again, but his time we did a walking tour. See my article: California 101 road trip: Tour Petaluma - Victorian nostalgia that movies are made of 

You can sail in and tie up for a delectable meal along the river or use The Petaluma Marina, which offers monthly rental or guest berths for crafts up to 65 feet. The use of a public boat ramp is available and open 24 hours, for a $2 fee. There is a drawbridge to negotiate so you have to call ahead for entrance.

Lunch along the river walk is a must and very pet friendly even at the gourmet restaurant Graffiti located on the northwest corner of the Basin Street Landing building adjacent to Boulevard Cinemas and the Great Petaluma Mill. I recommend the Filet Mignon appetizer with onions, mushrooms and potato, it was amazing!

A visit to Shollenberger Park teased us with an opportunity to experience the wetlands with a 2 or 4-mile round-trip walk winding through wetlands along the Petaluma River. The park features a two-mile circular trail and a new one mile link to the Petaluma Marina through 80 acres of marshland. They say you can see a wide variety of birds and many species of mammals, amphibians and reptiles but in August there was not much to see. The free docent-guided tours begin in October - June is probably the way to best see this.

More fun was the drive up to Adobe State Historic Park, that has more trees and features an adobe building that served from 1836 -1846 as the center of Gen. Mariano Gualalupe Vallejo's 66,000-acre working ranch. We really enjoyed the restored 1830-40s era ranchero, with an educational interpretive displays and exhibit rooms. You might enjoy my next article with slideshow about this tour and the special event  “Dance the Fandango.”

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