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What is it about Bodega Bay / Sonoma, California that offers visitors a real treat?

by Wayne Wargo (PenWay.org)

- BODEGA BAY -

Bodega Bay is on the fabulous coast of northern California and approximately 40 miles northwest of the beautiful city of San Francisco. Bodega Bay's total population is about 2,000 people. The San Andreas Fault runs parallel to the coastline and bisects Bodega Head, which lies on the Pacific Plate. Interestingly enough is the fact that the town is on the North American Plate. The village of Bodega Bay sits on the east side of Bodega Harbor.

Discovered in 1775, Bodega Bay is named after the Peruvian explorer Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra. He planned on returning to this wondrous place, but never did. Bodega Bay remained an active harbor for shipping lumber until the 1870's. The North Pacific Coast Railroad was built and, unfortunately, bypassed the California coast in favor of a more route more inland. Bodega Bay became very well known after the release of the movie, The Birds, in 1963. The famous director, Alfred Hitchcock chose Bodega Bay because of the surrounding bleak treeless hills, quiet fishing harbor and fog.

St. Theresa's Church, also in the movie, is five miles south of Bodega. Activities include visiting art galleries, spas, and wineries, fishing, kayaking, surfing, camping, and, of course, hiking. There is also golf available, summer concerts and more. Very reasonable accommodations are available, along with fine food dining.

About 35 miles north of Bodega Bay is Sonoma, with a history that is just amazing as it is significant!

- SONOMA -

The town of Sonoma, El Pueblo de Sonoma, began with the Mission San Francisco Solano founded in 1823 by Father Joseph Altimira of Spain. This mission was the farthest north of all 21 California missions connected by a "Royal Road" called El Camino Real.

Sonoma is a historically significant city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California. This historic town is surrounded by a plaza 8 acres in size, a remnant of the town's Spanish colonial past. Sonoma is a center of wine industry for the Sonama Valley. A fact that may be not so well known is that Sonoma was the capital of the short-lived California Republic. There are approximately thirty restaurants in the plaza area, including Italian, Irish, Mexican, Portuguese, Mediterranean, and French. It provides a central tourist attraction. It is also the location of the Farmer's Market, held every Tuesday evening from April to October.

Sonoma is known as the birthplace of American California, for it was in this town plaza that the Bear Flag Revolt took place and a Bear Flag was first raised on June 14, 1846. It has been claimed that the men fighting the revolt were under the orders of Col. John C. Fremont, proclaiming independence from Mexican rule and a free country called the California Republic. General Vallejo was imprisoned during the Bear Flag Revolt and later endorsed California statehood (1850). With his amassed land holdings, Vallejo guided the development of the town of Sonoma. He was one of the most powerful residents in the town's history, dividing up the lands into large ranches for friends and family.

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