Day 5 - San Francisco to the land of the warm puppy

5th August 2019

We had a car booked to collect this morning from near to our hotel at 9am, so we were up and ready early. Said goodbye to the slightly creepy, but actually really good, San Remo hotel and packed our bags into our Subaru Outback. Huge car and really comfortable with buttons that do everything you could ever want.

Karl the fog is in a bad mood today and most of SF is shrouded in heavy fog. We made our way toward the bridge in the car and as we drove across we could just make out the vertical suspender ropes in that familiar orange, but not a chance of seeing the very top. That was from being on it, but when we looked back as we crossed you could not see any of it. I’m just glad that we’ve seen it before in all it’s glory, because had this been our first time, we would be so disappointed.

We drove for ten minutes and took the turn for Sausalito. We had hoped to stay here instead of on the bay, but the price of the hotels there was crazy, and given the amount of time we were spending here it made more sense to be as close to the main action as possible.

Sausalito is a city in Marin County, across the Golden Gate Strait from San Francisco. It is a rather exclusive place to live, with lovely waterfront properties as well as huge homes in the hills which overlook the Golden Gate Bridge (when you can see it). We parked by the marina - lots of gorgeous boats and people. We took a stroll along the street and came to a nice looking cafe that was busy, so we went in for a light breakfast. The coffee was delicious, the best of this trip so far. Great start!

If I ever have reason to be this way again, I would explore this area for sure.

We made our way north on the Interstate 101 and followed the signs for Napa and Sonoma. This is wine region. California is well known for its wine and there are many places to stop and spend a day wine tasting.

Wine tasting with a 14 year old and a hire car is not the best of plans. We drove through Sonoma. Field after field of lush vines. All neatly laid out. The houses on the land were also huge, so it’s clear that wine making is a pretty good line of work to be in.

Sonoma Town was a gem. We couldn’t stop as the parking was impossible, but we took in the lovely feel of the place. We were surprised to learn that the English laid a claim on Sonoma back in the 1500s when Sir Francis Drake landed at Bodega Bay on the Golden Hind.

The Sonoma City Hall sits in the middle of the town.

We drove right through to our next destination - Santa Rosa - and the main (only) reason to explore this area is the Charles M Schultz museum. I’ve loved Snoopy since the age of around 10, when my friend Sally started at my school after her family repatriated from Hong Kong. The people from that part of the world are obsessed with all things Snoopy and she had a much loved Snoopy plush (Noo Noo) and most things Snoopy. When I was 13, my aunt and uncle bought me my own Snoopy for Hamley’s, and you could buy clothes for him. Mine had a camp (scouts) outfit. I still have him (cue my mum rolling her eyes and saying “of course you do”).

Peanuts was also the daily cartoon on the back of my parents’ newspaper.

Last year, we visited Somerset House for a travelling exhibition of some of the rarest and oldest cartoon strips and items from the collection of the estate.

This permanent museum is in Snoopy Place and next to the Redwood Ice Rink (Snoopy Home Ice), which Schulz had built in 1969.

The museum opened in 2002, two years after Schulz’s death, and is in a beautiful Guggenheim style building. They have permanent exhibits and three changing displays. Today there was an exhibition about the little red headed girl in the comics.

It was beautifully laid out and we spent a few hours laughing at the comics.

We then made our way to the ice rink. It’s currently ice free as it’s being renovated, but the cafe - the Warm Puppy Cafe - was open for Peanuts inspired food. We had a light lunch, and I was thrilled to find that mine was served in a dog bowl!

A last visit to the shop and we headed over to our motel for the night - The Sandman. An absolute gem of a motel. It has been renovated and has a welcoming pool and bar area, and the rooms are 1950s inspired in their decor. And for tonight we also have our own bathroom!!! It’s the small things.

We are only about an hour from San Francisco, but the skies are blue and it’s hot! We sat by the pool reading for an hour or so, and Andrew and Oliver took a dip.

For dinner, we went to Carl’s Jnr - a Western burger chain favourite. As usual, no sign of fruit or vegetables.

We then drove into downtown Santa Rosa, which was pretty empty, but had some beautiful 1930s buildings. It’s Sunday, so I think everyone was at home preparing for the week ahead.

Another lovely day, helped along by Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Woodstock.