A few weekends ago, we took a quick road trip to Sonoma, California. As someone who doesn't drink, I was a bit anxious about whether I would have fun. But the weekend completely surprised me - I had so much fun and the entire region is beautiful.
The first day we visited Healdsburg, a small town that is one of the newer popular attractions. We first had brunch at the Healdsburg Shed, a market and cafe that serves food grown within ten miles of the Shed. I had a delicious lemon ricotta pancake and my husband had a great salad and glass of wine. We then explored the downtown, including a stop for ice cream at Noble Fork, tea at Taste of Tea, and a wine tasting at Portalupi Wine. It is a small downtown, but made for a great afternoon of adventures. On our way back to the house, we also visited Castello di Amorosa and Imagery Winery, and then had dinner at a friends' house.
On Sunday, we visited Sonoma on our way back to the peninsula. I liked Sonoma even more, it is a more historic town with barracks that were once used by the Mexican Military, so has a more historic and downtown feel. Our first stop was the Sonoma Cheese Factory. It sells gourmet groceries and sandwiches, and has at least ten flavors of cheese available to be sampled. We didn't buy any because we were getting back into the car, but I would recommend picking up some cheese and crackers for your afternoon. After cheese and wandering, we had lunch outdoors at the B&V Whiskey Bar, and then had ice cream from the Chocolate Cow.
The weekend flew by, and there is so much more to do. Next time I want to go to the Armstrong Woods and the Jelly Belly Factory.