Category Wine Country

The Balloons Come Down

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Balloons in the Park

Balloons in the Park

We’re accustomed to seeing hot-air balloons passing over our house, but they usually don’t land next to it! This morning, just as I was getting dressed, two balloons came down, presumably due to an emergency. These photos were taken from our bedroom window.

The first balloon to land was the one on the right, which touched down on the empty lot on the other side of Sebastopol Road. The second one then followed it and landed in the church parking lot.

The operators then deflated both balloons and brought up their trucks to cart away the hardware. Unfortunately, the deflated balloon is obscured by the tree below.

Deflated balloon in the Park

Deflated balloon in the Park

Needless to say, our cats were intrigued by the unusual sounds. As shown below, Ginger was “on patrol” by the bedroom window, in case his help was needed.

Ginger on Balloon Patrol

Ginger on Balloon Patrol

Stopping by at Melitta Station

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Wisterias blooming at Melitta Station

Wisterias blooming at Melitta Station

This weekend, I stopped by briefly at Melitta Station, which is a quiet and pretty location by the side of Santa Rosa Creek, to the east of Santa Rosa. If I’d been hoping to catch a train from the station, I’d have had a long wait, because there haven’t been any trains through here since the 1930s. Over a hundred years ago, this was a busy railroad depot, with sufficient population to warrant its own Post Office.

Even among those who live in California, there is a tendency to assume that any non-English “European-sounding” name must be of Spanish origin. However, in the Santa Rosa area there was a significant settlement of Italian migrants, and Melitta is a name of Italian origin.

The Southern Pacific Railroad built a branch from Napa Junction to Santa Rosa through here in 1888. There were significant stone quarries on the South side of Santa Rosa Creek, so a railroad depot was established to transport stone from these quarries. A tramway ran from the quarries down to the railroad depot. Basalt paving stones were sent from here all over California, covering many streets in San Francisco.

Eventually, the quarries were worked out, and in 1934 the Southern Pacific abandoned the railroad. The rails were lifted in 1942 and taken to Oakland for reuse in the docks. Melitta declined to the point that the Post Office and store closed, and all that’s really left of the settlement now is the Melitta Station Inn, which now offers Bed & Breakfast. The owners are apparently British, so they presumably know something about converted railway stations and English breakfasts!

Melitta Station Inn

Melitta Station Inn

In the photo above, looking West, the railroad trackbed was to the left (now Montgomery Drive), and Melita Road is on the right. (The name of the road has a different spelling.) Melitta Station Inn sits in the fork of the junction. However, the railroad always stayed on the opposite side of the creek, so it did not cross the creek or Melita Road, as the modern alignment suggests.

Santa Rosa Creek at Melitta Station

Santa Rosa Creek at Melitta Station

Had the Sonoma Freeway ever been built, this junction would have changed beyond recognition, because the freeway was planned to rejoin the existing Highway 12 near this point. It seems now that all plans to construct that freeway have been abandoned, so Melitta Station looks set to continue its tranquil existence.

Evening in the Valley of the Moon

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Sonoma Mission with Full Moon

Sonoma Mission with Full Moon

We had an excellent dinner this evening at the Depot Hotel Restaurant in Sonoma. After all the rain in California during the past few months, this weekend’s weather was perfect.

The night-time view above was snapped with my phone, but it does just show Sonoma Mission on the left, with the full moon visible as a bright dot! (The word “Sonoma” was thought to mean “Valley of the Moon” in the language of the local natives.)

The photo below shows the Depot Hotel from First Street. As its name suggests, the hotel was adjacent to Sonoma’s railroad depot when that was in use. To the left of the hotel, you can see where the tracks crossed the road. The trackbed has now been converted into a cycle trail, and the depot itself still exists in replica form.

Depot Hotel, Sonoma

Depot Hotel, Sonoma

Given the beautiful weather, we sat outside for our meal, in the pool area at the back of the hotel. Here’s the view from our table.

Depot Hotel, Garden Area

Depot Hotel, Garden Area

Thank you,  Mary, for a fantastic birthday dinner!

Signs of Spring

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Daffodils and Tulips on Fresno Avenue

Daffodils and Tulips on Fresno Avenue

While out walking on Fresno Avenue on Friday evening, I noticed these daffodils and tulips blooming underneath one of the small ginkgo trees there.

In England, the appearance of crocuses and daffodils (or “daffs” as my mother called them) heralded the approach of Spring. Here in California, the flowers bloom earlier, and of course there’s not such a marked change of seasons.

The tall cypress tree in the background of the photo used to stand against the stockyard building, until that was demolished last year. In fact, there were two such trees, but one blew down in windy weather a few weeks ago. The fallen tree can still be seen lying behind the standing one.

A Visit to the Antique Society

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The Antiques Society premises in Sebastopol

The Antique Society premises in Sebastopol

This afternoon, I visited the Antique Society collective in Sebastopol, shown above. There are usually some interesting items available there, and on this occasion I found a couple of pieces of ephemera. Every time I visit, I can never be sure what I’ll find.

The building itself is quite interesting, being one of the few Art Deco structures in the Wine Country. It was originally the Henderson Furnace Factory, and was presumably cutting-edge architecture when it was built in the 1930s.

Today, I found two interesting historical items. The first is an old postcard of the Tokyo Imperial Hotel. This is a famous building, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The postcard is also quite well-known, and a copy appears on the Wikipedia page describing the hotel. My copy is unused, but it’s fairly easy to date it and understand why it’s unused, because there’s an imprint on the back.

Tokyo Imperial Hotel Postcard

Tokyo Imperial Hotel Postcard

The 1940 Tokyo Olympic Games never took place, being canceled because of World War II. Looks like this postcard was printed in anticipation, and then found to be useless!

My other lucky find originated on this side of the Pacific Ocean. It’s a small advertising flyer for several San Francisco area attractions. The flyer is dated in pencil “1911”, and includes an advertisement for the Triangle Trip, which was a rail journey that you could take from the ferry terminal at Sausalito, and which was very popular until the growth of personal motoring in the 1920s.

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Triangle Trip Rail Route, 1911

You could take the North Western Pacific route from Sausalito (right hand side of the triangle) to Fulton, then the Fulton & Guerneville Railroad along the Russian River (top of the triangle) to Monte Rio, and finally return via the North Pacific Coast railroad (left hand side of the triangle).

The narrow-gauge North Pacific Coast route closed completely in 1930, which removed one side of the triangle. Perhaps amazingly, the North Western Pacific on the right-hand side of the triangle still exists, and SMART trains will start running on part of the route (from San Rafael to beyond Fulton) later this year.

 

Mount Tamalpais Sunset

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cropped-tamalpais_sunset2.pngYesterday (Martin Luther King Day), Mary and I visited Corte Madera to do some shopping. The photo above, from Corte Madera Village, shows the sun setting behind Mount Tamalpais. The haze around the mountain created an interesting lighting effect. The traffic on US 101 was much lighter than on a normal weekday.

There’s a shortage of quality eating establishments at the shopping mall (unless you think that the Cheesecake Factory is classy!), but we ate a very pleasant lunch at the Blue Stove cafe in Nordstrom.

Napa in the New Year

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First Street, Napa, looking East

First Street, Napa, looking East

Yesterday, I visited Napa to do some shopping. The city is still recovering from the 2014 earthquake, as is obvious from the building site on the right in the header photo, which used to be a restaurant. Nonetheless, the downtown area still managed to look seasonal.

I bought some items at the Oxbow Market, shown below.

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Oxbow Market, Napa

In case anyone is wondering why it’s called the “Oxbow”, by turning immediately to the left of the picture above, you can see the actual oxbow bend in the Napa River, as shown below.

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Oxbow, Napa River

Here’s a Google map of the Oxbow area:

Back on First Street, Mary’s favorite spot is the Beaded Nomad, shown below. This business moved from Napa to Petaluma a few years ago, then back to a different location on First Street, in Napa.

Beaded Nomad, Napa

Beaded Nomad, Napa

Although reconstruction work is underway, there are still many structurally-unsound buildings in the city, which are sitting awaiting either renovation or demolition. On First Street, the Gordon Building is closed and fenced off. Round the back, you can see serious damage, as shown below.

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Back of the Gordon Building, First Street, Napa

Healdsburg Faces Its Ultimate Terror (A Roundabout)

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Partly-constructed roundabout in Healdsburg

Partly-constructed roundabout in Healdsburg

On Saturday, Mary volunteered to help out with the six-month anniversary party for the Healdsburg branch shelter of the Sonoma Humane Society. I went along there during the afternoon to visit her.

On the way there, I had to negotiate a new road feature in Healdsburg that seems to be causing utter confusion: the new roundabout (traffic circle) at the south end of the downtown district.

The photo above shows traffic negotiating the roundabout. Admittedly, they’ve managed to make things as confusing as possible: there are no road marking for the roundabout, there’s a distracting mass of bollards and traffic cones all around it, there are no directional or exit signs, and there are no marked crosswalks. Not surprisingly, many motorists are completely confused, and vehicles are stopping in the middle of the roundabout.

Surprisingly, roundabouts are still quite rare in California, even though they were originally an American invention. As a result, few California motorists have ever encountered them, and they certainly don’t feature in the State driving test.

Hopefully, the arrangements in Healdsburg will be better when the roadworks are completed and the traffic islands are constructed. The photo below shows the Parish Cafe, which is next to the roundabout, wasn’t demolished, and is open for business.

Parish Cafe, Healdsburg

Parish Cafe, Healdsburg

Even when it’s finished, this roundabout will have a special feature that should continue to cause confusion. The railroad line from Santa Rosa to Cloverdale passes directly through the roundabout, and, according to the city plan (http://healdsburgaveimprovements.com/), will continue to do so after everything is complete. There will actually be crossing gates within the roundabout, to stop traffic when a train appears!

At present, however, the SMART line doesn’t extend further north than Sonoma County Airport, so the old tracks that passed through the site of the roundabout have simply been lifted. The existing tracks are derelict anyway, and will need to be replaced before SMART trains can run. The photo below shows the track heading towards the roundabout.

Railroad, Healdsburg, looking north towards the new roundabout

Railroad, Healdsburg, looking north towards the new roundabout

A Frosty Sunday Morning

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Village Green Park, Santa Rosa, on a frosty morning

Village Green Park, Santa Rosa, on a frosty morning

I took the photo above at 8 a.m. today, when the Park in front of our house was frostier than I’ve seen it since we moved here over 3 years ago. The frost was perhaps more intense because of the rain we had last week, which left everything damp.

Only a few weeks ago, at Thanksgiving, we were enjoying the sight of autumn leaves from the same vantage point, as below.

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Autumn Leaves in Village Green Park, Thanksgiving 2016

The street running across both photos at the far end of the park is Sebastopol Road. From 1904 to 1946, the P&SR railroad ran along the center of the street here.

It seems that the last-ever passenger train on those tracks was an “Enthusiast Special” that ran on 6th April 1941. There are some interesting photos of that train in the book Petaluma & Santa Rosa Railway.