Guernville Holiday

SMS and I had a lovely, quiet Christmas at home with a holiday adventure the following weekend. We met up with a college friend of mine and her partner in Guernville. They were in the middle of a pretty epic NorCal road trip and when we compared schedules a few weeks prior, we decided that a quick meet-up in Russian River was in the cards.

On the way up, SMS wanted to walk through San Rafael and Petaluma. In Petaluma, we ate lunch at Stockhome (delicious!) and then walked around the downtown. We came across Brewsters that was decorated for Christmas in the most delightfully garish and tacky way. We grabbed a drink. Between the two of us, there were different levels of enthusiasm for being there. Guess who was more excited? (MEEEEEEEEEE!!)

We met with our friends at the hotel a little before dinner. We stayed at the Stravand, which is quite beautiful. SMS and I had stayed their before in Sept 2019 when it was the Applewood Inn. I didn’t really remember until I saw the pool, but I can’t remember what the rooms used to look like.

For dinner, we had made a reservation to eat at the hotel, which you can only do if you’re a guest. It was an excellent meal with reasonable portions so we were well-fed without being stuffed or having leftovers, which are always hard to manage on a trip.

The next day, we went on a hike in Armstrong Woods. It was a drizzly day and there had been a lot of rain in the preceding three days so it was wet with minor trail flooding. Above, Hillary is fording a small stream after we turned back due to fallen trees. Pretty sure her partner was quasi-rooting for her to have a minor slip.

SMS took a photo on pano mode to get the two of them with Colonel Armstrong, while I documented the photoshoot. Afterwards, we went for a whirlwind winery tour with two back-to-back tastings at Flowers and BACA and a quick stop in Medlock Ames for a sample or two. I wanted to show off the wineries and even though I didn’t do the tastings at the latter two, it was a really fun day. We learned that the reason Hall wines are so smooth is they only used the free-run grape juice and not the pressed. Michael has a friend with a Finger Lakes winery who is branching out into hospitality, so he appreciated seeing the three different wineries and their tasting rooms, guest experience structure, etc.

After the tastings, we went to Little Saint for apps, which turned into an early dinner. It was on the light side so we wanted to go The Wurst Restaurant, but it was closed. Then, SMS and I dropped off Hil and Michael at the hotel and we headed home. I was a little sick of driving by the end of the day, but it was worth it to do so many amazing things in Sonoma and hang out with great friends.