Still having fun with my youngest nephew, we decided to take in both the redwoods and the beach on his last day here. Sweetie drove as we headed west to Freestone and the Wildflour Bakery. This place is always busy when it's open, with a line up to the doorway where, post-pandemic, you order what you want and they bring it to the door and hand it through after you pay. To help you decide what to order, there is a six foot tall chalkboard that lists the day's offerings...all kinds of bread baked in the wood-fired oven, plenty of varieties of scones, amazing sticky buns and more.
When it's our turn I mention that my nephew is a professional baker and ask if he can come into the oven area...which he does through the back door. He really enjoyed chatting with the bakers and seeing the production area and that oven. He said that there is a space at least five time larger than what can be seen from the door and that there were something like 80 bannetons for shaping bread all stacked up on benches in that area. It was the final bakery of the trip and a good way to end the bakery visits.
We headed down the Bohemian Highway to the Russian River and then to Armstrong Redwoods, not far outside of Guerneville. We'd been there before with him when he visited as a teen, but it never gets old.
It was still a bit foggy and damp but the sun was starting to come through and a brisk walk through the woods warmed us up. Here's a wood orchid we saw on a bank near the Forest Theater.
Once back in Guerneville, we headed west toward the ocean and eventually turned south near Goat Rock.
We stopped there and a few other places along the coast as we headed to Bodega Bay.
At Doran Beach we hit the sand and enjoyed the sea air. The tide was out and it was pretty windy but the day had brightened and warmed a bit.
Our last stop was at Blue Water Bistro just south of Doran
where we had a fantastic lunch and a view of the bay, with plenty of local crab, which is great because it's crab season. I can't have crab...allergies...but enjoyed a wonderful salad.
It was a great day out!
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