Blog Archives for Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender
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Finding Joie de Vivre in Glen Ellen
178 Views - 1 CommentThe San Francisco-based boutique-hotel brand Joie de Vivre, founded in 1987 by openly gay entrepreneur Chip Conley, is best known for its chicly furnished and whimsically designed urban properties, most of them set through the Bay Area, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and Orange County. The majority of these hotels have more than 100 rooms, but [...]
Occidental’s Historic Italian Dinners
200 Views - 1 CommentThe tiny town of Occidental, nestled in densely wooded hills in western Sonoma County, has long been one of my favorite places to end a summer day of road-tripping along the coast or through the Russian River, or wine-tasting in nearby Forestville or Graton. The community of about 1,200 was established as a stop on [...]
Picnic Pantries in the Russian River
224 Views - 0 CommentsI’ve noted a few great spot for enjoying a picnic lunch in some of my blogs over the past year, most recent Armstrong Woods, up in the hills above Guerneville. Within the Russian River region, as well as nearby, there are plenty of other scenic summer spots to set up a spread of gourmet victuals [...]
Tasting Wine at Two Architectural Gems
196 Views - 1 CommentI don’t care how pretty a winery is, it can’t mask mediocre wine. But a winery with both exceptional wine and a stunning design excites multiple senses. Aesthetically, two of my favorite Sonoma wineries lie just a short distance from one another, at the northern end of the Sonoma Valley, often dubbed the Valley of [...]
A Walk Among the Redwoods
219 Views - 6 CommentsI remember the first time I visited the Russian River area in the early ’90s, and how amazed I was – having previously spent my entire life on the East Coast – that those soaring, ancient California redwoods I’d been hearing about for years existed right in the heart of coastal Sonoma County. I’d always [...]
A Quiet Hideaway in Monte Rio
205 Views - 1 CommentJust a few miles down the road from Sonoma’s most GLBT-popular resort community, Guerneville, the village of Monte Rio is bisected by a particularly beautiful stretch of the Russian River. Just over 1,000 people live in this low-keyed, picturesque town that makes a quieter, off-the-beaten-path overnight alternative to Guerneville (which is already pretty quiet and [...]
Hobnobbing at Farmers Markets
204 Views - 1 CommentI’m often surprised by the degree to which socializing, as it pertains to LGBT travelers, is so often defined exclusively by bars and nightclubs. Sonoma County has a few gay hangouts (mostly in the Russian River), and plenty of other mixed lounges and nightspots, and I’m definitely a fan of such establishments. But I also [...]
Detour to Duncans Mills
395 Views - 3 CommentsOne of the more curious – and out-of-the-way – little villages in Sonoma County, the hamlet of Duncans Mills sits along the Russian River about 8 miles southwest of Guerneville, and roughly 5 miles inland from the coastal town of Jenner. Developed in the 1870s as a mill community, and growing a bit as a [...]
Laughing Your Way Through Gay Pride at the Wells Fargo Center
280 Views - 1 CommentAs I’ve noted in a couple of prior blogs, Sonoma County Gay Pride comprises a full week of events, from the parade and festival in Guerneville on June 6 to a Pride Interfaith Service at Santa Rosa’s Unitarian Universalist church on June 13. Another major event is the 16th Annual Pride Comedy Night, which takes [...]
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