September 25 2021

We did everything in Sonoma except tour the inside of the San Francisco Solano de Sonoma Mission, so we will return on our way home to get that in, and perhaps have a delicious lunch in the neighborhood…

Next stop was a coffee shop because… our room had half and half and a coffee maker but no coffee! That was a disappointment and a very large error on my part not to notice! We found Pete’s Coffee along our route and made a stop. Now we’re ready for the day!

We knew today would be long and many miles along the highways. It was true, not too fun but we saw plenty of interesting sights, such as animals – both alive and roadkill. The best living animals were some adorable cows and playful horses.

As for roadkill, we saw two deer, a skunk, possum, squirrel, turkey, snake and a few unidentifiable critters… it’s a dangerous road! No photos were taken.

We enjoyed viewing some vineyards, cactus and beautiful old eucalyptus trees.

After 17 miles, almost all on pavement and highways, we arrived in Petaluma. As we walked through town we passed an art center with some interesting work.

No sight is more appreciated than your hotel at the end of a long day. We are enjoying our hotel room, although it’s as small as any European room I’ve stayed in. Seriously, room for one queen bed, a small counter for the coffee maker, two end tables and a bathroom. quite cozy!

We found a fun spot for dinner. Brewsters Beer Garden. All seating was outdoors, with umbrellas, trees, and heaters! Delicious and it definitely hit the spot!

Along the road today we had a few honks, one man yelled out his window to walk on the other side of the road so we could catch a ride, a young woman turned her car around after seeing us on the highway to ask if we wanted a ride, another man yelled “buen camino” as he drove by, and we had a short conversation with another young man who said he had walked part of the Norte Camino with his mom and would love to do it again someday. Our Camino shells were on our backpacks, so if anyone was familiar with the purpose of the shells, they would probably know what we were doing out there on the Highway…

Time to wind down and get some much needed sleep. Tomorrow is another 17 mile day, and then it calms down. Yay!

#CAmission