Sonoma Valley to Salt Point State Park, California

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This morning our destination was Healdsburg in the Sonoma Valley about 45 minutes away from where we stayed. I had been told this was a central area near a number of wineries. The town has a central plaza with upscale shops and cafes around it and a number of wine tasting rooms. I was more interested in seeing the wineries and vineyards than tasting the wine. After some advice from the Visitor’s Center, we visited Bella winery that had their tasting room in a “cave”. That was different. We never did taste their wine (cost $10) just walked around. Then we went to Ferrani-Carani Wineries. I had heard they had beautiful gardens and they did. We did taste there (I had a free tasting coupon from the Chamber of Commerce). The white wine was very good. We bought a bottle for a friend. Then I spent time walking through the gardens and photographing. It was a lovely place. We visited one more winery that gave daily tours, however the tour was cancelled because of the holiday. That winery was very contemporary with lounges for tasting. Each establishment seems to have a theme to establish an identity and appeal to certain customers.
It was late afternoon and we headed back to the coast. Ginny said the State Park we wanted to go to was only an hour away - under 50 miles. We found ourselves on the worse road we’ve been on in California. The road surface wasn’t bad, but for most of the 30 miles we were on it, it was a narrow (about a lane and a half), very, very curvy mountain road with no shoulder. The road dropped off after the pavement ended and it was a big drop to the bottom. It took us 2.5 hours to get to the park. At least there was little traffic. Highway 1 looked good after that road!
Salt Point State Park is very different from last night’s KOA. There are no crowds and it’s quiet and very dark. The beach is just down the road from the campground. Tomorrow we continue to explore the California coast.

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Photos

Inside the Cave
Casks of wine in the cave.

Ferrani-Carani Winery
The winery looks like an estate. They are known for their beautiful gardens.

Another Garden Vista
It was a lovely place.

Blue Pot with Shadows
Caught my eye