Snoopy and Sauvignon Blanc: A Santa Rosa Experience
Trust me Snoopy, I know. At the Charles M. Schulz Museum, Santa Rosa, CA
I was thrilled to head to Santa Rosa recently for a meeting in beautiful Sonoma County, one of my favorite wine regions. Santa Rosa is a quaint yet bustling town, home to small family-owned wineries and restaurants, a world-renowned museum for both adults and children, and centrally-located boutiques. The area is a popular tourist destination in Wine Country, and for that reason I decided to turn my half-day meeting into an overnight excursion to explore.
I wanted to enjoy art, wine, and food, and delighted in all three on this getaway. I planned this trip to be car-free (for the most part), and left San Francisco using the ferry and train. My agenda included a visit to the famous Charles M. Schulz Museum https://schulzmuseum.org/, a must-see for fans of Snoopy and Charlie Brown and friends. Also on the list was Harvest Moon Winery https://harvestmoonwinery.com/ for a cozy tasting experience not too far from downtown Santa Rosa. Lastly, I was SO excited to go back and revisit Miracle Plum https://www.miracleplum.com/, a market I saw a long time ago when they had just opened. The store was intended as a one-stop shop for fresh and unique grocery items, house goods and pottery. It succeeded. Recently, the shop added wine by the glass and bottle sales. Yay! Join me as I recount my time at Santa Rosa’s most famous attractions and new, local gems. But first, I can’t wait to tell you about the journey there!
On the Golden Gate Ferry en route to Larkspur, CA to catch the SMART train.
The ride to the ferry at the Port of San Francisco Ferry Building started out “Jason Bourne-style.” It was kind of amazing. My plan was to take the local train to Embarcadero, where I would cross the street to the Port of SF to catch the ferry to Larkspur, then connect to the SMART train to Santa Rosa, but it didn’t quite happen that smoothly. While trying to do too much in the AM before the trip, I found myself less than half an hour until the ferry departure. The problem: it was a half hour drive! Cue the ride share and stunt man driver.
When I sat in the car, I gingerly remarked to the driver, “I think we can make it; the ferry leaves in 25 minutes.” I sighed and closed my eyes. Suddenly, I was in the Bourne Supremacy’s car chase scene. “We will make it!!!!” the driver said sternly as he leaned forward on the steering wheel and drove as though Paul Greengrass had just yelled “ACTION!!!” He wasn’t speeding, but when we entered the freeway the driver was taking the ride VERY seriously. It took all the strength I had to keep from laughing. Strategically maneuvering me through the most opportune lanes, Jason arrived at the entrance to the Ferry Building with 7 minutes to spare.
I sat on the bottom level of the ferry (highly recommended) and enjoyed the proximity to the water and the empty rows of seats around me. The ride to Larkspur was scenic, blue, and speckled with what seemed like palatial homes lining the waterfront. Upon docking, I had no time to browse Larkspur Landing, home of the Marin Country Mart, a unique outdoor shopping plaza filled with specialty stores and restaurants. I had to hurry aboard the SMART Train because if I missed it, I would have to wait hours until the afternoon train departed (there’s a gap once a day between morning and afternoon schedules).
Tip: If you want to voyage to Sonoma County car-free for wine tasting, the SMART train is the way to go. Once there, you can ride share to nearby wineries. Make sure to allow for extra time though; it might take an average of 15 to 20 minutes to hail a ride share.
I was a kid in a candy store in awe at the horses, cows, nature and wildlife on the SMART train trail.
The train was mostly empty on that weekday in the late morning. A gentleman and his son sat a few rows head, and a very chipper gentleman sat across the aisle. The conductor was also in good spirits. As I settled in, I thought about someone I had grown close to during the pandemic who I’d found out had lied about me. The train rolled forward, and I went farther and farther away from all my problems.
Somehow in my reflective state I noticed an earring was missing. The conductor asked what I was doing peering under all the seats and within seconds all the men on board were looking for my tiny gold-plated earring that barely cost $25. I stood looking at them with surprise. After a while I decided I didn’t care about the earring anymore, but their determination persisted. I was grateful. Chivalry might be a lost art, but one can find it on the SMART train.
We never found that earring. I exited the train in Santa Rosa with the gentleman and his young son—a boy about elementary school age—who were both headed to the Schulz Museum.
“Well, I hope you find your earring,” the father said.
“If not, it’s a great excuse to go shopping,” I replied with a sad smile.
I looked down. “Say hi to Snoopy for me, ok?”
“Ok.” the boy answered, then sped off down the train station ramp.
A warm welcome to those visiting downtown Santa Rosa. Very open indeed. The miraculous Miracle Plum.
I dragged my small carry-on luggage through the hopeful streets of downtown Santa Rosa. Shops were open and it was lunch time. Folks moved along as though it was a European town and the time between lunch and returning to work didn’t matter. I looked for my favorite sign, Very Open, and strolled inside. Gwen, one of Miracle Plum’s owners, greeted me at the counter with a genuine smile. Her style matched the bold decor around her: bold colors of pottery, bright labels of ethnic foods on the shelf, and the striking montage of wine labels that decorated “the wine wall.” Sally, the other owner, was at their new kitchen location a few blocks away. I was starving and ready for a hearty sandwich, so I rolled myself out of Miracle Plum’s location #1 and headed to it’s new second home.
One can buy a bottle or wine by the glass at Miracle Plum’s very open shop.
There was Sally, greeting me with her bright, warm smile. I learned during lunch that salami pairs well with exotic spices, and I think there might have been some zaa’tar in my sandwich. I hope there was. Sitting in the sun away from the crowds, I spotted a man at the kitchen window giving Sally a big bag of bright yellow lemons from his garden. “Picked less than 30 minutes ago,” he boasted. Something about the way he smiled as he handed over the offering made me feel like I was in a special place.
After that, I was well prepared for wine tasting at Harvest Moon Winery with a full stomach. I arrived at 3:30pm and Nick, the tasting room manager, seated me in the back patio area amongst other couples, each table reveling in their particular tasting menus. I was unsure of how the afternoon would play out as I sat by myself, and felt like that kid on the first day of school entering the cafeteria with no friends to sit with. My back was to everyone and that felt rude, so I turned around. For a moment, it was a pathetic scene: me facing the paired up folks. I smiled. They all smiled back. I thanked God when Nick came back with my first pour, the Verdelho, a crips white wine with Portuguese history and distinct citrus notes. I wished my Portuguese friend was with me to share it. I wished anyone was with me to share it.
Then a question shifted the mood.
“So are you from around here or visiting from somewhere?”
I looked up to see who the hero was, and a nice gentleman at the nearby table sat smiling. I could tell he was once the popular guy at school with the pretty girlfriend. Now he was the nice guy at the winery with a lovely and pretty lady. Since Nick was out of earshot (I didn’t want him to feel nervous that I’m a travel writer), I confided in my new cafeteria friend and his wife that I was visiting from San Francisco and hoping to write about Sonoma for my local travel blog. More pours followed, and somewhere between the Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvingnon we were filled with travel stories and a zest for new adventures. Rod and Maggie were a wealth of stories, ideas, and good vibes. I don’t know if I was more excited to share itineraries or for the newfound friendships. We spoke of Paso Robles, a place with meaning to all three of us. They introduced me to Dao Winery in Paso Robles, whose owners are Lebanese, and suddenly all three of us were sitting in a balcony in Beirut, our glasses filled with wine instead of black tea.
I knew I liked these two wonderful people when I handed them my travel blog cards, the same cards I had spent the previous night staying up to stamp, letter by letter, but there was a difference in this batch. The pen I use to draw the “dot” in my website had run out of ink and I was resigned to using a Bic pen. The ink didn’t match. I handed my cards over to Rod and Maggie and didn’t flinch because your friends should accept you the way you are, and if you feel the same about them, you’ll know that. I also knew I liked them enough to tell them about my favorite Italian restaurant in all of the Bay Area: LoCoco’s in downtown Santa Rosa https://lococos.net/
I was so happy when they decided to make reservations around the same time I was going to dinner that night. My cup runneth over.
Rod and Maggie, both of you are why I travel and why I write. San Diego isn’t so far away, neither is Paso Robles. Until we meet again, hopefully at Dao…cheers!
Harvest Moon Winery’s winner for the evening, their Cabernet Sauvignon.
Day 2: Snoopy! One cannot travel to Sonoma without stopping at the Charles M. Schulz Museum for a bit of art and art history. Visitors from all countries trek to this home for all things Snoopy and Charlie Brown, that’s why I was going!
As a child, I had three favorite toys. Maryanne was my Cabbage Patch doll with blond yarn hair and a plump, hard plastic face which I painfully banged my little nose into multiple times a day giving her hugs and kisses. Then there was Samantha, the newborn, with no hair and therefore a REALLY painful plastic head. Last but not least was Snoopy. I guess 80s babies were gluttons for punishment because Snoopy was plastic, too. He was my pet. I tied a string around him and bounced him around the house and made lots of wonderful noise doing so. He listened to my little girl troubles and always made things better.
Perhaps my semi-grown self knew that Snoopy would help me forget about my problems. I wanted to hug his statue outside the museum, but I didn’t want to be ushered away by security. My time at the museum was a pleasant surprise. I celebrated the strength and power I found in myself and in another character, little miss fussbudget, Lucy Van Pelt. She became my hero that afternoon—a strong, determined and bossy little lady who never played victim. AHA! That was the answer! She was never a victim because she never sat in self-pity long enough to let it define her.
Go get ‘em, Lucy!! And thanks to Charles M. Schulz for that vision.
Suddenly, I wasn’t a sad little girl dragging around her Snoopy doll. I was an empowered Lucy! It was no longer about someone else. What hurts us or bothers us is never really about the thing we are upset about. I saw many old relationships play out right before my eyes, but instead, Lucy was calling the shots! She wasn’t crying over any guy, she was assertive and walking away. She wasn’t mourning the loss of false friends. She was making new, real ones. “I’m my own person!!!!” she yelped. Me too, Lucy, me too!
I was also struck by Schulz’s ability to create the most poignant art, the most striking expressions with minimal lines. The picture below mesmerized me for quite some time, and I stood reeling from its severity. The simplest lines in the art brought about the simple truth: some days we’re Lucy calling the shots, and other days we’re Charlie Brown making sobering discoveries. Circumstances called “moments of crisis” cause us to grab onto the first source of comfort around us. Sometimes it’s a person, sometimes it’s a place, and sometimes it’s a harmful vice. It’s not always pretty and it’s certainly not always genuine.
Art, in its simplest and most intricate expression of truth.
After my enlightening time at the museum, I couldn’t leave Sonoma without one last celebration (or glass of great wine). I headed to Miracle Plum’s main location for that wine by the glass thing. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon and Sally was there this time, her smile as bright and welcoming as the lemons she was gifted the previous day. I trusted her sales associate, Bethany, to recommend a white wine to pair with their smoked trout plate. She picked the Picpoul Blanc, a wine I would later describe as “breathtaking” upon first sip after biting into the yummy smoked trout bites.
I described this wine as “breathtaking” after pairing it with smoked trout. It truly was.
I didn’t want to get on the train home. I wanted to stay with the sun warming my face and the memories of my newfound friends warming my heart. Most of all, I wanted to stay in that confident feeling Lucy gave me, the feeling that although I suffered a setback, I’m still the same determined girl who relentlessly hugged and kissed my plastic Cabbage Patch dolls and Snoopy doll despite the fact of getting hit in the face time and time again.
Some people are worth the pain and the learning lesson, and some are definitely not. I can now prioritize the people who would be there when I need them. The trip taught me that those worth keeping in your life will find ways to communicate boundaries without severing ties. I also learned that no matter how many spiritual books you read, how many mantras you profess, how much sage you burn, or how many times you tell someone “have a beautiful day,” it is no indication of a truthful and kind soul. I decided to focus on the beautiful people I’ve met and continue to meet along my journey. I’m too much of a Lucy to allow someone else’s behavior to change who I inherently am. I’d rather strive to be a kind soul willing to help in times of trouble, like those gentlemen on the train hunting high and low for my little earring.
I didn’t lose anything on that train. In fact, I’ve kept the other earring as a reminder of what I gained on my trip to Santa Rosa. I rediscovered myself and found new friends.
Also, cheers to Mr. Joe LoCoco from LoCoco’s Restaurant who wasn’t there that evening. You’ve blessed me with your food, Sir, and entertained me greatly with your colleague, Mr. Nino. I was afraid something would be missing without your presence, and as amazing as the meal and night was, I was right. It was missing you!
All of you are part of the magic of travel.
