Driving Ms. Pamela – Sonoma, Ca.

Goodbye Napa – hello Sonoma! Found two good independent bookstores in the town of Sonoma. Sonoma is a picturesque town with a slower pace than Napa. Harmony reigns. And it’s unusual to find two really great independent stores in a town of this size. In my view, independent bookstores have a special charm–different personalities, like people. The first one we visited–and the first on this tour, is Bookends Bookstore. Apt name, n’est pas? The first store is one of the bookends, get it? (Okay, okay). But they were so friendly, as were the people at the second one in Sonoma, Readers Books. There, Andrew Weingerger, proprietor, told me that he knows my cousin, Andre Dubus the younger (III). Andre is the author of The House of Sand and Fog, and Andy’s store sold more of this book than any other store in the country but one. So they invited Andre out for a booksigning several years ago, and  to Andre–Andy says ‘hi”. They love you in Sonoma!

Sonoma valley is very different from Napa, not only judged by traffic, which is bumper to bumper in Napa as I may have mentioned before, but also because farming seems to hold equal sway with wineries. Lots of lazy cows dotting the landscape, apple farms, cherries. Beautiful. From the town of Sonoma we headed for Bodega Bay, a remote fishing village on the coast, and as we neared the Pacific, fog rolled in over the mountains from the sea. A brooding atmosphere developed. Overcast skies cast a gloomy pall. Browns and dull greens instead of the vibrant colors left behind in Napa and Sonoma. There were wildflowers but they seemed to add no color. Banyon trees, huge cypress looming over the road. This area, where Alfred Hitchcock’s movie “The Birds” was filmed, is gloomy. And there were huge birds everywhere–we saw flocks of buzzards hunched in a line-up on electric wires. This picture will give you an idea of why Hitchock chose the place for his movie. 

Hitchcock’s movie still draws thousands of visitors to Bodega Bay every year. Local word is that The Birds was the first film in which animals were portrayed acting in concert to attack human beings. The movie starred Tippi Hedrin, Jessica Tandy, Rod Taylor, Susan Taylor and was based on a short story written by Daphne DuMaurier set in England.

We had lunch at the Tides Wharf featured in the movie. It’s built right on the edge of the bay. We watched harbor seals fishing in steel blue water and when they’d surface, the smart circling birds would dive where the bird had just won a prize. Here’s a picture of one sea-gull giving Jimmy the eye. So funny – the expression on Jimmy’s face is the same one he wears when Amazing Grace says “recalculating route…take the next legal U-turn.”

Amazing Grace went on strike right about the time we left Bodega Bay and were thrown back into the 19th century, having to rely on maps instead of GPS. Sheer speculation got us to Santa Rosa, our next stop. Visited Barnes & Noble there . Had a nice talk with the community relations manager (CRM). Left a book for the employees’ break room, and lots of bookmarks–the best point of sale marketing tool ever invented for writers. I love this store–can’t believe they’ve put themselves up for sale. Sure hope the buyer keeps it just as is!! Tomorrow will visit Borders and Family Christian Bookstore before heading up to Sacramento and Stockton. Our entire back seat is covered with books, bookmarks, and pamphlets.

In the small world category, in the lobby of our hotel in Santa Rose, as we were checking in we met a stranger, a local man who turned out to know a friend of ours in New Orleans. What a coincidence. His take on our trip so far: ‘Napa makes auto parts. Sonoma makes wine.’ I had to laugh. Seems there might be some competition between the two. (Just kidding, Napa!) But the fact is that both Napa and Sonoma are two of the most beautiful places on earth.

You can learn all sorts of things talking to people who work in bookstores across the country. An employee at B&N in Santa Rosa told us that the writer, Jack London, author of White Fang and many other great novels, lived nearby and frequently partied in Santa Rosa. He was wild–lived fast, died young. People here really have a great spirit. We were talking to a local man about the current economic downturn and the special hit California has suffered. Higher costs, higher taxes–they’ve really had it hard out here. But his philosophy–just work harder. And around here, they do. At breakfast we worried about the national outbreak of salmonella. Talking about this with the waitress, she mentioned that she doesn’t worry because she keeps chickens and has fresh eggs every morning. In addition, she has a 10 acre vegetable garden, and fresh fruit–like blackberries–are available everywhere around Santa Rosa for the picking. She’ll make it through the recession just fine.

Well wish us luck – Amazing Grace is charging up, but my battery is winding down. The wheel man is already down for the count. Talk to you tomorrow!