Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Farmer for a Day
Like wineries, the list of farms in the area is long. Check out
FarmTrails.org
and
request a map and guide of all the places in the area visitors can buy fresh fruit,
vegetables, and meats right where they were produced.
When you drive up to
Matos Cheese Factory
5
(3669 Llamo Rd., Santa Rosa;
%
707/823-4454),
you'll swear you're in the wrong place. Roaming roosters and
a dirt road? But the reception is friendly; as you enter the work area, a deafening
alarm rings and doesn't stop until the door's closed again. A lady comes out from
the back and immediately slices you a sizable hunk of St. George Cheese, for free.
You don't even have to ask. It's light, moist, and full of little holes, but overall the
effect is Havarti-like. It's good stuff, ideal for snacking as you make the rounds at
the wineries, and it's just $5 a pound. This is a very unusual food provider, and a
fun stop to make.
Three fascinating factory tours aren't located too far away: Jelly Belly (p. 140)
and Anheuser-Busch (p. 141) are both about a half-hour's drive east; they're cov-
ered in chapter 6. Same with Six Flags, a nearby amusement park (p. 131).
There's also
Mrs. Grossman's Sticker Factory
9
(3810 Cypress Ave., Petaluma;
%
800/429-4549; www.mrsgrossmans.com; $3; closed weekends; reservations
required)
open during business hours in Petaluma. This homegrown outfit, which
has nationwide distribution, makes a dizzying array of stickers destined for greet-
ing cards, scrapbooks, and the tops of exemplary student reports. Don't expect a
major production—door to door, the experience is 1 hour, but that includes a
glimpse at how stickers are made, a pass through a museum of every decal the place
has made, and a few minutes in a craft gallery where kids can create their own art-
work with stickers.
MUD BATHS
In the 1800s, people didn't really care too much about the process of making a
nuanced wine. It was just wine. People just drank it. Instead, the big draw in the
region was its hot mud baths. The quake of 1906 shifted the location of many of
the springs, wiping out most of the wells that then existed in Sonoma County as
well, so that today, the best place to participate in a geothermal treatment is
Calistoga, in Napa County. Like bungee jumping or hot-air ballooning, it's a
once-in-a-lifetime vacation treat that is only available in a special location.
Most places mix the mud and hot springs water (which is a little over 100°F)
with clay, peat, and volcanic ash from nearby St. Helena volcano, and it may stain
some swimsuits, so don't wear your best one (or, like most people, don't wear any-
thing at all). These treatments used to be touted as an excellent treatment for
arthritis, but modern marketing laws being what they are, they're now meant
mostly as stress relievers (supporting scientific studies show that arthritis suffers
may, in fact, find some relief ). At the least, after the various substances wash over
it, your skin can't help but be cleaner.
