Last Day in California

Doug and I spent our last day in California going to Francis Ford Coppola's Winery, exploring downtown Healdsburg and eating lunch at the famed Russian River Brewing Company.  Jim joined us for the last two and we were so glad to have those last few moments with him before we headed back to Florida.  Coppola's Winery was extremely fun to tour.  They had a swimming pool for guests, a bocce ball court, a museum dedicated to the family's movies, a restaurant and an area to taste wine.  Doug wasn't a fan of the wines, but I loved all of the movie memorabilia.  I was surprised that over half of the museum was dedicated to his daughter Sophia.  I didn't realize how many movies that she had actually directed.

Healdsburg was my favorite small city that we visited this week.  It reminded me a lot of Holland, Michigan with an area dedicated to artwork, a rose garden and a lot of nice touristy shops.  There were also multiple spots to taste wine or eat dinner along the square.  I found the perfect towel to commemorate our time in Sonoma County.  It had so many of the places that we had visited on it including Jack London's park and even Jim's new hometown, Guerneville.  While we were there, I loved finding out that the movie Scream was partially filmed in their downtown area.  I could envision the exacts scenes in my mind as we walked through the town.

Our last stop of the day was the Russian River Brewing Company.  Since we had arrived in Northern California, everyone had recommended the restaurant.  All three of us loved the atmosphere.  It was packed with beer tasters and had an outside area for corn hole, bonfires and small children to play.  Our lunch was very good.  The guys said that the beer was a little too watery, but neither minded as they enjoyed the experience so much.  

We parted ways with Jim at 3:30 so that we could make it to Oakland in time for our evening flight.  I was very sad to say goodbye but knew that we wouldn't wait another twenty-five years to see each other in person again.  Thankfully, we text and call often which makes the distance feel a lot closer.