Destination: Sonoma
Visit the Petaluma Adobe, explore General Vallejo’s Home, and visit the Depot Park Museum
This is part of a series of family-oriented day trip outings around the San Francisco Bay Area I look forward to enjoying with my kids once social distancing and shelter in place isn’t the norm any longer.
By MARELBU, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74530274
Social Isolation — Day 41
I managed to go shopping today. One thing that the current pandemic and shelter in place have done is it's gotten me more organized with meal planning and food shopping. Hopefully, I won't have to go shopping for 2 weeks after today’s trip. Before all this went down, I would often stop at one market or another every two to three days.
A big piece of this was finding a decent recipe application that worked both on my phone and computer. I can quickly add recipes from web pages, and make a shopping list from the ingredients listed. It also has a meal planner that I can assign meals to a calendar.
Out of all the changes over the past couple of months, this is one I’m really starting to appreciate.
Destination: Sonoma
Visit the Petaluma Adobe
Explore General Vallejo’s Home
Visit The Depot Park Museum
Bonus: Train Town
Visit the Petaluma Adobe
By Stephen R. Gold — Own work (Original text: self-made), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6113143
I first visited the Petaluma Adobe in 7th grade, what a wonderful spot for hands-on activities that bring you back to the early days of California.
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo established the adobe in 1834 to support his military command in Sonoma. The primary economic activity was the hide and tallow trade, along with producing crops and grains. Vallejo was taken captive during the Bear Flag Revolt in 1846, and by the time he was released, Gold Rush squatters had taken over parts of his land. He eventually sold his holdings in 1857.
The Adobe is remarkably preserved and is one of the largest buildings of the time. See how early Californians lived and made their livelihood.
Designated California landmark #18.
Explore General Vallejo’s Home
Having only recently discovered this spot, I’m curious to visit soon. General Vallejo and his wife lived in this Victorian house for 35 years. He was a generous benefactor to family, friends, and causes he believed in. He was remarkably well read for the time, his library amassed over 12,000 books and he became an early California historian collecting many Mexican governmental papers, and wrote a five-volume history of California before his death. Designated California Landmark #4.
Visit The Depot Park Museum
By Sanfranman59 — Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10729594
Always one to stop off at a train museum, this place is on my to-visit list. You can find displays of historic Sonoma Valley from pre-contact Native Americans through post-American Statehood. You can find exhibits of a Victorian pre-1900 kitchen and schoolroom, and a current temporary exhibit of the Chinese contribution to the valley and its agriculture.
Bonus: Train Town
By Cullen328 (Jim Heaphy) — Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16563216
My head nearly exploded when I heard about this place, I’m a total train aficionado, and looking forward to a visit soon. One of the finest garden-estate railways in the world. Take a 20-minute, quarter scale, 4-mile train ride through tunnels, over bridges, and make a stop at Lakeview, a miniature town and petting zoo. There are also a variety of other amusement rides in the park you can purchase tickets for.
Cody Tolmasoff is an author and publisher for Adventuring.in. He is a recovering programmer and a San Francisco native, raising two daughters, and regularly finding new adventures around the SF Bay Area. This article is an excerpt from an upcoming book, 52 San Francisco Bay Area Weekend Adventures, Day Trips With Your Kids!
Find him on Twitter @codyo, and read his most recent title Adventures in Getting Out on Amazon, filled with advice on successfully getting your family out for day trip adventures.
Originally published on Medium on 23 April 2020