Trip Photos

Today was the big the day. The day I would set out on the first of many adventures. The day I would tackle my fears of exploring new terrain. Today, I was to visit a ranch in Petaluma and find my California kin.

It all started according to plan. I picked up the Swedes (our interns from Hyper Island), and we set off across Golden Gate. It was my first time driving across it and I wished I could be taking photos. Watching the cables spread off in perspective on each side of me was incredible. Every time I see this bridge, I swear it gets bigger. It was an overcast day in San Francisco, but as expected, the skies cleared as soon as we crossed the bridge.

We had about 40 miles to go up on 101, which would weave use through Sausalito, San Rafael, and on up to Petaluma. It was a beautiful day for a drive. Seeing Petaluma was just the start of many sights that had my sense of location confused. It had the signs of a smalltown that was on the verge of becoming larger—one of those quaint towns that gets “developed.” It felt & looked a lot like Carmel—everything new but trying to look old. It was like driving through Carmel and ending up in the outskirts of Westfield. As we drove further in, the houses fell in poorer and poorer condition. The trees along the road grew thicker, reaching out and over us, all orange and golden. I had to keep reminding myself I was in California, because I was so certain that I would round the corner and find myself home at my parent’s. The mind gets locked in to visual references so easily.

The number of homes kept dropping until we were seeing 1 every mile or so. We were definitely in ranch country now. There was no cell service where we were and I was certain we had missed a turn, as the house numbers were not even close to what we were seeking. We drove up over a hill and around a bend and found ourselves on the edge, overlooking a big valley with rolling hills all around us. It was breathtaking. We decided to stop there on the way back. After going a bit further, we seemed to be driving in to fog. The bright blue skies were visibly growing more dim around us. I stopped to ask a couple who were out biking for directions. They were helpful and set us on the right way. And the man said he liked my car ;)

We stopped back at the breathtaking view, snapped photos and enjoyed the fresh air. The fog was behind us now. I was able to get cell service and bring up a map. It seems the road we were on turned but we kept going straight. In no time after that, we found ourselves at the gate to Chileno Beef Ranch. Hooray! Or not. The gate was closed with a sign that said the same “Closed for the season”. I hadn’t called to confirm they were open (the site said May - Oct), because I knew if they were closed I wouldn’t make the drive. I was really disappointed. I had my heart set on making an apple pie for dinner with freshly picked apples. Another time, perhaps.

Tore suggested we stop at the park we had passed a couple miles back, so we pulled in to the Helen Putnam Regional Park. It was a lovely area of land with dirt trails for biking & horseback riding. (I’m not sure how I can get a horse out there, but I’d love to ride in an area like that.) We climbed a really steep hill up to a bench under a tree and just sat, taking in the views around us, and enjoying the solace and lack of anything city around us. An older couple rode past us on horses, which felt a bit surreal at the time. I haven’t been outside of a city in so long. The closest would be my bike ride in Amsterdam. In that moment, I was thankful I hadn’t sold my car. Holiday had taken me to another spectacular place.

I want to go back and explore more, maybe go further up, find a BnB and make a weekend of it. It was just so magical to be back in open spaces with only a sprinkling of people about. I just need to find more places to go and just go for it, but Petaluma will always be that safe bet I can keep in mind. The Swedes were great company, too. Turns out one of them grew up on a dairy farm in Sweden. I’m finding a lot of us at AKQA have rural-ish backgrounds. It’s kind of incredible.

I’m absolutely exhausted, but I just had a hot bowl of chili which was delicious (and warm, it’s been chilly today!). Funny how even so far away from home, routines associated with seasons persist. Even more incredible is how much of Indiana I keep discovering in California. I’d always made them such different worlds. I’m looking forward to sharing my insights with everyone back home, come Christmas.

Oh, and I have 2 dates lined up for the coming weeks :) I’m long overdue for getting myself out and dating. And it’s good motivation to exercise. Despite the 8 blocks of walking everyday and only taking the stairs at work, I still seem to be gaining weight. I blame the 25-cent vending machine and my 4pm munchies :-/

Petaluma Photos

Also, check out the Swedes’ site with their SF adventure videos: werunsf.com