womantraveler

Less-Traveled Roads of Sonoma

During the fall wine crush, there's nothing like a taking a car along the less-traveled roads in Sonoma County in Northern California's wine country. Sonoma is my favorite Northern California wine region -- just 45 minutes north of San Francisco. It's rich in wonderful wines and vistas yet retains a more rural character than its more-developed Napa Valley neighbor. With pristine features like the Mayacama Mountains to the west and fertile Sonoma Creek, a 5-mile trip can take 30 minutes or more winding slowly through the vineyards and up and down hillsides with sharp hairpin turns. These lovely drives take us past wineries, in and out of quaint villages, California history, quiet B&Bs and -- surprise -- suddenly a dark and dramatic hilltop redwood forest. Sonoma Valley is said to be the birthplace of California's wine industry, dating back to 1825 and the arrival of the Franciscan Missionaries, who established their wines on the Sonoma Mission grounds, now the location of a fabulous inn and spa resort.

Local writer, the famed Jack London, called enchanting Sonoma The Valley of the Moon, the title of his 1913 novel that named Sonoma Valley as the "perfect spot" for his wandering lovers. London lore is in fine style in Glen Ellen at the Jack London State Historical Park, which has the cottage where he wrote, redwood forests, dam, lake and other recreational areas. Fine dining in tiny, shady Glen Ellen includes Saffron and the Glen Ellen Inn.

For one spectacular drive, take the five-mile Trinity Road off Route 12 across the mountain into Oakville on Route 29, the main drag in Napa Valley. Be prepared for a lone cyclist at any point, 10 mph hairpin turns, a one-lane bridge and a final 3-mile low-gear downhill grade. Here a vineyard on a sunny slope, then you're in a dense redwood stand a short distance away -- it's quite a visual mix. Probably best to save your wine picnic for another outing, or later in the day -- you have to be very alert as the locals zoom along these roller-coaster roads and there's no place to pull over or park anyway.

Then, at the Oakville Grocery, you can stop for a fine latte or indulge in a wine country gourmet carryout or picnic.

Shop Til You Drop in LA

You may have missed the annual end-of-summer Barneys New York Warehouse Sale in Santa Monica, but you don't have to next year with LA's Shopper Shuttle. This service is a dream come true for fashionistas and wannabes seeking to fulfill spending fantasies in a city offering blinding choices and variety. Organized by zones -- a la Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, etc. -- the service will plan a personal shopping itinerary and take you from store to store. Since Los Angeles is so spread out with many distinctive shopping neighborhoods, this is a great way to get started -- or re-indulge once you become familiar with the place. Be sure to check out downtown's Fashion District (the Mulberry Street of the West Coast), Melrose (from Boho to the hippest chic) and Abbott Kinney (contemporary LA Style).

Sonoma's Jimtown Store

Carrie Brown's Jimtown Store in Sonoma County, California wine country on Highway 128 north of Healdsburg is a destination in itself. A revival of an old country store, with the sign commanding "Get In Here and Eat," the market purveys gourmet sandwiches and carry-out boxed lunches for wine country touring. And its dime-store-style wares offer nostalgic toys for wistful early Baby Boomers, including Sock Monkeys (and Sock Monkey Baby Slippers) and Potato Guns, along with sweet baby things, like Canus L'il Goat's Milk Soap.

Presiding with artistic personality and local character is Carrie Brown, who with her late husband (Silver Palate partner John Werner) visited from New York City more than 15 years ago and made the bicoastal leap. They turned back the Jimtown clock to its 1895 origins as a community gathering place. Today's Jimtown still reflects lack of pretension and an easy down-home feel, yet the upscale tastes of food, wine and antiques expected in sophisticated wine country. Wear jeans, nibble on a Brie and chopped olive spread sandwich, drink a latte on oilcloth on the patio, take home an antique crate made of Burma Shave signs or a folk art carnival ride helicopter. Gosh, we're hooked -- and keep coming back to have more fun.