Author: Ryan Milani

Friday Night Summers w/ Live Music: Napa City Nights

If you plan spending weekend in Napa, consider taking an extra day and coming out to the waterfront for the Napa City Nights free music on the waterfront. It’s a fun low key event with fun acts and great scenery. Seasoned Napa folk bring blankets and snacks.

It’s Downtown Napa, along the waterfront, next to Downtown Joe’s and right across the water from the new Stone Brewing Co.; an easy walk from the Archer hotel and Oxbow. Lots of other options for drinks and food.

Here’s some details:

Time:

Friday Nights during the summer

July 1st thru July 22nd, 2022
Friday Nights
6:30 – 10:00 pm

Location:

Veterans Memorial Park Amphitheater
Downtown Napa
Corner of Third & Main Streets
Google Map

For Lineup & more info, visit: www.napacitynights.com

New Bear Republic Brewery in RoPo

Bear Republic

Rohnert Park got a nice addition this year — Bear Republic Brewing! With Lagunitas Brewing a mere 12 minute drive south, the Bear Republic opened (technically in September 2017) with a massive dining hall with outdoor seating overlooking a beautiful lake. The former nightclub/ restaurant is the perfect spot for this Healdsburg based brewery to make a splash.

When I visited the brewery had just opened, I was impressed by the open glass window kitchen concept, and blown away by the sheer volume and capacity the brewery had (the images I took don’t do it justice, there are lots of places to sit!), along with the adult games (cornhole, etc.) I was not prepared for this.

The beer menu was extensive. I love their IPA’s, in fact they rank as some of my favorites, so I made no qualms ordering a double IPA at my 11am business meeting (they understood). I’ll have to go back for more meetings (I felt a tasting flight might have been overkill). Anyways, this place is definitely worth adding to your itinerary, especially if you’re already a fan of their beer, or of Lagunitas.

Check them out at 5000 Roberts Lake Road, Rohnert Park.

Instagram: @bearrepublic
Website: bearrepublic.com
Facebook: facebook.com/bearrepublic

Find a Cool Place to Camp With Hipcamp

I was doing a little research on places to camp around the bay area and stumbled onto a great website for both tent camping and glamping (“glamorous camping”). It’s like the Airbnb for camping, and there are lots of options in the bay area. Sure, you’ll pay more for spot then you would camping on the side of Mt. Diablo, or in Point Reyes, but how often can you sleep in an old military bunker overlooking the Napa River? Or how about a 10 acre organic farm in the Marin Headlands?

There are over 100 spots in the bay area. Here are some fun highlights I found while looking around:

Awesome stuff. I think next time I’m looking to travel, or camp, I’ll look for a spot here as I do with other places. Would be nice to sleep in a geodesic dome.

Amy's Fast Food - sign

Amy’s Organic, Vegetarian Fast Food? Yes!

Only in Sonoma County could you find an organic, vegetarian fast food restaurant that excels in satisfying even the most staunch carnivore. Make no mistake, this GMO free restaurant is no half-assed attempt at fast food. It is a legitimate contender to neighboring restaurants and they do it with competitive pricing, inviting atmosphere, healthy options, and a few not-so-healthy treats.

I was slightly tricked my first time here. Having been a resident of Sonoma County for a few years before Amy’s opened, I had known of the Amy’s factory. Amy’s in Rohnert Park has been producing the famous line of organic foods for grocery stores for years (canned goods, frozen things like pizza’s and burritos, and boxed dry grocery). When they opened in the same town, I never put two-and-two together and realized that the food would model that of their organic, vegetarian cuisine.

Amy’s, in fact, is named after the company’s daughter. They built their company on the idea that there was a lack of quick, healthy options to feed their daughter. So my first time in I ordered the burger, fries and milkshake. The burger was delicious but it tasted just different, so I investigated. Oh it was a veggie burger. Again, no worries, it was delicious!

Let’s Talk About the Food

I haven’t eaten everything on the menu, but that’s my goal. I have goals. The chili cheese fries are my guilty pleasure. When I need a meal that will fill me up, the classic burrito (red beans, red rice, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and salsa) is my staple. I have yet to try the oh so tempting Mac ‘N’ Cheese or the organic and vegan pizza’s. The salads are wonderful and so are the milkshakes (yes, they have non-daily shakes). Most recently, I heard someone in line talking about their cinnamon rolls. “Cinnamon Rolls?” I thought. So I tried the gluten free, vegan cinnamon roll, just for fun and it was absolutely the most delicious thing I’ve had in the last month! I am not gluten free or a vegan!

A Sustainable Fast Food Model

Bottom line is Amy’s organic and vegetarian food is delicious. The design of the building reminds me of Radiator Springs from the Disney movie, Cars. What really intrigues me is their business model. The water tower actually stores rainwater, they have a solar array, and the roof top is a living garden. All this good stuff — and the prices are completely on par with other fast food restaurants.

Amy's Drive Thru menu - picture of the front menu

Amy's Drive Thru menu - picture of the back menu

Why you should go: If you’re hungry. Or if you are trying to satisfy that gluten free, vegan, or vegetarian in the group!

Website: amysdrivethru.com

Instagram: instagram.com/amysdrivethru

Menu Highlights: The Amy (burger), Classic Burrito, Gluten Free & Vegan Cinnamon Roll, Chili Cheese Fries, Milkshakes, Super Salad.

Wine Tasting 101: picture of a glass of wine being poured outside on a wood table

Wine Tasting 101: The Do’s and Don’ts

Heading off to Sonoma or Napa wine country? Here are some wine tour tips that will help you have a great time!

As a tour guide, I had the pleasure of meeting people from all over the world with all sorts of levels of experience in wine. As I used to tell my groups, at the end of the day it’s just fermented grape juice. That said, there’s a whole lot to wine!

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RFO-observatory

Robert Ferguson Observatory

Coming up on August 11th and 12th is the Perseid meteor shower. I used to watch this shower every year and would bring my friends out to watch in the middle of whatever field was near us. As it rolls around again this year, I’m heading up to my local observatory for a stargazing party! 2016 is said to have the best show in the last 20 years, with roughly 150 shooting stars per hour.

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train town

Sonoma TrainTown Railway

Located just south of the historic Sonoma Square is TrainTown, an amusement park that features a 1:4 scale model railroad that the whole family can ride. It’s a fun place to take the kids in the North Bay!

TrainTown features a 1:4 scale model railway that will take you around the 10 acre park with a destination stop in a little mini western town where you and the kids can walk through mini model schoolhouse, jail, general store, fort, and church. You can also feed goats, chickens and lamas at the stop. It’s all very well kept since it opened in 1968. It’s also still family owned and very much affordable.

TrainTown also has a handful of amusement park rides like their mini rollercoaster, slow moving spinning ride, carousel, circular flying airplane ride, and a ferris wheel. I like the little train depot/garage where they work on the 1:4 model trains. They also have some vintage boxcars that the kids and adults can climb on, a snack bar, and a little gift shop.

The real highlight at Sonoma TrainTown is the ride around the park. I still have memories as a kid going through the tunnels, and seeing all the little hidden stuff they decorate the 10 acre park with.

train-town-sonoma

train-town-sonoma-trains

After TrainTown

Stop downtown afterwards for some ice cream at Sweet Scoops on the square!

Weaver’s Winter Wonderland

When my friend told me, “Hey, want to come with me to go see some Christmas lights in Rohnert Park?” I thought okay, I like Christmas lights. I did not expect this. This was crazy.

The Weaver Winter Wonderland is a thing here, but this was my first time out to go see it. They’ve won The Great Christmas Light Fight, featured on ABC, along with winning other awards locally.

  • Holiday Weavers Winter Wonderland
  • Holiday Genie Weavers Wonderland
  • Holiday Scene


    It’s spectacular. You actually feel as though you drove to Disneyland, and were walking through Toon Town or Main Street — Minus the huge ticket cost, hotel, parking, crowds (ehh, sorta), etc. So yeah, Disney is a huge part of their theme, but certainly not exclusive, they have characters from just about every Holiday movie, down to the details. We were looking at the Dalmatians on the front lawn and joked how there weren’t 101, but as we looked around it became apparent that there were dogs hidden all over the spread of stuff — so maybe we were wrong.

    I’d say that the 20-30 foot Genie from Aladdin was the pinnacle of the spread, but I can’t say that, there’s just too much well placed characters and subtleties here. Everything works and is balanced and doesn’t have a too crowded feel. I’m starting to sound like an expert on Christmas lights. I’m not, it was just a fun place to check out.

    Grab some hot cocoa and head out to the Weaver Winter Wonderland at 1190 Cielo Cir, Rohnert Park, CA. And check em out on Facebook.

    Best BBQ in Healdsburg: Kinsmoke BBQ

    I’ve been craving some real BBQ lately. And while Northern California has its more then fair share of every ethnic food you can imagine, anyone who’s been to real Barbecue Country can attest we lack a significant BBQ community out here (other than of course the Hamburger Ranch & BBQ up in Cloverdale).

    Kinsmoke delivers in this department. I ordered the brisket on white roll and was not disappointed. They gave me a choice of type of meat cuts (I went with the combo), and ordered the mac and cheese. Kinsmoke also offers chick, fish, and ribs, but I’ll have to come back to sample those. The meat was well seasoned, juicy and the cuts were generous and not overly fatty. The table offered 5 different sauces to compliment the meat. I’m no expert on BBQ, but I have been to Kansas City and tried out a lot of different spots, but I do know that different regions have different styles of BBQ. At Kinsmoke they take a very Californian approach and offer “non-denominational” BBQ.

    The location is conveniently located right on the Healdsburg Square. The atmosphere is that which a BBQ joint should be — old wooden floors, big spacious tables (lots of room to move around here), lots of metal and wood working together, a nice bar in the back with a few good sized TVs. Prices were reasonable as well. Overall very happy with this spot and I’ll be recommending them on my tours for sure.


     

    Why you should go: Because you like real BBQ. Also great place for Monday Night Football or to watch the game.

    Website: kinsmoke.com

    Menu Highlights: Brisket Sandwich, Cajun Dusted Scallops, Pollo Borracho Sandwich, Seared Ahi Salad, Granny Smith Apple & Horseradish Slaw, Pulled Pork Sandwich, St. Louis Style Pork Ribs

    Location: 304 Center Street, Healdsburg Plaza, Healdsburg, CA 95448

     

    Brisket at Kinsmoke BBQ in Healdsburg

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