Bodega Bay Journalist on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Bodega Bay resident Peter Laufer was a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart this summer! Originally broadcast in June, we caught the repeat last night, and it was super. Laufer, an award-winning journalist and author, totally held his own against the brilliant Stewart as they engaged in witty banter about his new book, The Dangerous World of Butterflies. Laufer sported a Blue Morpho Butterfly pin for the occasion.

As a book publicist myself and a huge fan of The Daily Show, I especially enjoyed this segment and appreciated Laufer's excellent performance. You can view it here:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Peter Laufer
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Healthcare Protests

You may recall that last December, Laufer wrote a widely-read response to the BusinessWeek article that included Bodega Bay, The Most Expensive Small Towns in America. In his response, Laufer asserted that "BW's recognition of his California community failed to mention that it's lacking one."

Stay tuned for an upcoming review of The Dangerous World of Butterflies by my dear friend Kathryn Hall in her popular blog Plant Whatever Brings You Joy.

Bodega Festival Coming Up!

The 15th Annual Bodega Seafood, Art & Wine Festival is coming up August 29 & 30, 2009!

This popular event showcases the best of California’s wineries, breweries, artists, and craftspeople and features outstanding regional and national musicians, and of course, a delicious selection of seafood, a kid's funzone, and environmental exhibits. The Festival benefits the Bodega Volunteer Fire Department, and Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods.

The event organizers generously shared this promo video with us. Looks like we should bring a huge appetite, dancing shoes, and perhaps a designated driver. :-)



The festival will be held in the nearby town of Bodega, about 5 miles inland from Bodega Bay. Hitchcock fans will recall that the famous Potter Schoolhouse and St. Teresa's Church from his classic movie The Birds are both located in this little town.

Bodega Seafood, Art & Wine Festival
Watts Ranch
16855 Bodega Highway
Bodega, CA
10 - 6 Saturday
10 - 5 Sunday

Deli Sandwiches at the Beach

A typical fun day at the beach just isn't complete without really good deli sandwiches.

I grew up in nearby Marin County and we went out to the beach all the time. Mostly to Stinson but sometimes further up the coast to the Pt. Reyes beaches, or to Doran and Salmon Creek beaches in Bodega Bay. Our picnic feasts consisted of chips, salads, cookies, and of course, scrumptious deli sandwiches. Once in a while we’d bring the charcoal and barbecue hot dogs or hamburgers, but for me, the deli sandwich is still the quintessential meal for a day at the beach.

We’d pick them up at Perry’s Deli in Fairfax or Lagunitas Market out in San Geronimo Valley. I have many fond memories of juicy turkey or roast beef sandwiches on hard sourdough rolls, with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, jack cheese, mayo and mustard dripping down onto the white deli paper on my beach blanket below, and sometimes with a little sand blown in for extra crunch.

Out here in Bodega Bay, I’ve found the very best old-fashioned deli sandwiches are actually to be found in the nearby small town of Valley Ford. If you’re coming out to the beach, I encourage you to stop first at the Valley Ford Market, on Hwy. 1, about 10 minutes before you get to the coast.


Valley Ford Market is family owned and operated. Dennis Becker, his adult sons, mother-in-law, and other family members all provide friendly service with a smile. Michael Becker said his family purchased this historical market about three years ago after running the famous Bateman’s Meats in Petaluma for 35 years. He said Valley Ford Market is about 60 years old and they plan to carry on its tradition of providing a wide variety of general store supplies for the local ranching community and hundreds of tourists headed for the coast.

Dennis Becker and his son Michael

In addition to sandwiches, they have fabulous local meats, poultry, seafood, Dennis Becker's famous smoked salmon and homemade sausages, groceries, video rentals, coffee, and an incredible dessert case filled with locally baked cakes and pies! My favorites are the carrot cake and the toffee crunch cake (you can click to enlarge the photos!).


Back to the deli sandwiches. They offer traditional favorites as well as their own combos such as the popular Tri-Tip sandwich with mayo, onions and swiss on a toasted roll; the Chicken Club with chicken, ham, cheese, bacon, mayo and lettuce on a toasted roll; and the hot Volcano with roast beef, peppers, jalapenos, onions, swiss cheese, and Thousand Island dressing, on a toasted roll.





This is the Chicken Club:

The turkey was a little skimpy on mine, but I’ve noticed that all delis seem to be cutting back on meat, including Bianchini’s, Lucchesi’s, Safeway deli, Subway and others.

This is also the market I mentioned in a previous post that carries my and my sister’s favorite Smokey River Barbeque Sauce. You might want to pick up a bottle or two while you’re there.

As you can probably tell, I’m a real sandwich lover and believe me, I also have an appreciation for newer, innovative varieties. Our panini machine is in constant use, producing favorites such as smoked turkey, pesto, roasted red bell peppers and jack cheese on focaccia bread.

But I still maintain there’s nothing like a really good “old school” deli sandwich for a trip to the beach.

Valley Ford Market
14400 Highway 1, Valley Ford
(707) 876-3245

Baby Finches Flew the Coop

Our baby house finches flew the coop and appear to be doing fine! I wrote about them when they first hatched in a nest on our porch and I attempted to photograph their growth over the following weeks.

Many of the images didn't turn out well, they're dark and blurry. But if you click to enlarge, a few are pretty cute. (I hope to get a new, improved camera one of these days.) Please excuse the disgusting mess of bird droppings, it's amazing they can thrive in such an environment, isn't it?

Anyway, of the original five eggs, three birds survived and we were fortunate enough to see the first two actually take off and leave the nest. The third one left some time later. We now see juvenile house finches at the nearby bird feeder and I like to think they're our babies.

Several times we've seen a juvenile turn toward an adult female, presumable his mother, and gently touch her beak in-between bites of seed. They're so cute!


The three surviving babies start to grow.




They started peeking out and looking around a few days before they took flight. We could see them stretching their wings out from time to time.




We caught a shot of one just as he took flight for the first time.


He fell to the ground and landed in this gravel, where he rested a bit before trying again.


He paused for his first glimpse of the big world out there before flying off to begin his new life!

Birdies, Brews & BBQ in Bodega Bay

There's a fun golf tournament going on in Bodega Bay today and the weather couldn't be better. It's gorgeous, sunny and warm and so far, no wind.

The Links at Bodega Harbour is hosting Birdies, Brews & BBQ's that will include brews to taste throughout the course followed by a yummy BBQ feast down at the pool afterwards.

Breweries include:
Lagunitas
Dempsey's
Deschutes Brewery
Eagle Distributing

Too bad I don't play golf because this sounds like a blast. I hear today's tournament is sold out but they offer plenty of other events, all of which are open to the public. This is the same place that has live music in the Fireside Lounge on Thursday and Friday evenings, and free wine tasting on Fridays 5:00-6:00 p.m. Have fun!