Happy New Year from Bodega Bay!

It's been a beautiful holiday season here in Bodega Bay. For the most part, the weather has been warm and sunny with little wind. I recently took some photos of the Christmas lights around town but many turned out too blurry to post. The following are still pretty soft but I thought Bodega Bay fans might enjoy seeing some of the local shots.


The Tides went all out again with thousands of lights streaming through rows of trees on both sides of Hwy. 1. The shot above is looking towards the Inn and their Bay View Restaurant on the upper side of the highway. The image below is looking toward their large Tides restaurant complex on the lower side. The shots don't do it justice, their display is really spectacular.



Diekmann's Bay Store, 1275 Highway 1.


The Boat House restaurant, 1445 Hwy. 1. Some say they make the best fish & chips in town.


Second Wind kite and candy shop, 1805 Hwy. 1. My daughter loves the handmade chocolates they carry.


Blurry shot of the Bodega Bay RV Park, 2001 Hwy. 1. I'm sorry the photo is so soft. Their Christmas lights were a cheerful sight on the dark outskirts of town.


This one gets my vote for best-decorated home in Bodega Bay.

I was disappointed that I couldn't find a single boat with Christmas lights in either of the marinas. I know I've seen them lit up in previous years. Maybe they took them down early?

I noticed in today's Press Democrat, they recommended a trip to Bodega Bay as a New Year's Eve suggestion: A low-budget New Year's Eve could start with a drive to Spud Point Marina in Bodega Bay for clam chowder and fresh crab. Walk onto the dock among fishermen and boats to experience the salty air and saltier talk that is tradition for some.

Spud Point Crab Co. sells chowder and cooked crab that you may eat there on picnic tables or take home. Live crab can be had elsewhere, like on the fishing boat Robert Croll.

Carol Anello, co-owner of Spud Point Crab, said her doors open at 9 a.m. and close around 3 p.m. on New Year's Eve. Over the holidays, people have swarmed the place to take in food and atmosphere, she said. “It's a real experience in the morning when the fishermen are out drinking their coffee with their dogs and shooting the bull,” said Anello, whose son and husband are often among them. “Sometimes it gets heated.”

She said the crab isn't as big as previous years but it's just as tasty. Plan on spending no more than about $10 per crab. “We cook them right here and serve clam chowder while you're waiting,” she said.

To read the entire article, click here.

Bodega Bay Bobcats

There's a family of bobcats living in our Bodega Bay neighborhood. Over the past couple of months, I've seen at least one a day. Our neighbors saw four a few weeks ago. They're usually walking along in the coastal meadows searching for prey, or crouched down, patiently waiting to nab one of the ubiquitous gophers or moles out here.

There appears to be a mother and three kittens. Although they're nearly grown now, the kittens are still playful. One day I watched as the mom stood in the middle of a road, waiting patiently until her kitten came prancing through the brush and joined her. I then watched her strut regally across the road and through a grassy field while the younger bobcat romped along beside her. The bobcats seem oblivious to the presence of humans. We keep our distance and they simply ignore us.

I read that the female raises her young alone. They're usually born in spring, and that coincides with the time a neighbor reported seeing a mother with tiny little kittens peaking out from under a shrub. Young bobcats start exploring their surroundings at four weeks and are weaned at about two months. Within three to five months they begin to travel with their mother. They start hunting by themselves by fall of their first year and usually disperse shortly thereafter. So sadly that means some of them may move on to new territory soon. I've really come to enjoy my daily bobcat sightings, I hope they don't all leave. Goodness knows there are enough rodents around to keep them well-fed for a long time.

My husband got some good shots recently. Unfortunately, whatever this bobcat was after got away.

Children's Bell Tower in Bodega Bay

We recently visited the Children's Bell Tower in Bodega Bay for the first time. It's a beautiful monument inspired by the 1994 shooting in Italy of seven-year-old Nicholas Green of Bodega Bay, and is dedicated to children everywhere.

Fifteen years ago, Nicholas was killed by highway robbers while vacationing in Italy with his family. His parents, Reg and Maggie Green, agreed to donate his organs and corneas, which went to seven Italians waiting for transplants, four of them teenagers. As a result, organ donations in Italy have since quadrupled and thousands of people have been saved.

Click to enlarge images.

The memorial was conceived and designed by Bruce Hasson, a Bay Area sculptor. It's 18 feet high and holds 140 bells, almost all of them sent by Italians: school bells, church bells, ships' bells, mining bells, cow bells. Some bells had been in families for generations, others were made especially for this project. The centerpiece is a large bell, thirty inches high, from the Marinelli foundry in Italy, which has been making bells for the papacy for a thousand years. Nicholas' name and the names of the seven recipients are on it, and Pope John Paul II went to the foundry to bless it.




Reg and Maggie Green hold a picture of their son Nicholas in this 1999 photo.


Reg Green's book about the death of Nicholas and the world's amazing response is titled The Nicholas Effect. You can read more about it at NicholasGreen.org."No matter their nationality or calling, people respond from the heart--presidents, movie stars, schoolchildren, grandmothers, Boy scouts, soccer players, surgeons, and organ recipients," says Reg. "Organ donor cards are signed. Poems are written, pictures painted, parks dedicated, scholarships established, medals given, children hugged."

The media interest was intense from the beginning, as the book relates, with virtually every major daily paper in the world carrying the story and the major television shows, including Oprah, Barbara Walters, Katie Couric and Tom Brokaw, interviewing the family. There was even a CBS movie of the week, Nicholas’ Gift, for which Jamie Lee Curtis was nominated for an Emmy.

Last month, on the 15th anniversary of this tragedy, the Press Democrat ran a poignant letter from Reg Green, Life through a child's death, 15 years ago today.

The Children's Bell Tower is located behind the Community Center, on the ocean side of Hwy 1, about 1.5 miles north of downtown Bodega Bay. Nicholas’ grave is in St. Teresa's cemetery in the nearby town of Bodega.

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Blue Whale Washes Ashore on Mendocino Coast

Photo credit Larry Wagner

This amazing photo of a 72' long blue whale was on the front page of our local newspaper today (click to enlarge it). Photographer Larry Wagner has several more shots of the whale posted in a gallery on the Press Democrat site.

Sadly, this gorgeous marine mammal washed ashore on Mon., Oct. 19, along the Mendocino coast, a few hours north of Bodega Bay. Authorities believe she was struck by a research vessel that was under contract to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to update maps of the ocean floor. The collision caused deep, fatal gashes in her side.

Whale researchers are using this rare event to conduct studies. Thor Holmes, curator of the vertebrate museum at Humboldt State University and a member of the California Marine Mammal Stranding Network, says this is a very big deal. Finding a whale carcass in good condition is rare, he said. Normally, whales die, sink and do not resurface until much later.

You can read more in the Press Democrat, they've carried several stories about about this tragic accident this week.

Larry Wagner is an incredible photographer, you can view his website here.

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Helicopter Rescues Man and Dog from Bodega Head Cliff

A man and his dog were rescued by helicopter from a Bodega Head cliff this weekend! I was out of town and missed all the action but I was not at all surprised when I heard the news. In fact I'm amazed it doesn't happen more often.

The newspaper reports didn't say exactly where it happened, but the photo above gives you an idea of just how close the trail runs to the edge of those cliffs (click to enlarge the photo) and in many places, it's a sheer drop down to the jagged rocks below. I've blogged about the hiking trails on Bodega Head before, you can see more photos here. It's often extremely windy out on the Head and I've marveled that people aren't blown off the cliffs on a regular basis.

In this case, it appears Bella, a one year old black labrador, fell off the edge and was stuck about 150 feet above the water. Bella's owner, 50 yr. old Gary Webb of Elk Grove, clambered down to rescue her and then he got stuck about 10 feet above her. Gary's wife was waiting above with their other dog and it took 40 minutes before she was able to flag down a passerby to summon help.

At last, the Sheriff’s Department helicopter, Henry 1, arrived on the scene. Using a long line and harness, they saved Bella first because she was in the most precarious position, then Gary. It must have been an incredible sight and I would have loved to have seen the rescuers in action. Miraculously, everyone escaped uninjured from the ordeal.

Bodega Head offers spectacular ocean views and is a gorgeous area to hike, but it is rugged and you have to exercise caution. Certainly keep dogs leashed (it's the law anyway) and don't get so darn close to the cliffs.

For more information:
Press Democrat
Sacramento Bee

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Salmon Creek Art Walk

I saw a sign out on Hwy. 1 in Bodega Bay today promoting the Salmon Creek Art Walk. It's coming up Sat. & Sun. Nov. 7 & 8, 10-5, just in time to start thinking about holiday gift-giving, right?

I found their website and it looks like they'll be offering a beautiful variety of art including pastels, stained glass, sculpture, cool handmade leather boots, and more. Established in 2001, apparently the Art Walk is highly regarded and has become "the premiere Sonoma Coast art event." I'll look forward to checking it out this year!

Salmon Creek is a small community one mile north of Bodega Bay, on the west side of Hwy. 1. For more information, call 707-875-9609.

Pampas Grass in Bodega Bay

I love pampas grass season in Bodega Bay. The beautiful thick, feathery plumes line both sides of Hwy. 1 and the surrounding hillsides as you wind down into town. You'll also find patches in other areas including this stretch of Westshore Rd. along Bodega Harbor.


The silky "featherduster" plumes start out as a pink-purple color then gradually turn a warm white. The stalks grow as high as 6-8 ft. and are surrounded by tall, thin, sticky, sharp leaves. In fact, they are so sharp, they're a barrier to animal movement and have been known to cut the hide of deer trying to walk through them!



Unfortunately pampas grass is not native and it's highly invasive throughout the California coast. Authorities have taken steps to eradicate this opportunistic grass and discourage people from planting it on their property. They say it's an aggressive colonizer that competes with native vegetation, displacing native coastal dunes and other shrubs.

I get it and I won't plant any in our yard, but you just can't help admiring the beauty of these majestic grasses blooming now in all their glory!