
You may not be aware, but Sonoma County has a fully-functioning airport located in Santa Rosa where you can hop on a plane and head to Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas or LA, without the hassle of dealing with the San Francisco or Oakland airports. While we know there’s more than enough to do right here in our backyard (our 100 Reasons are just a start), it is nice to escape every now and again, and even nicer without taking the Airport Shuttle for two hours or paying for Park n’ Fly.
Aside from catching your flight, the Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport is actually a destination in and of itself. You can head over to the Sky Lounge, open 7-days a week, and watch private jets, hot air balloons, helicopters and other aircraft come and go. With an outdoor patio located along the runway, you’ll be up close for the action. And trust us; this isn’t your normal airport fare. The Sky Lounge is an American style steakhouse with a delicious dinner menu, affordable lunch and delightful breakfast. There’s even a raw bar. In fact, the only peanuts you’ll see are the comic strips, statues and other memorabilia decorating the airport in honor of its namesake.

And once a year, aviation buffs from all over descend on the Charles M. Schulz Airport for the Pacific Coast Air Museum’s Wings Over Wine Country Air Show, the largest air show in Northern California. Visitors to the Air Show can actually climb aboard a jet fighter, walk through a cargo plane, and get close up to historical aircraft, as well as enjoy kid friendly events and a car show. The 2010 Air Show includes flight demonstrations from the US Air Force’s F-15E “Strike Eagle” team, the US Navy’s F/A-18F “Hornet” team, and many others, plus an aerobatic racing challenge. You can read more about the 2010 Wings Over Wine Country Air Show in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
In addition to the Air Show, the Pacific Coast Air Museum operates both an indoor museum with exhibits, photos
and artifacts, as well as an outdoor museum with contemporary and antique aircraft on display – some of which you can even climb aboard. Docent tours are open to school children and there are also additional classes and activities.
Sonoma County is an amazing spot for those interested in aviation – both the history, as well as modern commercial flights. And if you really want to be a part of the action, you can even attend flight school.
Follow along as the full list unfolds – 100 Reasons Why We Love Where We Live
Follow the reasons on Facebook
Photos taken by Jack Snell
Posted by:
Frank Howard Allen Realtors






Sonoma County is an outdoor wonderland. With several regional and national parks, there are countless activities to partake in and trails to embark on. One of our favorite activities is to hike the Good Speed trail

In addition to homebuyers, the North Bay attract
Mrs. Grossmans Sticker Factory: 

Frank Howard Allen Realtors
Right now it seems as though everyone has World Cup fever and the buzzing sounds of the South African vuvuzela horn are taking the planet by storm. As it turns out, we have a bit of Africa right here in our own backyard. Giraffes, gazelles, zebras and hundreds of other animals inhabit 



Judy Freedman





Jennifer Masterson
It’s the hap-, happi- est time of the year! I know you’re thinking that I’m nuts, we just got over that crazy holiday season.
The weather is warming up and the brew pubs are beckoning. Sonoma County serves up amazing wines, we know, but as the old saying goes…”it takes a lot of beer to make great wine.” Winemakers, and just plain old folks alike know that sometimes there’s nothing better than a cold one.



Spring Break for school-age kids is almost here. So what are you going to do while your kids are out of school? Some folks may travel but many of us will take advantage of what is at our fingertips and enjoy a stay-cation right here in the North Bay.



Now this was our third attempt at 

On the financial front, our own Petaluma based
Spring has officially arrived! An acquaintance once asked me what time of year was my favorite in Sonoma County. That’s a tough question, as I find such delight in all of the seasons. However, if I were to choose, it would be spring time.
According to
This being recently reported, each property situation may be less ordinary and more unique from the median and averages calculated or forecasted by
I have been a participant of
The outcome is amazing – shy trembling dogs with their tails and ears down turn into superstars quickly as they run through the course. Their chests puff out, their tails and ears go up as the dogs achieve success on the course. And it is designed in such a way that all dogs will be successful, even if they only do one or two obstacles. For more advanced dogs, they are constantly being challenged – as they come off one obstacle, there will be two new obstacles in front of them and they have to go to the one we either point to or call out. The dogs and the handlers have to pay attention. In fact, the most important thing I have learned in dog agility is – it’s all about the handler – when I get confused, mess up commands or fail to point in a timely fashion, the dog gets confused and doesn’t know what to do. So it is really not about the dog – I think dogs have a natural inkling to agility – it’s the handlers that slow them down. Sort of like raising kids – the importance of clear direction.
The weather is cloudy, rainy and gloomy…. Yes, we’re grateful for the rain – all of it! However, if you’re in need of some fun, the next two weekends are just what the doctor ordered! 
There truly are so many great things to love about the North Bay, which encompasses Marin, Sonoma, and Napa counties. Folks travel far and wide to visit our towns and here we are with all sorts of fun things to do right in our very own backyards. I feel so blessed and each weekend my family and I try to venture outside and enjoy the beautiful landscape that surrounds us.


As I mentioned in my

During the celebration, you can view the altars made by locals to honor their dead. Families make altars and place ‘ofrendas’ (offerings) of food, fruit, candles, yellow marigolds and photos of the deceased. Each of these is a work of art. Wonderful and unique – some quite plain, and some so incredibly elaborate you will think they’ve been working on them all year – you may be right! There will be over 50 altars in shop windows, building walkways and tucked away in unusual spots. You can find a list of the altars in numerous locations downtown or at the
Petaluma is full of parks and walking paths. One of my favorite Petaluma parks is
Other favorite parks include the Oak Hill Park located at Oak and Howard Streets which includes a great playground, an off-leash dog park,
Petanque courts as well as a labyrinth.
If you’re looking for something savory,
My husband and I live in Petaluma and each year we shoot to have a productive garden, as do most of our friends. It’s late September and all of the gardens I have seen in the past few weeks are producing amazing crops and everyone seems eager to share in the bounty.


My very favorite event in Petaluma happens twice each year—the semi-annual
There is as much an art as there is a science to buying luxury properties in our wine making region that offers such a special quality of life. Early in my real estate career I naturally looked beyond handling traditional “in town” property sales. I was attracted to the reasons why several buyers looked beyond the traditional reasons to purchase property.
s that for the love of horses, ranches, and scenic rural property.
Santa Rosa takes great pride in its historic neighborhoods and has taken steps to preserve certain districts within the City for historical purposes. There are currently eight such designated historic neighborhoods and the integrity of the designation is overseen by the Cultural Heritage Board, an all volunteer board appointed by City Council and overseen by the City’s Department of Community Development. 

It’s not exactly the New York City big apple or the Napa Valley, yet. Sonoma County’s biggest city is about to get its own, however, much like the national attention for long distance running events reserved for marathons from Maui, to San Francisco, and to Chicago.
to launch here takes place on August 30th, 2009. The design and passion behind the upcoming event originated with Arthur Webb, a 67 year old veteran distance runner who has finished the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon 10 times over, 9 times within the 60 hour race time limit.
This is Joey’s rose. Well, it used to be. It’s right at nose level, and the first time Joey saw it he actually stopped and smelled the rose. No, I’m not kidding! He looked back at me like he was saying “Did you see this, Mom”. Then he hopped like he does when he gets really excited, and he had a pep to his step as we went further into the back yard to…you know. For days every time we went to the backyard he would stop and sniff.
Last Saturday, I spent some of my day standing in the rain at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts at the Finish of the Wine Country Century, a showcase ride of northwest Sonoma County put on each year by the Santa Rosa Cycling Club. My fellow cycling aficionado and I were promoting the return of the Amgen Tour of California (ATOC) (premier professional cycling race in
Cycling enthusiasts have long recognized Sonoma County as a premier destination – it’s hard to beat the combination of spectacular scenery, back roads, variable terrain, and a public that is becoming more conscious and respectful. The cycling community is a dynamic one attracting people, businesses, low-impact use of the environment, creating a health-conscious and highly social subculture.
It’s all true, everything you have imagined and dreamed about the ultimate getaway can be found at our very own
qualities of topical treatments are used for a variety of Spa treatments. Vinotherapy is incorporated by the Spa with custom made products, including red wine extracts, Chardonnay and Riesling oils, and formulated elements to promote healing, revitalization, and relaxation.


Sonoma’s wine making region celebrated its annual Passport to Dry Creek Valley wine tasting event this past weekend. The annual event showcases over 50 wineries and over 150 vineyards of Dry Creek Valley, which is a fine way to get intimate with this appellation. Along with the special weekend events including live entertainment, outdoor cookouts, and fine foods are of course—the unique tastings.
This weekend was the Dry Creek Valley Passport wine tasting. 45 wineries opened their doors for the annual event highlighting the magic of the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County. We tasted old vintages, component, and barrel tastings at Amphora Winery, De LaMontanya, Family Wineries, Kokomo Wines, Papapietro Perry, Passalacqua Winery, Peterson Winery and A. Rafanelli Winery.

The De LaMontonya Winery featured DeVines Pizza catering, wonderful wines, and music from the 60’s with a hippie look.
With the local food movement’s growing popularity many people are discovering what Sonoma County residents have known for a long time – Sonoma County has fresh local produce, cheese, seafood and meat all year long. In fact, Santa Rosa’s Farmer’s Market is twice a week, every Wednesday and Saturday, rain or shine, at the Veteran’s Building east parking lot.
It is officially Spring and gardens are popping up everywhere in Sonoma County. Trees are blooming, vines are budding and daffodils are shiny bright. It’s time for the summer gardeners to start weeding, tilling and planning their season’s fruits and vegetables. I say summer gardeners because the serious gardeners had their plans set in motion long ago and have been working their gardens all winter. The rest of us seem to start from scratch each year, figuring out how many tomatoes to plant and what other fruits and vegetables might be good to go along with them, or more accurately, what the kids might be enticed to eat.
No matter which camp you are in this year it is a virtual bonanza for gardening. The White House is doing it, San Francisco City Hall is doing it, the neighborhood school is doing it, growing your own food is not only economical and environmentally friendly, it is now cool.
Contact Us






