Strictly for the Birds!

We decided to explore some of Santa Rosa's outlying areas today and travelled north along Highway 1. Having passed Sebastapol we reached the tiny, but quaint, town of Bodega and stopped awhile. We parked on its Main Street and walked up to its church and one-time elementary school ..... which were key locations in Alfred Hitchcock's film 'The Birds!'

Later, over coffee, we were informed that we'd just missed-out on an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the film, which Tippi Hedren had attended. A couple of miles further on is Bodega Bay, which also featured prominently in the movie ...... the bay itself and 'the restaurant'. Continuing up the coast we discovered the small coastal town of Jenna by the Russian Rive Estuary. The coastline here is equally stunning to that near Monterey and the Bodega View residential estate (complete with its golf course and guarded entry road) is both unique and desirable!

Heading back to Santa Rosa we stopped at the latter's Historic District and with assistance from a very helpful lady at the Visitor Centre, we put a plan together for tomorrow. The Historic part of Downtown Santa Rosa is well preserved and albeit 'touristy' its not tacky! It is also home to the Shultz Museum!

We called at several antique shops there and were taken by a particular window display that bore a striking resemblance to a scene in the film 'Baby Jane' ..... the shop assistant laughed when we told her and was pleased that we'd picked-up on the cinematic reference! It seems that this whole area is steeped in Hitchcock folk-lore, so maybe a fitting piece of sixties music is needed, from the Markets.