Bodega Bay is one of the many scenic stops on the 76-mile Pacific coastline of Sonoma County in northern California. Photo by Gene Korte

Located 30 miles north of San Francisco and next door to the Napa Valley, this area is home to more than 400 wineries, fine Northern California cuisine — flavorful, local, often organic — and miles of dramatic Pacific coastline.

In mid-December, the leaves are just turning colors, temps are in the high 60s and the sky is sunny. And that’s the winter forecast every year, with a tad bit of rain added for variety. Fortunately for visitors, this is also the off-season. So there’s a lot of scenery in and around vineyards, bargains in its many restaurants and small hotels and not much traffic, (www.sonomacounty.com).

For those travelers who come to do more than wine and dine, there are bike and hiking trails, golf courses and state parks, including Jack London State Historic Park (www.jacklondonpark.com), named for one of California’s most famous writers.

For art of a different kind, visit the sculptures on Florence Avenue in Sebastopol. They are one-of-a-kind treasures. It’s there you’ll find the whimsical creations of Patrick Amiot. It seemed every house on that street had one of the sculptures in its front yard. As we turned the corner onto Florence, we had one of those “oh look” moments and suspect many other visitors do, too. See an interview with the artist at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN0neVpHSO0/

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