Bodega Bay Rentals, LLC

Blue Water Paddle Race 2018 in Bodega Bay

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Blue Water Paddle Race 2018

 

I hope to be on hand to witness this event. I wish I had some practice to be a part of it as my pooch and I are always on the beach!  This will be the 7th Annual Blue Water Paddle Race at Doran Beach but first I’ve heard of it..probably because I’m not a paddle boarder.  I’ve always wanted to try stand up paddle boarding (SUP).  I’m especially keen on watching the Pet-with-Adult division race.  Looks like the overall event supports the Sonoma Coast Surfrider’s efforts to keep the beaches clean and local businesses have donated prizes towards a big raffle.

RACE DAY SCHEDULE FOR OCTOBER 6, 2018

8:30 am – Check-in and registration
9:45 am – Mandatory Skipper’s Meeting
10:00 am – Racing begins
Noonish – Lunch begins
1 – 2:30 pm – Raffle and awards

Please bring a reusable water bottle.  One of the goals of Surfrider is clean beaches and nothing messes up a beach like single use plastic.

More info at: https://paddleguru.com/races/SonomaCoastSurfriderBlueWaterPaddleRace2018

 

 

Sonoma County Regional Parks – Water Bark Park

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Sonoma County Regional Parks includes many beautiful parks and beaches to hike and play throughout the county.  With more than 50 to choose from, there is always something fun going on.  Currently at Spring Lake Regional Park on weekends the Lagoon is closed to people but open to dogs on the weekends.  The Spring Lake Lagoon water has been treated and is tested weekly.  The entire Lagoon is fenced off and the entry/exit is by supervised gate making it a great place for the dogs to RUN free. Water Bark is a GREAT day for dogs to romp, swim and catch with other well-behaved dogs.  My family has been taking our pups for years.  We stay hours at a time and they just LOVE it.  Here is a link with more info: https://parks.sonomacounty.ca.gov/Play/Calendar/Water-Bark-Dog-Swim-2018-09-22/ Be sure and check dates.  Usually runs Sat/Sun thru Sept with occasional hour/date changes due to pre-scheduled events.

Local pet businesses sponsor providing biscuits, buckets of tennis balls and frisbee’s. There are even lifeguards patrolling the lake.

Families staying in our Pacific View home that allows dogs, great way to socialize your pet while family members tour Santa Rosa or walk the Spring Lake trail.  There are also water craft rentals as well for families with kids.  Spring Lake also runs a grill that sells drinks/burgers/hot dogs, etc.

The Sonoma County Regional Parks pass that I leave in both Pacific View and Gull Harbour will get you into Spring Lake Park bypassing the parking fee.  There is a small fee to enter the water bark lagoon area per pet.

California Coastal Cleanup Day

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Join millions across this beautiful planet on Saturday, September 15, 2018 from 9AM-12PM Noon at the 34th Annual Coastal Cleanup Day!  Volunteer Appreciation Picnic: 1Pm-3PM. My kids & I have done this cleanup in the past and we are always amazed with the amount of debris dredged up from the sand.

Click here for information

Volunteers will be working Doran Park, Bird Walk Coastal Access Trail, Pinnacle Gulch Trail, Steelhead Beach Park, Cloverdale Park and Gualala Point Regional Park.

How to Register:

Sonoma County Regional Parks

Contact Volunteer Coordinator, John Ryan by email at john.ryan@sonoma-county.org or by phone at (707) 565-3356 to volunteer at the following parks in Sonoma:

Coastwalk registration links:

See you there!

Save $$ when booking vacation homes by BOOKING DIRECT!

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If you’ve been searching for vacation homes on the internet you’ve probably seen a HUGE discrepancy in pricing.  The biggest change in years gone by is the promotion of booking fee’s by companies like Airbnb, VRBO.com, HomeAway, TripAdvisor and booking.com.  These fee’s are not insignificant adding an additional 9-20% surcharge over the rental rate which translates to buyers spending hundreds of dollars more just for utilizing these big websites.  With a little digging, travelers can avoid these fees and often get a better experience overall.

This link from Rentivo is one of the best I’ve found to describe FEE’S and how to avoid them with examples from the big sites: Airbnb/Homeaway.  Save $.  Do a bit of research and find owners of vacation homes directly.  Many like myself, have been in the business 18+ yrs and want our guests to SAVE $!

Guest Service Fee’s Explained

Travel Tip created by Deb & furball Tony in association with Vacation Soup

Sonoma Canopy Tours FUN!

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Sonoma Canopy Tours is located off the Northern California coast deep in the Redwood Forests of Occidental.  Experience a beautiful scenic tour involving multiple zip lines, sky bridges, a majestic spiral staircase, and a rappel to the forest floor.  Reservations required. Experience Day Flights and the new CHALLENGER flight! Enjoy the new Night Flight Tours on Saturday nights! Same great Forest Flight Course under the night sky…moon and stars!

Requirements:  each person must be at least 10 years of age and 70 lbs, the maximum weight is 250 pounds. Check out the link for additional info: Sonoma Canopy Tours.

Picture is my girlfriends and I after a fun filled morning riding the lines. The guides are great, funny and impart quite a bit of history of the area into the experience. Read google or yelp reviews. A fun experience for friends and/or families!

Travel Tip created by Deb & furball Tony in association with Vacation Soup

Feeding Frenzy of birds off Doran Beach

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Our walk on Doran Beach today involved a great many birds up and down the beach.  There were two large areas where birds were feeding.  I’ve never seen so many birds in all my walks.  The beach was quite littered with seaweed and different sized crabs here and there.  I could see the birds diving into the water and bringing up small fish.  There was a feeding frenzy going on.  I walked the length of beach and back and they were still at it 90 minutes later.  Few fishing boats in the area seemed to be following the birds on/off.  It was fun to watch and the pup was enthralled.

 

Travel Tip created by Deb & furball Tony in association with Vacation Soup