Sonoma Family Adventures

Book Direct for a Better Trip; Save a Few Bucks too!

By: LuckyBendLookout April 20, 2020April 21, 2020

Grown Ups (Mostly), Local Advicebook direct, Guerneville, local advice, save money, travel, travel advice, vacation home, vacation rental3 Comments

A few years ago we had a traveling revelation that changed our approach to vacationing ever since. It was all thanks to booking direct and developing a relationship with the vacation home owner. We flew our family of four to the Yucatán to meet up with some friends to escape the cold wet winter weather.…

Three Different Road Trips Through Northern California to the Russian River

By: LuckyBendLookout February 14, 2020February 28, 2020

Family Travel, Itineraries, LocalvoreBodega Bay, foodie, Guerneville, Jenner, Point Reyes Station, Road Trip, Santa Rosa, Sausalito2 Comments

Its only an hour and twenty minutes to the Russian River but why race up there when it could take you all day? One of the things that we have come to love about the Russian River area is that vacation wonderland is so close, and most importantly, doesn’t include any travel on Interstate 80.…

Lucky Bend Lookout Goes Carbon Free

By: LuckyBendLookout February 3, 2020February 15, 2020

Grown Ups (Mostly)carbon-free, electrification, energy, geothermal power, remodel, Russian River, solar power, sustainability1 Comment

We finally made it! It took us four stages to take Lucky Bend Lookout from ramshackle shack to the eco-friendly splendor that it is now. We are starting 2020 with the final stage, 100% renewable energy from solar power during the day and geothermal power at night. No more guilt for cranking up the radiant…

Winter Warm-up with Russian River Wine

By: LuckyBendLookout January 20, 2020February 15, 2020

Family AdventuresCabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Russian River, Sonoma, Sonoma County, wine tasting, Winter, ZinfandelLeave a Comment

After the holiday travel rush, visiting family in all the different cities, lugging present-hyped children from one sugar-rush to the next, it is time for the parents to take a well-deserved break from the kiddos and relax with a glass of wine. One of the benefits of hosting the Lucky Bend Lookout vacation rental is…

Wine Events at the Heart of Russian River Winters

By: LuckyBendLookout January 10, 2020February 15, 2020

Family Adventures, Local Advicebarrel tasting, events, Holidays, Russian River, Sonoma County, taste 116, wine tasting, winter wineland4 Comments

Before we were blessed with children, we identified as wineauxs. Our domestic and international travel generally revolved around tasting wine in some exciting new wine region. Then kids. Over the years we have developed a few strategies keep the children entertained while we wine taste and we have found some great kid-friendly wineries. But alas,…

Six Best Winter Activities Along the Russian River with Kids

By: LuckyBendLookout January 6, 2020February 15, 2020

Family Adventures, Family Travel, Local Adviceevents, Hiking, Holidays, museums, Russian River, Sonoma County, wine tasting, Winter5 Comments

The Russian River area can be enjoyed by kids and adults all year round, even in the wintertime. You just have to know what to look for and that is why we decided to come up with a list of the six best kid friendly winter activities along the Russian River. The winter around here…

Russian River Girls Getaway Weekend

By: LuckyBendLookout September 3, 2019February 15, 2020

Grown Ups (Mostly), Itinerariesgetaway weekend, girls getaway, girls weekend, Guerneville, Hiking, ladies night, Russian River, shopping, spa, Tubing, wine tasting1 Comment

You know what? Being a supermom is exhausting! For me, life is a whirlwind of shuttling kids around, packing and unpacking for weekend adventures, oh, and trying to work too. My annual girl’s weekend is the beacon of tranquility that gets me through when it all seems too hectic. A few moments reminising about my…

Fresh Dungeness Crab in Bodega Bay, A Holiday Meal to Remember

By: LuckyBendLookout December 24, 2018December 10, 2020

Local Advice, LocalvoreBodega Bay, crab, Day trip from San Francisco, Day trip San Francisco, Day trip Sonoma, dungeness crab, Fall, Fresh & Local, Holidays, recipes, San Francisco Day Trip, Winter2 Comments

Turkey, ham, and prime rib may be the meal that comes to mind around the holidays but San Franciscan’s and Northern California chefs know that the easiest way to have an amazingly memorable holiday feast is with dungeness crabs fresh off the boat. Dungeness crab season varies each year but generally runs from November to…

Russian River Valley Wine Tasting by Bike Path, Take the Kids too!

By: LuckyBendLookout October 11, 2018February 15, 2020

Family Adventures, Itineraries, Localvoreberry picking, bicycling, butterflies, cider, farmer's market, foodie, ice cream, kids, Russian River, Sonoma County, wine tasting2 Comments

Before kids, our favorite wine tasting adventure was to rent a tandem bike at Spoke Folk Cyclery (201 Center St, Healdsburg) in Healdsburg and ride out on West Dry Creek Road and return by East Dry Creek Road. We always started with the west side because the narrow road with no shoulder didn’t leave much…

Gravenstein Apple Picking Adventure for the Whole Family

By: LuckyBendLookout October 4, 2018October 6, 2020

Family Adventures, Itineraries, Localvoreapple hill, apples, cider, gravenstein, recipes, Sebastopol, Sonoma County, U-pick3 Comments

After you get inspired by this post, check our special update for 2020 called Sonoma Apple Picking Adventures in 2020. What if you could enjoy all the apple goodness of Apple Hill without all the people, traffic, and that drive up I-80? Only an hour from San Francisco and 20 minutes from Guerneville and the…

A Mid-Century Gem in the Redwoods—Bring the Kids!

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