Chowder Day 2008 in Bodega Bay

Saturday, February 9, 2008, sunshine and clear skies welcomed over 400 people, who came eagerly from surrounding areas to receive the maps that would guide them on their way to find the Best Chowder in Bodega Bay. This year three restaurants were nipping at the heels of last year’s winner…

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Dawn of Crab Season

As Orion's Belt gave way to Saturday morning's first light, dozens of Bodega Bay fishermen started the traditional boat parade out of Spud Point Marina, their vessels stacked with baited crab pots.

Local fisherman Tim Wallinger, taking advantage of a break in the wind, set the "string" on the last of his first 100 crab pots just before 11 a.m.…

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Filming “The Birds” in Bodega Bay by Alfred Hitchcock

After filming “Shadow of A Doubt” in Santa Rosa in 1948, Alfred Hitchcock returned to Sonoma County in 1961 to find a remote coastal location for his next project “The Birds.” He chose Bodega Bay, with surrounding bleak treeless hills, quiet fishing harbor and fog. Based on a short story by Daphne DuMaurier, the original story took place in an English seashore village where murderous birds attacked the local villagers…

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Chowder Day 2007 in Bodega Bay

Hundreds of northern Californians flocked to Bodega Bay last Saturday to taste the clam chowder at Chowder Day in Bodega Bay. Visitors were also pleased to have numerous gray whale spottings from Bodega Head with the assistance of the Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods and to take home the freshest Dungeness crab from local fishermen. A number of locals commented that they discovered new…

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Chowder Day 2006 in Bodega Bay

Hundreds of people from Sonoma County, many of whom were locals, the Bay Area, and the Sacramento area flocked to Bodega Bay last Saturday to taste the chowder despite what looked to be a gloomy rainy day. One fellow even came from Russia, looking for Beet Borsch, but was more than willing to try out the chowder.…

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Chowder Day 2005 in Bodega Bay

More than 500 visitors, from near and far, toured Bodega Bay on Saturday February 12th to taste and judge the clam chowder at six local restaurants. The Boathouse received the largest number of positive comments based on the hundreds of completed forms returned by the tasters. Very near to the top this year were the Tides Wharf and the new Spud Point Crab Company…

See the complete list and details click here.

GOING HOME AGAIN

The narrow road, winding through the hills to Bodega Bay, was less traveled then. The first glimpse of the bay, told you that you were almost home. Smiths Brothers, Lena and Andy’s Tides, past the old school house and Columbo’s ranch on the right…all familiar surroundings. Passing Merediths, waving to Amadao Formasi, and on up the road…Diekman’s store and post office, and around the bend to the Cliff House and Ottos. Yes you were home again!

This is the Bodega Bay I remember!

Some days there was thick fog, causing the old fog horn’s…

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Reach the Beach
New Shorttail Gulch Trail at Bodega Bay among new trails this hiking season

May 27, 2004
By GEORGE LAUER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Not everybody agrees on how it got its name, but most everyone who's walked it agrees Shorttail Gulch Trail in Bodega Bay is a welcome addition to the North Bay web of coastal access paths.

In the works for more than 30 years, the little trail on the southern edge of the Bodega Harbour subdivision opened earlier this month and provides access to previously hard-to-reach Shorttail Gulch Beach.

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See Whales Migrating Along the Sonoma Coast in Bodega Bay

The epic annual migration of gray whales from the Chukchi Sea off northern Alaska to the lagoons off the Baja peninsula of Mexico is visible from January through April. A great vantage point is the ocean overlook at Bodega Head and the whale watching boat trips in the local area.

Beginning January 3, 2004, every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 PM through April, with the exception of the Fisherman’s Festival and Easter Sunday, volunteers are at Bodega Head to point out migrating gray whales. The many whale watch volunteers, organized by Bea Brunn, are members of the Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods (formerly called the Stewards of Slavianka) and work in partnership with California State Parks to protect the natural and cultural resources of the Russian River District. The Stewards at Bodega Head will have displays about whales and answer your questions. If you wish to volunteer or contribute to the Stewards, call (707) 869-9177 or write P.O. Box 221, Duncans Mills, CA 95430.

What's So Special about Bodega?

A Letter to the Editor

I don't know if any one has ever told you how much Bodega means to them, but I thought I would try. My family started to visit Bodega in 1962. And excluding a couple years in Vietnam, we have continued the tradition in my family. The trips we took with my Mom and Dad will always be special. There were six kids, and money was always tight. But my Dad could always afford to get us to Bodega. When all of us kids grew up and started families of our own, we did not sacrifice the trips. In fact, the trips took on a more important role, as the only ones that could go were the adults (which was all of the kids and their spouses).

We started taking my Daughter the year she was born and have gone every year since. My Daughter is now 15, and looks forward to the trip every year. This trip for me will count as 42 years that I have come or migrated to Bodega. We lost my mother last year and the family trips have stopped. But for my family, and me the trips and the memories will go on forever. I deal with the bad side of mankind on a daily basis. Bodega has become more than a trip to me. It is a mindset that helps me through the tough times and allows me an inner piece that can only be found in Bodega.

The next time someone says, “What’s is so special about Bodega?” show them this. Thank you.

Schoolhouse last roost for 'The Birds' Museum among few Bodega sites left from Hitchcock film
Christine Delsol, Deputy Travel Editor SF Gate

Bodega Bay -- It could have been the ordinary malevolence of any sea gull stalking food. But the bird planted on a piling just outside the window... read article