Page:The Tourist's California by Wood, Ruth Kedzie.djvu/180

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

146 THE TOURIST'S CALIFORNIA San Rafael Petaluma Santa Rosa Rus- sian River and Coast Resorts. A tri-cornered, 150-mile trip scheduled by the North- western Pacific begins at the San Francisco wharf early every morning and terminates there in the evening. The return fare is $2.20 to $2.80, according to the day of the week. The route is: San Francisco - Sausalito - San Ra- fael - Petaluma - Santa Rosa -Fulton, west to Guerneville and Monte Rio, south to Tomales - Point Reyes station - Sausalito. North of Santa Rosa the road continues into Mendocino and Humboldt Counties. By motor, Sausalito - Petaluma - Ukiah - Willits - Dyer- ville (or Ukiah - Mendocino -Dyerville) -Eureka -Oregon line, 434-454 miles. San Rafael is a rather haughty though thor- oughly lovely Mistress of Flowers. Cypresses, latticed retreats, pergolas, tree balconies, musical rivulets compose her hill-side domain. Her name descends from the hospital Mission of Saint Raphael the Archangel, established in this sheltered valley in 1817, and commemorated to- day by two or three lonely pear trees which, like the still fruitful olive trees of San Diego, were planted by the Brothers of St. Francis. Petaluma is the richest town in the prosperous County of Sonoma. It is known to California as the birth-place of many who became rich through various enterprises. But Petaluma the name is Indian for " duck pond " is most widely known as an incubator of baby cocks and hens. For twelve months in the year the world's most pro-