I always have mixed feelings coming back to the US. While its perfect highways and well maintained roads make you proud, they also make you a little sad. Life is just too perfect here.
Petaluma is only 40 miles, 50 minutes away from San Francisco.
The drought is definitely felt in here; the green color is mostly missing this winter.
Finally at the brewery.
Beer production left-overs are stored in the brown tank and are taken to Oakland by the green trucks.
Barrel aged beer is only sold at the brewery.
But before getting wasted we decided to take a tour of the city.
A new friend?
Nice house.
California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) can mostly grow anywhere.
Lucchesi Park (The Central Park, 38° 15' 10.032" N 122° 37' 55.11" W)
You can definitely feel that at Petaluma...
Not really that close to a beach, but ...
A reminder to file taxes?
The old train station.
Getting close to the downtown.
Despite mediocre reviews on Yelp, Cafe des Croissants had the best croissants in the Northern CA.
Strawberry jam croissant!
And finally the downtown (a walking distance from the brewery - 3.5 miles).
The rumor is that Petaluma used to have some good brothels.
A little bit of weed smoking...
And of course a GMO-Free seed bank.
Apparently arm wrestling championships have their origins at Petaluma.
Guava mango kombucha from the local Whole Foods store was delicious.
Hallowen in February...
And some Bikram Yoga for only $50 a month, unlimited.
Back to the brewery. All the equipment comes from Germany.
The tours are free and fun. The smell of yeast, hops, and brewing is great!
The guide was hilarious. To make his story short - no good beer can be created without good weed.
And the sunset at the brewery.
They love kids there ...
And are dog friendly.
At the taproom you get peanuts, pretzels, and fresh water for the free!
The sampler is definitely the best deal. For $4.5 you get 16 ounces of great beer.
The $6 hummus plate was nice but small.
So we decided to try some vegan food at Lydia's Lovin' Foods (38° 16' 41.79" N 122° 40' 23.442" W)
A $15 dollar burger was made of two delicious buckwheat pancakes, mushrooms, a beet vegetarian burger, a tomato, and some lettuce.
