Wednesday, June 1, 2011

The Birds & Bodega Bay

"Hang on," I say and slam on the brakes. "That looks just like the school house from The Birds!"





It is. The very one, located inconspicuously in the teeny village of Bodega which is 5 miles from the actual Bodega Bay where much of Hitchcock's The Birds was shot.

We turn around and go back, park out front and take a look around. The old school house is now a private residence, but it looks just like it does in the movie. Beside it is the old church which also appeared on screen.





"Hey, look at all those big crows gathering over there," I say to Jenn.

She doesn't think that's very funny...





After looking around in the village, we finish the drive over to the coast and stop at the Bodega Bay Visitor's Centre where Brad (originally from the Big Apple) has us sorted in a New York minute. 'Here's where to stay, here's where to eat, here are the hikes. Here's the Hitchcock sites.' I notice an ad in the centre advertising a personal appearance by Tippi Hedron, the star of The Birds, shaking hands and saying hello over the Memorial Day Weekend right here in Bodega Bay. Damn it, we're a day late! Now, that would have been something special to see!

Brad sets us up with a room in the okay-for-a-night Bodega Bay Inn and then we head down to Spud Marina for one of the county famous crab sandwiches. But, it's the delicious peppery clam chowder that gets us going back for seconds!







Fortified, we cross the bay to the ocean side (just like Tippi in the movie!)




From there we can walk around the bluff trail, taking in the wildflowers, the ocean views and listening to the sea lions wail out on the rocks. Noisy buggers!













We spot a deer hopping about in the long grass and several fishing boats coming in from a long day of work out on the water.

Bodega is beautiful, but little do we know it's just the starting point for a stunning California dreamin' drive up the Sonoma County Coast.

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