Sleep. Eat. Drive. Repeat.: The Real Neighborhoods of Sonoma County

Having been to both Napa and Sonoma valleys at this point, I can say that these two famed wine country regions are indeed as romantic and inspiring in both summer and winter as every movie, Wine Spectator article, and travel blog would lead you to believe. And like any other tourist town swept up in its own legend, Sonoma has its public side and its lesser known nooks and crannies.

Boyes Hot Springs. Call it a neighborhood, call it a small town within a town, or call it what it is, a "census-designated place" used to organize the counting of people for the government. I say it's a good place to stay inexpensively (if you skip the resorts), eat well, and get a peek at the "real Sonoma".

I stayed at the Sonoma Creek Inn, just a quick walk from the main drag of Highway 12, and practically neighbors to one of the fancy resorts (Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa). It's on Boyes Boulevard, a simple, but frequently used road that connects 12 to Arnold Drive, another main north-south artery on the western side of the valley. The inn is a solid 2-star affair, but who needs much in the way of amenities when you're going to spend all your time (and money) in restaurants and wineries?

My room at the Sonoma Creek Inn. The door on the right leads out to a private wall-enclosed patio with two chairs, a bench, and a little fountain. And Boyes Blvd on the other side of the wall. But it was clean, bright, comfortable, and the tub drained well; and with free wifi, there's really not much more I could ask for.

Boyes Hot Springs is where people live, park their cars (sometimes in their yards, which are generally just big enough for a single car), and sometimes eat from taco trucks in random parking lots. They have olives shriveling on roadside trees, lemon trees in their gardens, and they don't always pick up after their dogs or take their baby strollers home after a day at the creek. They have dead winter roses still on the bush, Christmas decorations in their yards in January, and they eagerly pile into the local Creekside Cafe for breakfast, lunch, and weekend brunch served up by owner Mike and his very attentive (and fast!) staff. And I was very content to join them. This is the friendly, down-to-earth Sonoma that everyone always talks about but never bothers to go visit. Go. Visit. And stop into Creekside Cafe to get the eggs benedict on the weekends. So tasty.