Benziger Family Winery, Quarryhill Botanical Garden and Jack London State Park are all stops in the Glen Ellen Green Tour, an in-depth look at three beautiful destinations with a shared commitment to environmental practices.

Each stop includes a docent-led tour, but don’t fear the tedious, TMI lecture that will drone you to sleep on your feet.

The pace will keep it moving with time to take in the natural unpolished beauty of the northern Sonoma Valley.

The tour starts at 10:30 a.m at Quarryhill, a 25-acre natural garden grown from seeds collected in the wilds of Asia. Winding paths pass among flowering shrubs and exotic trees.  Begun in 1987, the sprawling garden set among the ponds of an old quarry, is a preserve  for rare and endangered plants.

At noon the tour stops by Jack London State Historic Park, where a picnic lunch will be served followed by a guided tour focusing on the innovative farming practices of London’s “Beauty Ranch” as well as a look inside the cottage where he lived with his wife Charmian and wrote many of his famous novels.

Jack London State Historic Park

The tour ends at Benziger Family Winery, for a close-up look at their Biodynamic vineyards, fermentation  facility, crush pad and barrel caves. It ends with a special wine tasting.

At $59, the 4 1/2 hour tour, which includes lunch, is a fair deal, even for locals, when you consider the cost of visiting each site individually: $15 for a guided tour of Quarryhill, $14 for parking and admission to the cottage at Jack London, without a tour, and $25 for a basic tour and tasting at Benziger. (Try finding lunch in Glen Ellen for $5).

Reservations must be made two weeks in advance. You can make a lunch selection when you book. There are three choices, including a vegetarian option. Book at jacklondonpark.com.

The centerpiece of the festivities falls on the first weekend of summer with Gay Wine Weekend 2015. Three days of parties are on tap, including a Twilight T-Dance Saturday night June 20 at Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma ($80), a Sunday pool soiree at MacArthur Place ($30), a Gay Wine Auction and Recovery Brunch at MacArthur Place on Sunday with proceeds going to Face to Face HIV/AIDS network and a business expo all three days.

The Gay Wine Weekend is the brainchild of Mark Vogler, a former Internet executive and wine industry veteran, and Gary Saperstein, a Sonoma local with 25 years experience in high-end wine country hospitality. The pair co-founded Out in the Vineyards to promote upscale social activities for LGBT visitors in The Wine Country.

Other Sonoma Valley events in honor of Gay Pride include a Young Sonoma party for millenials that teams Envolve Winery vintners Danny Fay and Kate Benziger with Glen Ellen Star chef Ari Weiswasser for a food and wine pairing event and an All Ladies Dinner at The Girl and the Fig hosted by winemaker Theresa Heredia. Both are slated for June 19.

Ramekins Culinary School and La Crema Wines are collaborating on June 19 on a hands-on dinner experience with La Crema Wine Ambassador Maria Esteva. For $125 guests get to help prepare their own meal and consume it at the private restaurant The General’s Daughter.

Look for other June travel perks as well, including a June Pride Package for $249 at the Sonoma Valley Inn that includes winery passes, a mssage discount, gourmet toffees and more. For more information visit sonomavalley.com/lesbian-gay-bi-transgender-sonoma.html.

The village that lives somewhere on the sweet spot between upscale and down home, is showing up on multiple lists usually preceeded by a superlative like “best” or “most.”

The lastest “Best” list to include Healdsburg comes from Smithsonian Magazine, which named it one of the “20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2014.”

Healdsburg was ranked No. 2, bested only by Chautauqua, N.Y., a shady magnet each summer for travelers in seach of culture.

The former “buckle of the prune belt,” positioned at the confluence of the Russian, Alexander and Dry Creek grape-growing valleys, was singled out as “farm-to-table via Nirvana.  Last year the magazine picked the Civil War shrine Gettysburg, Pa., as No.1, followed by the Mississippi Delta town of Cleveland.

So if you were putting together a “Best Small Towns” list for the North Coast, which villages would you choose? Most towns in the region are small, and each boasts it’s own singular and often quirky character.  A few of my favorites include Ferndale, a Victorian throwback in Humboldt County, Guerneville for its no-airs appeal on a hot summer day and Calistoga, which still wears its Old West spurs beneath a shiny veneer of Wine Country polish.

Trixie never fails to greet visitors with a smile at The Sebastiani Theatre (Photo: Erik Castro/for The Press Democrat)

Readers of a leading travel magazine say that Sonoma is one of the friendliest cities in America.

In Conde Nast Traveler’s annual Readers Choice Survey, Sonoma placed ninth in the top 10 list of amiable cities.

It’s a nice nod for Sonoma, which was snubbed recently by Travel and Leisure, which included Healdsburg but not Sonoma in its more subjective list of “America’s Most Beautiful Town Squares.”

Will Rohnert Park may take issue? After all, it has long claimed the moniker of  “The Friendly City” with a landmark highway sign to remind motorists.

Southern towns, long known for their hospitality, dominated the “Friendliest” list.

Other cities more likely to greet you with a smile rather than a scowl, according to Conde Nast readers, are Branson, Mo., Telluride Co., Natchez and Jackson Miss., Austin, Tex., Asheville, N.C., Savannah, Ga., and Gallena, Ill.

Inn at Sonoma adds eight rooms

The Inn at Sonoma has expanded into an adjoining building, adding eight rooms for visitors who like to be near the action on The Plaza.
The new rooms are located in an annex along Broadway, giving the boutique hotel, which is set back off the road, a visible curbside presence it lacked.
All the rooms have their own fireplace, an iPod dock and flat panel TV. Most also feature private balconies or patios. And if you’re out for a romantic getaway, the king rooms sport jetted spa tubs.
Called “The Vintner’s Cottage Rooms,” the new accommodations are in a newer building that looks like it’s been around for a century. Designed by Sonoma architect Vic Conforti, it neatly melds with the vintage architecture along Broadway.
Designer Shirley Jensen of Forget Me Nots in Carmel, designed the rooms to have a contemporary look in soothing earth tones.
The Inn at Sonoma is managed by Four Sisters Inns, which also manage The Gaige House in Glen Ellen, The Sonoma Creek Inn near the Sonoma Mission Inn and the Healdsburg Inn on the Plaza.
The Inn at Sonoma is a smart value in an expensive town, offering full breakfast buffets, afternoon wine and hors d’oeuvres, a daily newspaper, freshly baked cookies, wireless Internet connection, an outdoor hot tub and bicycles.
The inn is only a couple of blocks from The Plaza, nice if you want to enjoy the tasting rooms and dine out without worrying about parking or driving. The address is 630 Broadway..
Rooms rent for $220 to $315 a night for two depending on the room and date. Innatsonoma.com.

After the grapes come the olives and this year is delivering a bumper crop –more than double the stingy harvest of 2011. 

The olive harvest, like the wine crush, is celebrated for several months, building up to a crescendo in February. It makes Sonoma a nice destination for North Coasters looking for a good one-tank trip to a destination that also promises things to do.

Special tastings about in Sonoma Valley throughout the month, and peaking with the  Season Finale during President’s Day Weekend Feb. 15-18 with pecial olive themed events, cooking classes, seminars and artisan markets, not to mention olive infused spa treatments and lodging packages.

One of the best values we’ve seen is The Inn at Sonoma, whic is offering an Olive Season special starting at $135 a night.  This little find is tucked off the road on Broadway literally steps from The Plaza. Its low profile belies the quality. The Inn at Sonoma is part of the Four Sisters Inns, a boutique chain of scrupulously maintained hotels and inns.

 TripAdvisor ranks this off-the-radar inn No. 3 in popularity in Sonoma,  proof that value is valued as much — or more — than luxury in these tight economic times.

Valid through Feb. 13, the special, good for mid week,  includes breakfast for two and wine and hors d’oeuvres in the afternoon. Like all Four Sisters Inns, the 19-room Sonoma hotel offers comforts like fresh backed cookies and a fulll breakfast buffet. It’s located at 630 Broadway. Innatsonoma.com or 888-568-9818.

If you’re in search of more luxury, the Lodge at Sonoma Renaissance Report and Spa at Broadway and Leveroni Road is offering one night Olives &Vines packages that include a menu of extras, incuding a room upgrade, $100 spa credit, wine tasting for two at Bean & Bottle at the inn and two olive oil tastings, one with Exexutive Chef Andrew Wilson at the lodge’s own Carneros Bistro & Wine Bar. There’s also a welcome gift. Rates start at $334 weekdays and $364 weekends. The package is good through Feb. 28.  888-614-1750.

The Silverado Resort and Spa’s “Be Our Valentine” package includes breakfast for two, sparkling wine, chocolate covered truffles and a great location near the Silverado Trail, for $269 a night. Less mid-week. 1600 Atlas Peak Road, Napa. 257-0200.
An even better deal can be found at The Beazley House, an arts and crafts mansion in downtown Napa for those who like to walk to restaurants and attractions. Rooms start at $195 and guests can bring another significant “other,” their beloved Fido, at no extra charge. Sparkling wine comes with the room. 800-559-1649.

Getaway with your honey or gather a flash mob of single friends at the Chelsea Garden Inn. Their Chien Blanc Bungalows in the heart of Calistoga are booking for $225 on Feb. 13 and half off for Feb. 14. Dogs also are welcme for a $15 fee. 942-1515.