Taking Some Time in the Slow Lane

I'm a city girl. I was born in Tokyo, spent my formative years in Los Angeles, and lived in San Francisco for many years. What appeals to me about a metropolitan city is easy access to all things cultural, the diversity of the people and, of course, the variety of food available any time, any day of the week.

But lately I'm starting to feel like a tiny fish in a gigantic ocean here in Los Angeles, and sometimes I think I might be happier someplace else. Call it a pre-midlife crisis or a nagging itch, but my life here is starting to feel too predictable. It's hard to meet people in this hectic city, and sometimes I feel like I'll still be here, in the same apartment, doing the same things, five years from now. Since I travel a lot for work, I've had the opportunity to explore a number of places in the last couple of years, and every time I return home from a trip I think I've found my new home. Last year, it was New Zealand. Before that, it was Italy. But when I start to think of the details of living in a foreign country, it's exhausting. The cost, the language, the distance away from family and friends - too much, too far, too extreme.

So right now, the day after I've returned home from a long weekend in Sonoma, I'm thinking I may have found my new home. Keep in mind it's only been a day and I am well aware of the fact that I might just come back down to earth and change my mind in a few weeks. But right now, at this very moment, I'm kind of loving the idea.

My friends Dan and Jess, who I visited in Forestville on Thursday, love their life away from the big city. They've got their gigantic porch, their big dogs and a creek running through their front yard. They took me to their local pub, Stumptown, and we shot some pool and drank some really good local wine. We had dinner at Ace Cider House, and feasted on barbecued oysters and curried chicken pie. We took a walk around the woodsy neighborhood and saw the most amazing sunset, and later, huge stars in the sky.

Of course, as a city girl, there are things that scare me. There seem to be more bugs up there. Nighttime is dark - I mean pitch black - and the roads can be narrow and enveloped by ditches that would surely swallow me up if I accidentally turned the steering wheel one inch in the wrong direction. There's definitely a gun-rack element up there, but there are also a lot of intelligent, kind and down-to-earth types as well.

The thing I liked most about Sonoma County is that people know each other. I know that people in small towns often complain about this, but I like it. There's a sense of community that has been impossible to find here in Los Angeles, and a feeling of opportunity because of it. People seem genuinely interested in helping each other out and to bettering the community. All of that makes the bugs and dark nights seem easier to tolerate.

For breakfast, we ate at Pat's Restaurant, a tiny divey diner in Forestville. The local fisherman and farmhands meet here daily for the restaurant's housemade donuts and danishes (served with a side of whipped butter, no joke). It was cozy and friendly and the food was solid, much like the community it serves. I'll give it some time, but maybe, just maybe, this city girl can find what she's looking for in the country...stay tuned.