A Weekend Escape That Became Home - Craig Adryan
Craig’s Sonoma Journey
This is the second of three stories about Craig’s relationship with Sonoma.
🟩 Chapter 1: I Visited Sonoma for 50 Years
🟥 Chapter 2: A Weekend Escape That Became Home (You are reading this story.)
🟦 Chapter 3: Helping Sonoma Travel the World
Click the story title above to continue Craig’s journey as he builds a life in Sonoma while helping friends and neighbors explore the world.
A Weekend Escape That Became Home begins below.
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For nearly fifty years, Sonoma was my getaway. It started with free wine tastings as a young Navy officer stationed on Treasure Island. Later it became the place my wife and I escaped to from San Francisco. Eventually we realized we weren’t just visiting anymore—we wanted to live here. Fifteen years later, I still think we made the right decision.
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I grew up in the Midwest, earned a Navy scholarship, and my first duty station was Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. Like a lot of young Navy officers, we spent our free weekends exploring Northern California.
Before long, we discovered Sonoma.
Back then, wine tasting was free. We drove up in my rust-red 1955 Chevrolet convertible, climbed Trinity Road, and found little family wineries that sold wine by the jug. One family took a liking to a group of young ensigns. The woman would make us sandwiches and chips, we’d spend the afternoon drinking wine on their porch, and eventually we’d point the old Chevy back toward San Francisco.
That was my introduction to Sonoma.
After my Navy years, I settled in San Francisco. Whether I was dating or later married, Sonoma became our favorite weekend escape. If friends came to visit, we’d bring them here. It had beautiful scenery, wonderful wineries, and none of the crowds that people associate with wine country today.
Eventually my wife and I bought a small rental house on Thano Lane. Officially, we owned it as an investment property. Unofficially, it gave us a perfect excuse to come to Sonoma almost every weekend.
“We need to inspect the property.”
That was our story anyway.
The inspections somehow never took very long.
Instead, we’d head to wineries like Viansa in its early days, spread out a picnic, enjoy a bottle of wine overlooking the valley, and spend the afternoon with friends. Over the years we got to know the wineries simply by returning again and again. Sonoma quietly became part of our lives long before we ever imagined living here.
When retirement finally arrived, we asked ourselves a simple question.
“If not San Francisco, then where?”
We knew we wanted a small town. We spent months looking at houses in Sonoma. Our real estate agent kept showing us houses he wanted to sell instead of houses we wanted to buy. Then one day we walked into the house where I’m sitting today.
My wife walked into the kitchen.
After looking at what felt like fifty disappointing kitchens, she smiled.
That was all it took.
We’ve now lived here for fifteen years, and we’ve been fortunate enough to land in one of those neighborhoods people dream about. Our neighbors aren’t just neighbors—they’re our social life, our closest friends, and the people who look after one another. We’ve had dogs here that loved Sonoma almost as much as we do. It’s a wonderful town for dogs and an even better town for friendships.
Life hasn’t unfolded exactly as we planned. My wife passed away much earlier than either of us expected, and these days I’m rattling around in the house by myself. I’m even giving eHarmony a try, although so far the results haven’t been especially impressive.
But Sonoma has remained home.
One of the pleasures of living here has been watching the town evolve. I’ve been coming here for nearly fifty years, so I’ve seen enormous changes. When I first visited, there were very few places to stay near the Plaza. Wine tasting was informal. Tourism was modest. Today Sonoma is far more organized and much busier, with more visitors, more restaurants, and many more people discovering what we found all those years ago.
Some things, though, haven’t changed.
It’s still a friendly town.
People still know their neighbors.
The arts are thriving. One of my favorite collections is the artwork hanging in my home, almost all created by Sonoma artists I discovered through the Art Trails. Good food and good wine remain part of everyday life here. I still have favorite restaurants around the Plaza, and I probably spend more time thinking about where to eat than I should.
Before retiring, I spent my career in finance and eventually owned a travel agency. I always joked that there is no such thing as a hobby business. It either makes money or loses money. Mine became a real business, and even after selling it, I kept many of my favorite clients. Today I still organize trips for longtime friends from Sonoma, San Francisco, and even college friends from Ohio. Travel remains one of the great pleasures of my life, and it’s even better when you can share it with people you’ve known for decades.
Looking back, I realize Sonoma has always represented the same thing for me.
First it was a weekend escape.
Then it became the place where my wife and I imagined retirement.
Today it’s simply home.
I’m a food-and-wine guy. I enjoy gardening, collecting local art, traveling with friends, and sitting outside on a beautiful Sonoma afternoon.
It’s not a city.
It’s a town.
And that’s exactly why I love living here.
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Sonoma became home gradually. Craig spent nearly fifty years visiting before deciding to retire here.
The town has changed dramatically. He remembers when wine tastings were free, wineries were family-run, and the Plaza attracted far fewer visitors.
Friendship defines retirement. Craig values his neighborhood as much as the scenery, describing his neighbors as close friends who genuinely care for one another.
Food, wine, and art are part of everyday life. Local restaurants, wineries, and Sonoma artists continue to shape how he experiences the community.
Travel remains an important part of his life. Even in retirement, he still organizes trips that bring together friends from different chapters of his life.
Sonoma offers something beyond tourism. Behind the wineries and restaurants is a welcoming small town where people know one another and choose to stay.
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This story was created from a recorded conversation between Craig Adrian and Don Lundgren as part of the Sonoma Stories project. The conversation was edited for clarity and length while preserving the storyteller’s experiences, reflections, and voice. Sonoma Stories is an ongoing community archive, and storytellers are welcome to update or revise their stories at any time.
