I Visited Sonoma for 50 Years Before I Moved Here - Craig Adryan
Craig’s Sonoma Journey
This is the first of three stories about Craig’s relationship with Sonoma.
🟩 Chapter 1: I Visited Sonoma for 50 Years Before I Moved Here (You are reading this story.)
🟥 Chapter 2: A Weekend Escape That Became Home
Click the story title above to continue Craig’s journey as Sonoma becomes his home.
🟦 Chapter 3: Helping Sonoma Travel the World
I Visited Sonoma for 50 Years Before I Moved Here begins below.
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For nearly fifty years, Craig Adryan visited Sonoma before eventually making it his home. What began as weekend trips with fellow Navy officers evolved into decades of returning with family and friends. Along the way, Sonoma became more than a favorite destination—it became the place where he imagined a different way of life.
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I grew up in the Midwest and entered the Navy through a scholarship program. My first duty station was Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay, and like a lot of young Navy officers, we were always looking for somewhere to go on our days off.
For us, that place became Sonoma.
This was long before wine country became the destination it is today. Wine tastings were complimentary, the wineries were small and family-run, and there weren’t crowds of visitors. I drove a rusty red 1955 Chevrolet convertible, and we’d head north over Trinity Road for weekends of exploring.
One of my favorite memories is a little family winery that sold wine by the jug. I honestly don’t remember how we found it, but the woman who owned it seemed to adopt this group of young ensigns. She would put out sandwiches and chips for us, we’d sit around drinking wine and talking, and eventually we’d point the Chevy back toward San Francisco. It was a wonderfully simple time.
After my Navy service I returned to San Francisco, got married while on a work assignment in London, and settled back into city life. But Sonoma remained our favorite escape.
Whenever we had visitors or simply wanted a weekend away, we’d drive up to wine taste, picnic, and relax. We gradually got to know the wineries simply by returning year after year.
Eventually we bought a rental house on the west side of Sonoma. Officially it was an investment property, but it also gave us a convenient excuse to come up on weekends to “inspect” it. Those inspections usually didn’t last very long.
One of our favorite stops was Viansa. In those days they had picnic tables overlooking the valley. We’d bring lunch, share a bottle of wine, sit with friends, and spend the afternoon talking. It became one of those places that always drew us back.
Over the decades I watched Sonoma slowly evolve.
There were very few places for visitors to stay downtown. The restaurants were different, and many have come and gone over the years. The hardware store on the Plaza was one of my favorite places because the people behind the counter actually knew how to solve problems. You could ask them a question and leave with good advice instead of just a product.
The town has certainly become more organized around tourism. There are more visitors, more restaurants, and much more activity than when I first started coming here. But despite those changes, Sonoma has managed to keep the feeling that first attracted me.
For nearly fifty years, Sonoma wasn’t where I lived.
It was where I came to slow down.
Long before I finally moved here, Sonoma had already become the place where my wife and I escaped from city life, shared good food and wine with friends, and imagined what life in a small town might someday be like.
Looking back, I realize we were preparing to live here long before we ever knew it.
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Sometimes a place becomes part of your life long before it becomes your home.
Craig spent nearly fifty years returning to Sonoma before deciding to live here permanently.
Sonoma’s early wine country was built on hospitality and simplicity.
Craig remembers family-run wineries, complimentary wine tastings, and leisurely afternoons with friends long before wine country became an international destination.
Returning year after year creates lasting connections.
Weekend trips, familiar wineries, and favorite local businesses gradually transformed Sonoma from a destination into a place that felt like home.
A long relationship with a place can shape life’s next chapter.
Without realizing it, Craig and his wife were building a relationship with Sonoma that eventually led them to make it their home.
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This story was developed from a recorded conversation with Craig Adryan. It is the first chapter of Craig’s Sonoma journey.
Sonoma Stories publishes stories soon after they are prepared so they can be shared with the community. Storytellers are welcome to revise, expand, or correct their stories at any time. If they ever decide they no longer want their story published, they may ask for it to be removed at any time.
