A Rainy Day in January

My wife was the first one to show me how the rain reflected like glass the world around us. From that moment on, I had loved the rain - the way it made the earth smell clean, the feeling of it on my skin and, of course, the reflection of the rain and the unique snapshot of the world it would show you.

Driving to and from work in the rain is an entirely different story, however. When my company had moved from San Rafael to Oakland, my commute suddenly became 42 miles longer. On rainy days it meant four hours in the car. On a normal day, it was three plus hours.

I would pick up my wife in Greenbrae on the way home and we'd discuss the day and how things were going. Driving together had become our quality time and eventually we'd get around to discussing changes in our lives. Simply put, our vision of how we wanted to live and how we were actually living didn't match - not even close.

We had choices to make. My wife worked as a senior-level travel agent for a major corporation managing a million dollar clientele base. My position was in public relations in an athletic setting. While we liked our jobs and were both successful at what we did, we didn't want to move away from Sonoma County. We also wanted to spend more quality time together and to do something we were passionate about as well.

So it was on a rainy day in January of 2003 that Sonoma County Tours was first mentioned. In all honestly, the idea was a slow revelation that began in 1996. The moment we moved to Sonoma County in the summer of 1996, we fell in love with the beauty of the landscape, the winding country roads, the breathtaking Sonoma Coast and the people that made Sonoma County their homes.

"Just wait until fall," a neighbor told us with a smile that matched his enthusiasm. "You've never lived until you've seen the vineyards turn in the fall."

Fall came and we were utterly in heaven as the scenery around us turned gold, deep red, orange and yellow. It is a spectacular time of the year here and definitely a must see for visitors.

Every day after work, we'd get in the car and go exploring down a different road discovering new and unique things about Sonoma County. We had a passion for the area and loved sharing it with others. Family and friends would come and we'd tour them around, traveling down winding roads, through vineyards or overlooking the ocean. The look on their faces was immensely satisfying. It was always what we described as a "wow" moment.

As the idea of Sonoma County Tours began to take fold, we discovered that no tour experience of this kind existed in Sonoma County and we definitely saw a need.

In dealing with travel clients, Gay Lynn noticed a tremendous amount of interest for tours in Sonoma County that weren't of the winery variety. While tours of wineries are a great way to spend some time, we saw a niche for family-friendly, sightseeing tours.

Afterall, as one guest told us recently: "You really haven't experienced Sonoma County if all you've seen is the wineries."

We took the leap, quit our jobs, and put our entire focus and energy into this adventure. It has proven to be the best career we have ever had and we are enjoying every minute of it.

Our goal is simple. To entertain you and to provide an experience like no other in Sonoma County. The bottom line - if we can make you happy, then we're happy.

So consider this your personal invitation to get to know us and the "other" wine country, which we like to call scenic Sonoma.

-- Jim and Gay Lynn