Getting away to Bodega Bay

<p>If you want the unvarnished truth about a place, ask a local.</p><p>There are few more frank sources for the straight scoop on Bodega Bay than Melissa Freeman, a cut-to-the-chase native who recognizes the charms of her town are more subtle than your typical seaside tourist mecca, where the aroma of caramel corn would prevail over the natural musty wash of saltwater and fresh cod coming off the fishing boats.</p><p>"There's not a lot to do here. But if you're a beachcomber, you've got it made," said the 40-something mom who is a broker at Bodega Harbor Realty on Highway 1 and also helps manage her family's jewel-like Compass Rose Gardens for weddings and special events.</p><p>And that's exactly what makes Bodega Bay a great destination for a vacation this year -- a place that's not far at all in pricey gas miles and not hard to get to, yet is worlds away from the cares and travails of the daily grind and can soothe the spirit.</p><p>When she says "not a lot to do," Freeman means the absence of a kitschy boardwalk or touristy pier with arcades, T-shirt shops and other traps that pick the pockets of tourists who, especially in a faltering economy, may not have the cash to throw around.</p><p>"You should come here to read a book or look for sea glass and sand dollars," Freeman advised.</p><p>You don't usually go to the Sonoma Coast to work on your suntan or bikini-watch, though recent fog-free hot spells have been an exception. The Pacific waters are inviting to the eye but cruel to swimmers, with perilous waves and temperatures often at 50-something degrees in summer.</p><p>But only 23 miles from Santa Rosa, Bodega Bay sits a world apart from the vexing crush of Highway 101.</p><p>The historic fishing village and string of 17 gorgeous beaches stretching 10 miles north offers an embarrassment of natural riches and beauty, much of which can be enjoyed for free.</p><p>At Bodega Bay, it's all about the views -- foamy waves flooding over sea stacks and ragged bluffs, romantic burnt orange sunsets over a cobalt sea.</p><p>It's hiking trails offer vast panoramas of the Pacific, while tidepools pull the curtain back on a mystery world of anemones and reveal starfish clinging to glistening rocks.</p><p>It's bowls of steaming clam chowder and crispy crab cakes, solitary kayaking and meditative beach-combing.</p><p>It's riding horses across the sand from Chanslor Ranch, flying kites at Doran Beach, or daylong sport fishing expeditions where you might catch a glimpse of a humpback whale or a dolphin.</p><p>"When I'm out here camping, I feel I'm far enough away from home. If I make my fire and some s'mores, I'm happy," said Cheryl Monroe of Santa Rosa, soaking in a close-to-home vacation last week in a camping trailer with her mother, Billie McCarthy. "I paid the same for a week of camping that I would have paid for a night at a hotel in Pismo Beach."</p><p>Patrick Taylor of Cloverdale and his wife, Amy, were out "day-cationing" with their two kids at North Salmon Creek Beach last week, its shallow bottom and waves that break well offshore making it the safest place for kids to get their feet wet.</p><p>As a contractor struggling in a down market, Taylor lamented there will be no long vacations this year. They drove out in their little Jeep instead of their truck to save on gas.</p><p>But they weren't complaining. "You don't have to go far," he said, "to find something beautiful here."</p><p>Accommodations are limited in Bodega Bay, with only five hotels and inns around the village. There are some 400 vacation rental homes, however, with small houses starting at $300 a night -- a manageable rate if split among friends.</p><p>But for stretching your dollar like the saltwater taffy sold at the local kite shops, your best bet is camping. The five-star spot is Wrights Beach, small and quiet with ocean-view sites that fill up fast in summer. Bodega Dunes, however, is bigger, offers more creature comforts, like hot showers, and is a bit more protected from biting winds.</p><p>Bob Miller, who owns The Surf Shop and rents kayaks, said the coast compels him even after more than 20 years. Just recently, he took his two kids to the rustic Willow Creek Campground, where they watched a coyote jump off a rock into the river -- an amazing show for the $15 price of a campsite.</p><p>"As humans we want to go to the moon," he said, shaking his head. "But right here is where it's at."</p>