2c: California's "Valley of the Moon"

Day of Paradise

1. Contains a title using the format listed above .25 points
2. Contains the sources you used with links to these sources .25 points

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonoma,_Ca
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonoma_Valley
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_Country_(California)
http://www.sonomavalley.com/

3. Contains a brief paragraph how it connects to your study of humanities. 1 point

Initially I only associated the town of Sonoma with "wine country". Through the years and through my research I have learned Sonoma is much more than that, it is full of history and culture that makes the town what it is today and attracts thousands of tourists each year. Today Sonoma is mainly known for its beautiful vineyards and premium wines but its historically known for its colonial past. Whatever reason it may be to visit, Sonoma offers an experience like no other.

4. Contains the following "analytical elements":
a. Observation: What did you choose? What do you see or hear or feel or think of in the choice you made? What is the subject of the work? If you chose a 'thing' what is the work made of and what techniques (colors, lines, shapes, textures)does the creator use? Be specific in your description. If you chose a place, be specific in your description of what you see or hear. Talk to your reader as though they cannot see the item but somehow must draw a painting of what you see or hear. 1 point

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and pictures of the vineyards are no exception. Looking at the vineyards draws many thoughts and feelings to mind, one may imagine waking up at dawn looking out the window watching the sun rise above the valley as it seems to cast a glow on the vineyards. Maybe looking at the vineyards evokes a feeling of serenity, a place far away from the hustle of city life. A quiet retreat from the daily routine of dress suits, skyscrapers, heavy machinery, polluted air, and cell phones! Sonoma is a town where it seems time isn't of the upmost importance, people enjoy their surroundings and take time to get to know each other. One of my favorite places to visit is the historic Sonoma Plaza; in the middle of the Plaza is Sonoma's city hall which is a beautiful piece of architecture in itself and surrounding it is a blend of buildings old and new. The historical buildings include the Captain Salvador Vallejo's home, the Barracks in which soldiers used to stay but now house workers of nearby wineries and the Mission San Francisco Solano. In 1823 Father Joseph Altimira of Spain founded the Mission San Francisco Solano and the town of Sonoma began. Soon after the town was built, the Mexican government took over and General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo built the Barracks beside the Mission to house the army. He had control over the native tribes which had resided there for thousands of years. Sonoma is originally home to the Miwok tribe but other tribes, Wintun and Pomo also resided in the area.

b. Interpretation: What is your choice about? Give specific examples to support this statement in 2 sentences; do so in a way that teaches us something about your choice. Make Paulo Freire proud! .75 point

Sonoma is also called the Valley of the Moon due to the Miwok legend that the moon rises over the valley. Sonoma stands for great wine and food, beautiful vineyards, agriculture, historic roots, family owned businesses, and art. This town has so much to learn, you can visit the historic mission and learn about the town's early history, go to the local art museum & view some amazing masterpieces from local artists, and dine on exquisite cuisine cooked with local ingredients accompanied by the nation's best wine. Then tomorrow there's wine and olive tasting! Wine making seems like an art form with hundreds, maybe thousands of different wines, different flavors, there's even specific glasses to taste each wine and there's always a great wine to complement the cuisine. I do not personally enjoy wine but I'm amazed at the process and the great appreciation for it. What intrigues me even more is being able to taste different olive oils, I've seen it once on tv and it was kind of odd watching people swirling olive oil and kind of splitting it out to get the full flavor. There is so much to experience in this town that the possibilities are endless!

c. Judgment: What led you to your choice? What do you think or feel about this choice? Why do you feel this way? Support your thoughts with specific observations. .5 point

A lot of thought went into my choice. I wanted to choose a place that I thought really fulfilled the vision of culture. Sonoma is a town of old and new, people of all ages can enjoy quite an experience. When I visit Sonoma, I like the "down home" feeling of the people, the businesses the atmosphere is so relaxing. The closeness of the people intrigue me, my friends from Sonoma all know each other and went to the same schools together, their parents work locally in the vineyards or at the local hospital. Sonoma has a lot of character to it and I think it'd be a fun learning experience to explore the mutiple facets of this town. It's great to see a place that hasn't been completely transformed to modern standards. Almost everywhere else, everything old has been torn down to make something new but its important to preserve the history of the land and its people. It's important to me to learn the foundation and then build up from there; it's interesting to learn about the evolution of people through time.
Many historic and famous faces have resided or are currently residing in Sonoma Valley including Civil War general Joseph Hooker, Jack London, and comedian/actor Robin Williams.

d. Questioning: What else would you like to know about this choice? When completing the question section, lead your audience into the question by stating a fact you do know, yet you still have the related question. This way, both your audience and you will have an educational experience. Example: I learned that John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath was based on his personal experience working with farm workers. I would like to know if the characters he used in that book are fictitious or are they people he met? .5 point

I like to know more about Sonoma's famous Train Town, I've liked trains since I was young but have not gotten the chance to pay a visit. I'd also like to visit the Sebastiani Theatre that has been in the Plaza for decades that was originally owned by the Sebastiani family whom also owned a winery. And since Sonoma Valley is known for their wine, I'd love to go grape stumping with a few of my friends!

5. Using your classmates work from last week, tell us one thing you learned from 1 student. Is this one thing some common experience you share or some experience that is completely different than what you experienced? Is this one thing related to our class theoretical foundation and if so, how? Is that one thing related to historical or cultural context of this country or a different one? Link that persons blog to this entry (eg cut paste that blog entry here) .5 point

I chose Linda's experience at the California Museum. I didn't know there were so many different exhibits ranging from artists, musicians, scientists, fitness pioneers, and humanitarians. I do think the Museum is overlooked and I agree that sometimes we do overlook the very people that made California what it is today. I think I'll pay a visit to the Museum soon!