Sonoma Co. Businesses Get Ready To Welcome Tourists In Need Of An Escape
GUERNEVILLE (KPIX) - From curbside retail and dining outdoors, to indoor service and the opening of salons, the slow-motion rollback of Bay Area restrictions took a significant step forward Friday in Sonoma County. The tourist destination is now open for leisure travel.
"I live in San Francisco," said Kijafa Idalliah as she arrived on the bank of the Russian River. "We were looking for an escape out of the city drudgery, and wanted some nature. Here we are in Guerneville."
Idalliah and her friends wanted to get away this weekend, and not just for the day. Very much on the ball, they booked a room in Guerneville on day one.
"The phones have been blowing up all day," says Crista Luedtke, owner of Boon Hotel & Spa. "A lot of emails. A lot of people feel like they missed the boat because we are sold out."
Luedtke says it has been a scramble to get ready for a full house, because reopening means changes.
"A bike sanitation station, so if you want to take our beach cruisers to the park," Luedtke explains. "Loungers, pairs of two, 6 foot apart. And those are your designated chairs for the weekend."
"Eight-feet in diameter, 8-feet apart," said Tony Terrero, describing the distancing circles he has installed at Johnson's Beach.
The beach is also welcoming its first guests of the season this weekend, only fewer of them.
"Due to the current situation at hand, we have to limit the number of people on the beach, and we've been doing that by having a finite number of people," Terrero says. "We have a reservation system which is new this year. A lot of changes."
Despite the changes, people in town described a sense of relief that the power that runs this economy is back on again. And it's no small relief for those who are just here visiting.
"Yeah, I am a mental health provider," Idalliah says. "For my own sanity and preservation during the shelter in place it's nice to have allocated safe spaces to go in the community -- that we can have a respite."
"Those who come as tourists are also helping support the local businesses, the restaurants, the bars," Luedtke says of the economic impact. "Everything sort of works together, right?"
The county's tourism board is asking guests and hosts to adhere to safety guidelines. They say making this work safely is in everyone's interest and depends on everyone.
