Baker Ave, Santa Rosa

I suppose every city in northern California of a certain size has a busy and wide main drag like Santa Rosa Avenue. You could compare it to Stevens Creek Blvd. in San Jose, for example. I believe this was the original Highway 101 -- a long straightaway with abundant shopping centers, nowadays featuring most of the big-box names you know. As you drive or take the CityBus through the southern part of town here, you can find everything from Toys 'R' Us to Cost Plus to Costco, along with all the usual eateries (including a Krispy Kreme), gas stations, banks, and so forth.

Speaking of buses, Santa Rosa's lovely Transit Mall is downtown along 2nd Street, between Santa Rosa Avenue and B Street. It offers two other bus systems besides CityBus: Sonoma Transit (county-wide) and Golden Gate Transit (connecting to the rest of the Bay Area).

Between Sebastopol and Sonoma Avenues lie Juiliard Park (on the west, along Juiliard Park Dr.) and the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens (on the east side, between Charles and Tupper Streets).

Further north, Santa Rosa Avenue melds into Mendocino Avenue, which contains the acclaimed Santa Rosa Junior College, then continues to the north end of town.