Petaluma to Benicia — INDEPENDENCE CHRONICLES

The run from Petaluma to Benicia (30NM) was very pleasant on a warm morning, thankfully, without much wind. After close to 3 hours we tie up at the fuel dock at the Benicia Marina and give the boat a quick rinse before heading out to explore town (this is my first visit to Benicia). This land was once inhabited, like most of the surrounding areas, by Karkin Ohlone, Suisun (southern Patwin Tribe), and Bay Miwok Native American Tribes (according to benicamagazing.com). The land was named Benicia (meaning blessed one) in 1847. The Mexican General Mariano Vallejo sold the land to Robert Semple and he asked Semple to name the city after his wife. Benicia became a stop for boats on the way to the gold fields during the Gold Rush and was then founded in 1849 and became the third city to incorporate in California in 1851. Benicia served as the California State Capitol from 1853 to 1854. The city was the site of the first military ordnance supply depot on the West Coast, for conflicts from the Civil War through the Korean War making it a natural route for the Transcontinental Railroad to pass through and across the Carquinez Strait on the the ‘Solano’ Ferry, the world’s’ largest in 1879. The charming town is set into the rolling hills that rise almost directly from the water of Carquinez Straits. I wish we had longer to explore and I hope to come back soon.