<p>OK wise folks,
I am off soon to a week long conference in Sebastapool Ca after a few days in San Francisco. I have absoluletely nothing to wear in the rain…so what kind of boots do I need, what sort of jacket (I do have ski jackets). Any advice is appreciated!</p>
<p>It doesn’t always rain in the winter in that area, but it’s a good bet. You want, IMHO, something that is actually waterproof (not resistant). Consider buying a cheap plastic jacket that will go over a sweater. Or one of those $10 ponchos that are basically a plastic bag with a hood and some snaps.</p>
<p>As for your feet, there are two approaches. One is the shoe removal approach, in which you bring dry shoes to change into and just let your feet get wet; the other is rain boots. I’m partial to carrying dry shoes, myself.</p>
<p>Layer Laye Layer</p>
<p>I live in Sf, so here goes, a light rainjacket with a hood, we layer here, so a ski jacket might be too heavy, its better to layer a light raincoat and a sweater, cause our weather is shifting a lot lately- go to a Burlington Coat factory or the Gap (where I got mine)- any style is fine, but light is better</p>
<p>For instance, it was cold yesterday and about 15 degrees warmer to today, </p>
<p>As for boots, again, light is better, rainbuts are the most you need</p>
<p>Bring a scarf and some light gloves for the evenng and early morning</p>
<p>But, rembere the optimum words are LAYER LAYER LAYER</p>
<p>It is never that cold, and we are kind of wusses when it comes to weather, so when we say cold we are talking 50 degrees : {</p>
<p>Just bring an umbrella and that should be fine if you can’t get a coat with a hood</p>
<p>Those last storms were freakish, but once again LAYER, if you didn’t get me the first time ; )</p>
<p>Thank you, I’m on it, and citygirlsmom, I agree, actually 60 is cold to me!</p>
<p>I’d advise a trench coat, and either rain boots or just leather shoes where you don’t mind if they get wet, if all you are doing is walking from conference room to hotel room to van for group dinner:). Then a little cardigan under - I’m a cashmere fan myself, and a cotton tshirt or button up. That way if it’s hot you can cool off fast and if it’s cold you can warm up fast. Like citygirlsmom said, layer:).</p>
<p>And then bring a really good collapsable umbrella in case it decides to rain hard. That way no hood and IMHO a better chance at keeping the executive hair looking good…</p>
<p>lol, actually it’s a week long leadership program with 1 whole day of an outdoors ropes course(yikes!) rain or shine, so executive hair(I wish!!) I definitely am going to get those boots! Thanks for all the good tips!</p>
<p>a ropes course you will need crosstrainers or something with grippy flexible soles- you could wear hiking boots but lightweight ones
a rain jacket or poncho
and something warm but will dry fast ( like fleece)
ropes courses can be pretty athletic so you need to dress in layers- actually lots of the materials are fairly stylish and you could wear a top to dinner ( after you rinse it out) ;)</p>
<p>I lived in SF, so I thought I knew what to expect when I took my daughter to visit some schools in March - 2 years ago. I expected nothing higher than mid 70’s during the day and got low 90’s. Needless to say I was not prepared. But rain looks like a safe bet for now.</p>
<p>and remember</p>
<p>LAYER!!</p>
<p>It toook my mom a year to figure that out after she moved here from Oregon</p>
<p>The fluctuations in temperature day to day, even hour to hour is suprising</p>
<p>We don’t have humidity, thank goodness!!</p>
<p>arizonamom:</p>
<p>After doing a 6-week field camp in Ireland one summer and thus having lots of outdoor experience ‘rain or shine’, I must chime in…</p>
<p>Any windbreaker-type jacket with a hood should work just fine (if it rains too hard, everyone will be wet with you!)…and yes layers layers layers…you can always take something off when you are outside if you get toasty!</p>
<p>Something to consider would be a cheap pair of rain pants (athletic covers may work, i.e. adidas wind breaking pants…but they also tend to soad through easier). Yes, they look silly, but if you do get caught in a drizzly or persistently rainy day they make you feel 10000x better at the end of the day when your pants aren’t soaked through to your bones.</p>
<p>As for footwear…If you have a pair of leather boots already, I would invest in some cheap water-proofing. Even the cheap stuff will keep you pretty dry all day long. Also as EK stated, running shoes would be good to have on hand as well.</p>
<p>I’m surprised you didn’t get a packing list for this Leadership Program. Is there anyway to email them and ask for packing suggestions and what has worked best there in the past? They are the ones who truely know the area the best!</p>
<p>Arizonamom: You have enough advice on clothing; let me give you some on a different topic - unless you are a non-drinker, in which case, stop reading here.</p>
<p>In Sebastopol you are smack in the middle of the Russian River wine country. So if there is any time that you can shake loose from the conference, pick up a copy of the Russian River Wine Road map and start exploring.
My favorite small winery in that area is Joseph Swan, which I believe is only open weekends. But if you drive along Westside Road, which is across the river from your location, you have a choice of many wineries.</p>
<p>You guys are amazing! Thank you all so much for the wonderful suggestions and advice. Thanks for the travel tips dadofsam!</p>
<p>I thought about you today, arizonamom, as I made my way around the dog park in the rain, quite comfortable in my wind and rain resistant fleece jacket, waterproof hiking shoes, and cowboy hat. I hate umbrellas, so I always wear a waterproof hat with a brim–it’s an old cowboy hat from the days when my son wore it as a costume. </p>
<p>You’ll have to let us know how it went when you get back!</p>
<p>huh- shouldn’t the days be getting longer now? and how would we tell?
I actually use umbrellas more now than I ever did- a soccer season that lasts thru mid December will do that to you.
Even if I don’t use the umbrella it is nice and big to help protect all their jackets they throw down in the dirt.</p>
<p>You could get any kind of weather, from pretty cold to rainy to absolutely lovely. I have never had rain boots although I have lived in Marin and then on the Peninsula most of my adult life. Most of the time the puddles really aren’t deep enough to need boots. (But then I was also the idiot who insisted on wearing her sandals in Cambridge from spring break on, and every year got frosty toes from walking through Harvard Square in sandals in the last spring snowfall.)</p>
<p>It’s sometimes hard to know what dress code is going to emerge from/dominate at these conferences. And usually there is a fairly wide range of what will work. For the ropes course, I would probably be thinking a pair of running tights/pants, a tshirt, and a sweatshirt or fleece–and crosstrainers. </p>
<p>I actually think the crosstrainers may be your best bet for rain too, and unless you really want to have a pair of rainboots, I wouldn’t go out and buy them for the trip. Umbrella is indispensable (agree with the collapsible automatic type). I have a short raincoat, a long raincoat (that I only wear when I am dressed up for work or going out), and a fleece jacket and most of the time the fleece is all I need, plus the umbrella. </p>
<p>But again, depending on your timing, you could also find that the weather is just lovely and dry. Hope it is!</p>
<p>Sebastopol is 7 miles west of Santa Rosa, 67 miles north of San Francisco Airport. The high-low temperature is expected to be in the 51-40 range for the next 10 days with no major rain in the forecast.</p>
<p>While Hwy. 101 from SFO should be open and clear, some of the smaller roads directly into Sebastopol may be a little water-logged. Hopefully, any flooding north of San Francisco will have drained and your journey will be a safe one. It doesn’t look like Sebastopol itself received a lot of rain, and hopefully getting there won’t be a challenge.</p>
<p>Sebastopol is in the wine country, so enjoy your experience to the fullest !!!</p>
<p>Situated amidst a landscape of apple orchards, vineyards, forests, and meadows, Sebastopol offers a “farm fresh” and “family friendly” atmosphere to locals and visitors alike. <a href=“http://www.sebastopolonline.com/[/url]”>http://www.sebastopolonline.com/</a></p>
<p>Patient, I resisted buying the waterproof hiking shoes for the longest time. I just wore my running shoes and changed to dry socks when I got back to the car. Then this fall I started taking the dog for even longer walks, mostly in hayfields where there was a LOT of water. So I asked REI what they had–and voila, a pair of “walking shoes” that are also almost completely waterproof (the eyelets leak a bit). Cheaper than my running shoes, a good bit heavier, but I find I really like them.</p>
<p>EK4–I agree an umbrella is essential for watching games. I have a wonderful huge strong golf embrella that lives in the back of the car for such situations–but mostly I’m out in the rain walking with the dog, and I find I can’t manage the umbrella and the leash. So I went with the rain hat.</p>
<p>One thing about California weather this time of year–the forecast can change from one day to the next. Today I peeked at the Sebastopol forecast and the highs are in the high 50s to low 60s, and rain is forecast around Wednesday. Moral of the story AZMOM, look at your weather forecast before getting on the plane, but believe it only about 75%. This last big rain we had was a surprise at least to our local forecasters–they had been predicting a minor storm which turned out to be major. Today, on the other hand, is lovely and in the 60s in most places. Green grass and buds on the trees already, and this is why I live here :).</p>
<p>I have some great handme downs from my kids- which aren’t real stylish but they were free-
D1 worked at cityyear- and the uniforms they gave her-were made by Timberland- really nice stuff- a quilted jacket- a long hooded rain jacket but they are both bright red with CITYEAR emblazoned across the back and she didn’t want to see them ( or at least wear them) ever again</p>
<p>Its great for walking the dog though ( and it even matches her raincoat that I actually put on her when we are going for a long walk and it is cold- she is getting up there in age)</p>
<p>I remember shivering in 55 degree pacific mist in SanFrancisco. It was so cold that nothing I wore helped. Then I feel perfectly warm shuffling snow out of my New England driveway in 18 degree weather. Go figure.</p>