Sebastopol Rd, Wright Area

Sebastopol Road parallels Highway 12, also known as Sebastopol Highway. It is a long, basically commercial street with a fair number of stoplights. Plenty of gas stations, including some economy places where you might save a few cents per gallon. There are some older residential areas with small houses and yards just off Sebastopol Road.

There are quite a few Latino businesses along this strip, including some decent Mexican restaurants -- low-rent atmosphere, nothing fancy, just good eats. One example is La Fondita Restaurant (at 816).

A lot of Santa Rosa's bargain shops can be found along this stretch, including Goodwill (at 680) and Dollar Tree (at 777), and Salvation Army (at 1290), next to a big cheap-imports store.

Continental Lanes, Santa Rosa's only remaining bowling center, is at 765 Sebastopol Road. You might miss it because it is hidden behind Dollar Tree. Like a lot of centers nowadays, it has gone the club atmosphere-black light route on weekend nights and draws a younger crowd. During the week, however, it is a great place to improve your game, drawing lots of regulars, and weekday bowling is very affordable, with plenty of lanes available.

Note that the large shopping area that contains the Dollar Tree, Goodwill, and Continental Lanes can be spooky at night, with gang types congregating periodically, so be sure you are alert as to where you park and who is around.