Four-Hour Rule: Healdsburg

Nothing beats a post-July 4th comedown like … mega-plans for the following weekend.

We’ve got ’em: a four-star restaurant attached to an intimate five-star inn, in our favorite spot in Sonoma.

And by day: a trip to a nearby winery and a boathouse renting all manner of watercraft.

Here’s your plan …

THE MEAL
Let’s start with the food, since this is why we’re going: Single Thread, Bauer-approved (“a flawless four stars on arrival”), everything’s-perfect, actual-farm-to-actual-table in Healdsburg. You might think they’re booked straight through the end of the year — but they’ve got tables available on July 14th. Grab one now.

THE STAY
Make life easy on yourself and book in at the Single Thread. There are five bedrooms above the restaurant — four guest rooms and a suite. And you’ll want to take home everything in it: the attention to detail is like nothing we’ve experienced outside of Japan, which is no mistake, given chef/owner Kyle Connaughton’s experience in Hokkaido kitchens. (Note: all overnights include a guaranteed meal res. If you’re balking at the $1,000-a-night price tag, the Hotel Healdsburg will cut that by about half, and you can still make a mid-July dinner date.)

THE ACTIVITY
Want to take a moment to yourselves? Get out on nearby Lake Sonoma. You can rent nearly anything that floats at the marina, from two-seater kayaks to canoes to jet skis, if you’re not bringing your own. There is a fun, active lake, but you can find some quiet if you book your own lakeside, boat-in campsite, where you’ll of course want to bring a bottle from …

THE WINERY
You have plenty to choose from, but our top pick (this weekend) is: Jordan Winery.

Meet your guide

Diane Rommel

Diane Rommel has written for The Wall Street Journal, Outside, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Travel + Leisure, Wallpaper and Afar, as well as The Cut, Buzzfeed, Huffington Post and McSweeney’s. She once drove from London to Mongolia, via Siberia.