Spring Lake Village

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a predinner fiesta of margaritas, chips and salsa and Flamenco music by guitarist "El Oso". A delicious Mexican dinner followed that included house made enchiladas, tortilla soup, pork chile verde, grilled chicken adobo and sweet dulce de leche cake for dessert. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Our residents always love an excursion to beautiful Bodega Bay. This trip included a guided tour of the Marine Laboratory. This "living laboratory", managed by UC Davis, was created for studying ecology, oceanography and climate change. We also enjoyed a delicious seafood lunch at a nearby restaurant, stopping afterwards at Bodega Head - just in time to spot a couple of whales migrating by. What a great day!

Earth Day 2026 festivities at Spring Lake Village kicked off with a campus walk. Residents visited and searched for all trees that have been planted every year on Earth Day dating back to 2008!

If you can breathe, you can practice yoga.

Spring Lake Village's monthly wellness lecture was presented by Founder and Co-Owner of Tone Yoga and Pilates Monica Anderson. Residents enjoyed an interactive experience practicing the power of breath, presence and gentle movement.

Our annual Santa Rosa History Bus Tour is always a popular excursion. Led by local historian, Bill Montgomery, who dressed the part, the tour consisted of two packed full hours of stories and history. It also included an up close look at a few of Santa Rosa monuments; some hidden and in plain sight. One monument included the Church of One Tree, a historic building in Santa Rosa, that was built in 1873 from a single redwood tree milled in Guerneville, California. The church was the original home of the First Baptist Church of Santa Rosa. Robert Ripley, of Ripley's Believe It or Not, who was a native of Santa Rosa, wrote about the Church of One Tree – where his mother attended services. Santa Rosa certainly has a fascinating- and famous history!

A bucket list is a personalized, set of goals, dreams, and experiences a person hopes to achieve or accomplish in their lifetime. Do you have a bucket list? This (brave) resident does. Along with her two nieces, she headed west to the town of Occidental to the company Sonoma Zipline Adventures. Snuggled down in a canyon between acres of Redwood trees, they climbed trees higher than the Golden Gate Bridge. 7 stations total, they zipped from tree to tree down the canyon. The longest zipline was about 1000 feet, one of the longest in the US and lasted almost a minute. Very exciting, scary but totally safe. "What made you do something like this?", another resident asked her. "As I enter my 80’s, I am calling this my Bucket List Decade. Doing it now while I am still able. My goal is to always reach just a little farther than I think I can and challenge myself."

Spring is right around the corner and here at Spring Lake Village, we are looking forward to it! Our campus is especially beautiful during this season. In fact, some of our campus flowers are already "springing" from buds to flowers. The most anticipated flowers to bloom is the purple Wisteria that lines our parking lot. The white and pink Dogwood trees are another favorite. With all the flowers in bloom, it is not only an amazing visual sight to see, but it also delights the senses. From the sweet scent of the Daphne to the Wisteria's "grape bubble gum" scent, we are very fortunate to live and work in such a place of beauty.

A salute to the incredible redwood tree Colonel Armstrong in Guerneville. Residents enjoyed a lovely two mile walk amongst the giants this past week. We are enjoying getting back to our regular walks.

Our month long celebration of the Lunar New Year, ended with an amazing performance by local and non-profit Redwood Empire Chinese Association. Their performance included singing, dancing, martial arts, a Guzheng solo, lion and dragon dances. All performed by the men, women and youth - the youngest being 8 years old - all volunteers of the organization. A resident who has celebrated the Lunar New Year since a child, said it perfectly "At nearly 90 years old, I see a world where threads of unity feel frayed, where our country is marked by divisions and misunderstandings. People are split in ways that make it harder to connect and celebrate what we share. The Lunar New Year teaches us that strength lies in coming together, across generations, beliefs and backgrounds, to embrace our differences as something to be cherished, not feared. These traditions remind us that no matter how fractured we feel, there is always a way to rebuild, to mend, and to find common ground."

This week we had our bi-annual SOTO (State of the Organization) meeting and were visited by our Front Porch Communities leadership team led by Sean Kelly, CEO. The agenda included a review of the financial performance for Front Porch and Spring Lake Village, a focus on the future development by Front Porch of all 16 communities, and an active question and answer session.

In the Chinese zodiac, 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse. The Chinese Lunar New Year began February 17th. The horse represents hard work, bravery, and resilience. Different regions across Asia celebrate Lunar New Year in many ways and may follow a different zodiac. Here at Spring Lake Village, we celebrated with a special dinner with an Asian themed menu and decorated tables. Later this month, a dragon dance will be performed by The Redwood Empire Chinese Association.