This luncheon field trip is being held at U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Petaluma. Because of stringent access requirements, visitors are required to register by 6pn August 27, providing their complete name and date of birth as shown on an approved photo ID. Click/tap the RSVP button below to put your name and birthdate on the access list. If you are bringing a guest, report their name and date of birth as well. To enter the Training Center on August 29, visitors will be required to present an approved photo ID with name and birthdate matching that previously submitted. Vehicles entering the Training Center are required to have a licensed driver, valid registration and proof of insurance.
Approved Photo IDs: A state driver license that is is REAL ID compliant and has not expired is recommended. (A California REAL ID license has a golden bear and a star in the upper right corner. If your license shows "FEDERAL LIMITS APPLY" instead of a bear and star, it is not REAL ID compliant, but should (for a few more months) be acceptable. Click/tap here for more information.) Other approved IDs include U.S. passports and military IDs.
Directions. The Training Center is located about 9 miles west of downtown Petaluma. Use 599 Tomales Road, Petaluma for GPS navigation. Here is a link to Google Maps.
Here are driving instructions from downtown Petaluma:
Training Center entrance.
Follow directions to the security check area. To save time, drivers should have all photo IDs, along with vehicle registration and proof of insurance, ready to present to the gate guard. (Vehicle registration and proof of insurance are required to drive in California; they must be presented for guest vehicles entering the Training Center.)
Plan to arrive around 11:30am as we’ll be going to an 11:45am reception with Training Center staff followed by lunch at noon. Both will take place in the north wing of Haley Hall, the Coast Guard dining facility.
Parking (follow white arrows); dining hall access (yellow arrows).
When cleared for entry, turn right and, passing a large solar array on your right, proceed up the hill on Pennsylvania Avenue. Just past the anchor and flagpole on your left you’ll arrive at the first stop sign. Turn left here onto Ohio Avenue. Proceed downhill on Ohio Avenue and, after passing Nebraska Avenue on your left, turn left onto California Drive. Curve sharp left into the Nebraska Avenue parking lot. This is Lot C on the map and where you will park. When parked, follow the route marked by yellow arrows to reach the dining hall entrance.
Note: Lot B, where diners have previously parked, is now a construction site and is not available. This will create problems for persons with mobility problems who want a close-in, disabled parking spot. Contact Al Cattalini by August 21 if this affects you.
Petaluma is where the Coast Guard trains its cooks (called "Culinary Specialists") and you’ll be eating a meal prepared by the student cooks. You will be served the same meal offered to the military personnel that day. In addition to what’s on the menu, you’ll have a full salad bar, dessert selections, and other goodies. You’ll have a Coast Guard presentation during lunch and about 12:45pm will depart for the next stop on the field trip, a tour of the new solar panel microgrid.