BACKSTORY: On my trip to the Russian River Valley, I was strategically poised for a number of scenic excursions, including a winding drive up along the California Coastline on U.S. Highway 101 towards Bodega Bay. Approximately 5 miles across, Bodega Bay is 40 miles northwest of San Francisco and 20 miles west of Santa Rosa.
Its biggest claim to fame is that it served as the setting for the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film, "The Birds," starring Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren and Suzanne Pleshette. Hitchcock used Bodega Bay, the small town of Bodega, and the Universal backlot to create one cohesive little town through the magic of editing. The Potter Schoolhouse still remains, but the Tides Restaurant has been rebuilt and enlarged, making it unrecognizable from the small little diner used in the film. If you're looking for Annie Hayworth's house, it was a set built for the movie and torn down shortly afterwards.
The 1980 horror film "The Fog" was also filmed in both Bodega Bay and the town as both locations are naturally subject to heavy fog.
