Tides Wharf Gift Shop — Local services in Sebastopol

I discovered that I had misplaced my phone and wallet (it turns out in the gift shop, when I set them down to look at something that my husband ended up buying from them). And instead of alerting me to the fact +we were the only customers in the shop at that time, they turned it into the staff at the fish market, for some unfathomable reason. When I realized I misplaced my phone and wallet, at the restaurant in the same building, and enlisted the help of the very kind restaurant staff to help me find my wallet and phone, the gift store staff and the fish market staff didn't say anything to me, though they clearly overheard and saw me desperately retracing my steps in both ships,looking for my list items. I had to go directly to the staff at the fish market and ask, rather than their telling me (or the restaurant hostess who was helping me) that they had them. Those women were very cold and uncharitable to me, and they somehow BOTH had to check my ID inside my wallet, and make me review my address and license number, before giving my possessions back to me. It's not like there was any other person looking for their list items. I think they were hoping to get away with not giving my wallet back to me, as I had nearly $200 in cash inside. I left with a feeling that there was something very shady, or at the very least, judgy and unkind, going on. I would have hoped for a little more sympathy, and understanding from them, like I got from the restaurant hostess, and other restaurant staff. I even apologized for adding stress to those folks' day. I was understandably upset at the prospect of losing such valuable items as BOTH my phone and wallet. It marred my, and my husband's, otherwise pleasant experience...

The store appeared to have a lot of interesting and unique items. We bought several things, including a sea shell my 10-year-old wanted. When we got it home, I looked at it more closely and realized it was plastic. That's not a huge deal, because I should have paid more attention prior to purchasing. The thing that upset me the most is I bought a cute wine glass, which when we got it home and pulled off the price sticker, we realized the sticker was placed over a nick in the glass as if to hide it. Then, when we washed the glass, all the decorative elements on the glass washed away, so now I have a plain wine glass with a nick. I would not recommend buying anything here. I know quality is suspect at tourist trap gift shops, but this was the worst I've ever experienced. Unfortunately, we also bought a sweatshirt that I fully expect to fall apart...

Every time I drive out to Bodega Bay, I stop at the Tides Gift Shop. It is always an enjoyable experience to walk around the store and look at the offerings. New items can appear at anytime, while alot of the items are standard favorites. You see things from China, while some items can be local. There are alot of children books with ocean themes that are great for the kids. Next time I drive out this way, will be stopping by again to enjoy not just the gift shop, but the whole Tides...