⚓🌳🎗️

📍 Santa Rosa, California

My Santa Rosa Anchor

🎗️ The Richard & Annette Bloch Cancer Survivors Plaza at Fremont Park, in Santa Rosa, within walking distance of TrueNorth Health Center. A quiet place of hope where Nathanael comes to breathe, walk, give thanks, and celebrate flourishing nursing.

🎗️ A plaza built on hope

👨‍👩‍👦 At the heart of the plaza, bronze figures of a family run hand in hand through a series of open portals. The sculpture, by artist Victor Salmones, shows people of every age passing through cancer treatment and coming out the other side into recovery. Inspiring plaques line the walk between tall evergreen hedges.

🌱 The plaza is one of a family of Cancer Survivors Parks created by Richard and Annette Bloch. Richard Bloch, co-founder of H&R Block, was told in 1978 that he had terminal lung cancer. After treatment, his cancer went into remission, and in 1980 he and Annette founded the R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation to help others facing cancer find information and hope.

🪧 “With appreciation to all the cancer patients, physicians & scientists who have gone before us so the present treatments are available.”
— Plaque at the Richard & Annette Bloch Cancer Survivors Park, Santa Rosa

🙏 That plaque is why this place anchors Nathanael. It honors patients, nurses, physicians, and scientists together, and it reminds every caregiver that hope is passed hand to hand, just like the family in the sculpture.

🥷 The Nursing Ninja War on Cancer, Heart Disease & Diabetes

☀️ On October 20, 2026, Nathanael stopped at the plaza, stood under the sun and the tall trees, and took a moment to celebrate flourishing nursing. Time outdoors, a walk, fresh air, and a grateful heart are simple tools anyone can use to ease stress and help sleep come more easily.

💪 They are also part of a bigger fight. Daily movement, whole-food plant-based meals, restful sleep, stress care, not smoking, and staying connected to people you love can lower the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and several kinds of cancer, and can help people already living with these conditions feel and do better.

• 🚶 Move: take a walk in a park near you today.
• 🥦 Eat plants: fill your plate with vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grains, SOS-free.
• 😴 Rest: protect a regular sleep time.
• 🧘 Breathe: pause for a few slow breaths and give thanks.
• 🩺 Screen: ask your clinician which cancer, heart, and diabetes screenings are right for you, and use your health insurance benefits for them.

🌮 Nathanael’s favorite flourishing restaurant: El Patio #2

🌺 Just steps from the plaza, behind a white picket fence covered in bougainvillea, is El Patio #2 (El Patio Mexican Restaurant). It is Nathanael’s favorite flourishing nursing restaurant, the place he goes after a walk at the plaza, and it is within walking distance of TrueNorth Health Center too.

✅ Dr. McDougall Healthy Restaurant Award
El Patio #2’s McDougall Menu carries the Dr. McDougall Healthy Restaurant Award and is made with no dairy, meat, oil, or lard, inspired by Dr. John McDougall’s starch-based, plant-powered approach.

🫘 On the McDougall Menu (as posted in the restaurant, October 20, 2026):

• 🌮 Beans & Rice Taco Plate · Single Beans & Rice Taco
• 🫔 Beans & Rice Enchilada Plate · Single Beans & Rice Enchilada
• 🥦 McDougall Veggie Plate: rice, beans, onions, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper, lettuce, fresh salsa & 3 corn tortillas
• 🌯 McDougall Burrito “Our Famous” · McDougall Burrito Deluxe (with vegetables) · McDougall Burrito Grande (black beans & brown rice)
• 🌾 Whole Wheat Burrito Plate: whole wheat tortilla, brown rice, pinto beans, lettuce & fresh salsa
• 🥗 McDougall Taco Salad “Cindy Special”: lettuce, beans, brown rice, enchilada sauce, fresh salsa & 3 corn tortillas

⭐ Nathanael’s favorite: the McDougall Taco Salad “Cindy Special”
🥬 A big plate of lettuce, beans, and brown rice, topped with enchilada sauce, fresh salsa, and 3 corn tortillas, enjoyed on the flower-filled patio. Just $11.95 (posted price, October 20, 2026). 🎉 A fiber-rich, plant-powered win!

🌱 Kitchen Monk tip: the McDougall Menu is already free of oil and animal products. For the full Kitchen Monk SOS-free standard, choose brown rice and whole wheat when offered, ask whether the beans, rice, and sauces can be made without added salt, and drink water. 🎉 Bonus win: every one of these plates is loaded with fiber from beans and whole grains.

📍 El Patio #2 · 901 4th St, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 · 📞 (707) 571-2222
🕐 Please call ahead for current hours and menu.

🌱 Find your plant-powered community

🤝 Flourishing grows best together. PlantPure Communities is a nonprofit that helps people start and join local plant-based “pods,” shares free recipes and nutrition education (much of it drawn from Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s research), and runs a campaign asking restaurants to offer at least one plant-based meal made with no oil.

⭐ Featured community: Plant Powered Metro New York (PPMNY)
🗽 Founded in 2019, PPMNY is a network of 150+ volunteers, educators, instructors, healthcare professionals, and community leaders helping people find better health through whole-food, plant-based nutrition across New York City, Long Island, and nearby counties, with cooking classes, film screenings, grocery tours, potlucks, and community forums.

🍽️ PlantPure restaurants: the PlantPure restaurant campaign recognizes restaurants that serve oil-free, plant-based meals. El Patio #2’s McDougall Menu is exactly that kind of plate. 🎉

📝 Help shape the park’s future

🏛️ The City of Santa Rosa is writing a Fremont Neighborhood Park Reimagined Master Plan. The city is exploring designs that preserve the park’s historic character while improving safety, recreation, and amenities. Its public survey (in English and Spanish) is open through October 30, 2026. If you love this plaza, add your voice.