We saw and followed a bright light for quite a number of miles on a summer evening in July of 1997.

On July 2, 1997 at about 9:00p.m. my friend I pulled up in front of my apartment building. We were chatting a few minutes before we went to our respective houses.  As I started to get out of the car to unlock the passenger door (the lock was broken at that time).  We both noticed a halogen bright light appear above the shopping center that is about the length of a football field away.  We both assumed that it was the lights of the center comming on for the evening.  As I got out of the car I saw that the lights were not yet on and I assumed that it was a small plane.  The city airport is about two miles away.  As I was walking around the car and looking up a small plane came into view.  And I could clearly tell that it was not a plane.  When I got to the door the light started ascending and moving in a northward direction.  I ran back around to the drivers side and hopped inside, and said "Well what do you think?  Let's go?"  My friend said ok.  We began to follow this light for about two miles on Petaluma Blvd.  (This road runs parrell with 101.) The light stopped moving, so I drove into a parking lot.  When I stopped the car we could clearly see the light above the tops of some trees.  The lights began to move and it looked triangular, and it appeared to sway in pendulum fashion.  It then began to descend.  We could then see it through the trees.  And it began to move north again.  All of the movements were very slow.  We got back onto Petaluma Blvd. and continued to go north for several miles.  It then stopped again.  We turned West onto Petaluma Blvd. over 101 to get gas. The light then began to move very slowly west.  We got onto Stony Point road and went in a northwest direction and then turned onto Liberty road heading west.  We stayed on this road  watching this light until we reached Petaluma Valley Ford road.  The light was moving out toward the Two Rock Coast Guard station.  We were stopped at the stop sign.  We then turned east and headed back toward Petaluma.  The light appeared to be headi! ng out toward the ocean.  During this sighting it seemed almost as if this light/object were doing survey or taking pictures.  It moved very slowly most of the time ascending and descending and appearing to change shape.