Day 50 – April 29 – Dry Creek Winery

Dorrie woke up with a bad headache.  Yesterday our plan was to leave at 10:30 and drive to a country store (Dorrie and Mary had been told about it at the visitor’s center) to get sandwiches and then head to a winery for lunch and a bottle of wine.

Because Dorrie didn’t feel good, I told Rick he should take the car to see about getting an alignment – the front tires were cupping pretty bad.  So he took off to handle that chore. 

I walked around the campground some and took a few pictures.

Our campers here at the Alexander Valley RV Park

The Russian River at the edge of the campground

Another view of the river

Dorrie got up not long after Rick left and we sat outside for a while.  Finally the flies got to us and we went inside.  Rick got back about 1:30 and we loaded up for the country store and winery.

The country store was just that – a real country store.  We got our sandwiches and bought a bottle of Damnation beer for Rick.  It had a wire cage on it holding the cork stopper in place.

We drove to Sbragia family vineyards – suggested by the visitor’s center for it outstanding view of the Dry Creek valley.

We had a coupon for 2 for 1 wine tasting and tried several of their wines.  Most were made from
their own grapes but they also used some Napa Valley grapes because the owner liked their grapes.  He was the head winemaker for the Beringer vineyards before starting his own winemaking.  All the wines we tasted were good, the best was a bottle of $80 Cabernet Sauvignon.  We didn’t buy that one – instead we got a $22 bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to drink with our lunch.  It was very refreshing.

Dry Creek Valley from the patio

Dorrie, Mary, and Me with our wine

Dorrie, Jody, Mary on the sofa, Rick being himself behind the sofa

We had a good time talking to the girl serving the wine – Jody.  We got her to come out for a couple of pictures with us on the patio.

Just as we were leaving we ran into another couple that came in for tasting.  They were from the state of Washington and when they heard about our trip, she suggested a couple of places we had to see when we went through Washington.  They seemed to be a very nice couple.  They wanted us to stay and drink with them but Dorrie really didn't feel that great and we left.

We returned home to the camper and had dinner.  The guy from Washington had told Rick about a brewery he had tried to go to earlier, but they were not yet open when he was there.  So after dinner we drove back to Healdsburg to the Bear Republic Brewing Company for some of their local brew.  It was pretty good beer.  Then it was back home for the night.

Tomorrow we hope to move to a campground in the Redwoods (they don't take reservations) and we will be without phone, wifi, and TV service for up to three days.  I will post when I can.

Day 49 – April 28 – Moving to Wine Country

We left the campground at the fair grounds and moved towards highway 101 a little north to our next campground – Alexander Valley RV Park near Healdsburg (pronounced Heelds-burg).

We had read reviews of the campground and it did not sound good – people described a “tent city” atmosphere with 24-hour security roaming the area.  What we found was a very nice campground with nicely spaced campsites, well maintained and almost empty.  I am not sure if the previous reviewers came at a bad time – maybe grape harvest time and temporary workers were living in tents, or maybe the Russian river running at the edge of the campground was an attraction for a rowdy group.  They do have a day use area in the campground, but tents are not allowed in the area.  Maybe the campground has new owners that have changed the situation, whatever the reason, this is a nice campground that I would not be afraid to recommend to anyone looking for a place to stay in wine country.

After settling in and eating a light lunch we decided to drive to town to the visitors center to get some idea of how to spend our one full day in wine country.  We are not in Napa Valley but more to the north and west of it in the Alexander Valley wine region.

Dorrie and Mary went into the visitor’s center to get the information and returned to the car with some maps and coupons for wine tasting.  We decided to drive up highway 101 and then jump off on highway 128 to drive through the valley.  The plan was to make a small loop and return to Healdsburg.  Rick did not realize we were not in the Napa Valley area and once he started driving he decided he wanted to see Napa Valley.  So our short loop turned into about a 3-½ hour drive. 

We were driving along, trying to sightsee at 50 miles per hour on narrow, curvy blacktop roads.  We came to the town of Saint Helena in the heart of Napa Valley and he made a last minute decision to pull into an A & W restaurant, just missing the curb and sidewalk.  We had our root beer floats (Dorrie just had an ice cream cone) and back in the car I had decided I was going to suggest we slow down some so we could see more than just blurs – but we hit stop and go traffic that allowed us to see the country side.

One thing we noticed was the rose bushes planted at the ends of some of the rows of grape vines.  We didn’t know why so I looked it up before writing this recap of the day.  It seems there are three reasons for the roses.  First, it is a tradition.  Second some claim that in humid areas or places where varieties of grapes are planted that are susceptible to diseases, roses can often serve as an early warning system.  Grapes and roses grow exactly the same way and are affected by the same diseases and problems.  The roses are more delicate and often will get the disease first.  The third reasons I found is it just looks nice to the passerby.

Another question we had was about grapes growing on the hillside.  I had always heard it was better for them to be on the hillside instead of the valley.  So I looked that up also.  Here is what I found – “In vineyards and home gardens grapevines are best planted on the southern facing slope of a hillside, providing wind protection and increasing the amount of sunlight reaching the vines. Hillsides aid in water drainage and contain soil that is low in nutrients, forcing the roots to grow deeper, resulting in a healthier plant that produces larger fruit than a grapevine that is grown on flat land. Grapevines are typically grown in rows running across the gradient and ending one-quarter of the way past the crest of the hill; planting farther down the crest restricts the grapevines from receiving the benefits of hillside planting.”

Here are some of the pictures we managed to take on our whirl-wind tour of Napa Valley.

 

 

Day 48 – April 27 – Last Day in Pleasanton

This is our last day here at the fair grounds in Pleasanton.  We have really enjoyed our weeklong stay – not necessarily the campground.  We have done a little of everything – sightseeing in San Francisco, a couple of days of relaxing, and best of all reconnecting with family.

Today was a day to relax before we moved towards Napa Valley tomorrow.  We had told Ed and Diane that we would get together with them again before we left the area.  I talked to Ed on Friday and we decided to go to a local restaurant on Sunday evening (today).  He said they really wanted to meet Rick and Mary so it was arranged. 

Ed and Diane came by the campground a little after four in the afternoon – with several bottles of wine.  Rick and Mary came over to our camper and I opened one of the wine bottles for a before dinner drink.  As I was pulling the cork out of the bottle, the top of the bottle broke with a loud pop.  We gathered up the glass pieces and I opened another bottle.  After talking for a few minutes we followed in Rick’s car as Ed lead the way to the restaurant.

Outstanding food and excellent company were the order of the evening, and made for a very wonderful time.  Afterwards we all returned to our camper to talk some more.  It is truly a shame we had not stayed in touch when we were younger.  So many years of not knowing each other has been a real waste.

Both Ed and Diane have a way of making you feel as if you are old friends and have a welcoming presence that just makes you feel at ease.

Day 47 – April 26 – San Francisco Area Lighthouses

We drove to Point Bonita Light in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, just across the bay from San Francisco.  To get there we crossed the Bay Bridge once more, took highway 101 to the Golden Gate Bridge.  Crossing it we drove to the path leading to the lighthouse.  Our book on lighthouses said it was about a one-mile walk to the lighthouse so we all headed on the path.  The path started up hill at first and we hoped we would be able to see the lighthouse once we topped the hill.

Well, once we topped the hill, all we saw as a down hill path that curved around the hillside.

The path leading down to the lighthouse

We walked on until we came to a bridge on the path. The wind was really blowing from the ocean side.  Not far from the bridge we saw the path lead to a tunnel – but there was a locked door on tunnel.

Tunnel leading to the lighthouse.  If you look close, you can see the path once used on the side of the hillside

The ocean on the side of the path

It was right at noon, and Dorrie had seen a sign that the lighthouse was open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 12:30 until 3:30.  Rick and Mary came into view so we walked back to them to see what we wanted to do.  We debated on returning to the car, but in the end decided to wait since we had already walked back this far.

After 30 minutes we saw four or five people with nametags walking our way.  They said they would open up, but first one of the group told us a little about the history of the light.  It seems the current light is the second one built in this area.  This first light was placed on a hilltop, which turned out to be a poor choice since the area has so much fog the light was not effective because the fog covered the light.  So a new light was built, sometime in the 1870s.  The new light was placed on the point lower to the water.  To get to the location a very narrow path lead around the hill.  It was determined that a tunnel was required and in a span of 8 weeks the tunnel was built.  They did not use anything but picks and shovels in the construction.  The tunnel is about 100 feet long.

After exiting the tunnel we got our first view of the lighthouse.  

Our first view of the lighthouse.  Note the bridge to the left of the lighthouse

Dorrie in front of the light

To reach the lighthouse we had to cross a suspension bridge – which move from side to side from people walking on it and the wind blowing against it. 

The suspension bridge leading to the lighthouse

There was an arch in the rocks that the lighthouse was built on – one of the staff said it was called the Salt Arch.  

Arch, lighthouse, and bridge

Waves working on the rocks

She also told us the keepers lived up the hill on the bluffs.  At one point one of the keepers had some small kids and the parents were afraid the kids would fall off the cliff.  So the father fashioned a harness for the kids to keep them safe – and one did fall off the cliff but was not hurt because of the harness.

We walked back to the car and just as I approached the car, the wind blew my hat off and over the edge of the cliff.  It stopped on the plants just over the edge.  I started to try to reach it and a young gentleman held my arm and I managed to get my hat back. 

We drove to a great overlook of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. 

A clear day in San Francisco 

After pictures and a lunch eaten in the car we started for Point Reyes Light – about 50 miles away.

The road to Point Reyes Light was very curvy and rough.  At one point we hit a bump so hard that Dorrie and I flew off the back seat.  We reached the lighthouse and once more there was an uphill path we had to walk.  The sign said it was four tenths of a mile to the lighthouse.  It was a very hard walk and we were disappointed to find there was a downhill walk to the lighthouse on the edge of the cliff.

We took some pictures from above since the warning sign leading to the lighthouse said the walk back up would be about the same as walk up to the top of a 30 story building.

This point has the strongest wind in California – up to 130 miles per hour.

The impact of the strong wind on a group of trees

When the wind is too strong the walk to the lighthouse has to be closed to protect the visitors.  While we were looking down at the lighthouse we were told there were Orcas heading back out to the ocean, but we never could really say we saw them.

A beach view from the path leading to the lighthouse

Flowers on the cliff over the ocean

After the walk back to the car, it was time to return to the camper.