California's Fruit of the Vine - July 22-23, 2010

We decided to taste the fruit of the vine offered by Sonoma Valley and found there were many Winery's to choose from.  Our first stop was Robledo.

Robledo Winery - one of our favorites

After a full day of wine tasting, we finished the day in Windsor with Music in the Park where the featured band was Tommy Castro.

Tim getting Tommy Castro to autograph his new CD's

Barb's all time favorite is the Korbel Champagne Cellars.  We had visited here in 2000 and couldn't wait to come again.

We enjoyed a tasting of Korbel champagnes only available at the cellars

Korbel Cellars

After two days of wine tastings, we decided it was time for another ride, this time to Tamales Bay.

 We enjoyed the view, BBQ'd Oysters & Clam Chowder in Tamales Bay

San Francisco - July 21, 2010

Wednesday we got up and headed to San Francisco for the day. Our trip started at the Marin Headlands overlook for the Golden Gate Bridge and Fort Baker.

Golden Gate Bridge

In case you can't tell it was not only foggy but cold and windy too!

Golden Gate Bridge and barracks under the bridge for the soldiers manning gun emplacements (WWII)

Our next stop was at Dudley-Perkins Harley Davidson and from there on to San Francisco.  Here we went to the Asian Art Museum to see the Shanghai Exhibit (no pictures were allowed) and then explored the rest of the museum.

Crystal Water Buffalo

Ritual bronze vessel in the shape of a Rhinoceros (probably 1100-1050 BC)

After our visit to the museum, we drove in to the vicinity of Fisherman's Wharf and found a place to park for the rest of the day.  We took a ride on a cable car to get to Chinatown.

Can you tell it was Barb's first ride on a cable car?

Looking down Hyde Street from the cable car with Alcatraz in the distance

 

Our Cable Car

If you'd like to see our ride on the Cable Car, you can click the link below to see it.

http://s976.photobucket.com/albums/ae250/74Superglide/?action=view&current=DSCN9524.mp4

We got off the Cable Car in Chinatown and proceeded to do some shopping.  I had always wanted a cast iron tea pot and found the perfect one! Of course now we needed tea - so we also visited a tea shop where we had a tea tasting to find the perfect tea.

One of the streets in Chinatown

Dinner in Chinatown at Hunan Home - a great restaurant recommended by our Tea Shop Brewer

After dinner we took a bus to Union Square and walked a few blocks to a bar called Eddy Rickenbacker's.  Tim was interested in it because of the 40 antique motorcycles on display.  It was definitely unique!

As cold as the weather was there is always something in San Francisco 

that will warm your heart.

Barb says that's a Harley 45 - I know how to ride them

'41 Indian presented to Clark Gable by Samuel Goldwyn for his

outstanding performance in "Gone with the Wind"

Henderson 4 cylinder

Our last stop was the Balboa Cafe where Barb's Dad went when he was a Marine in port in San Francisco pre WWII.

Where in the world is Barb Roberts???

Barb & Tim at the Balboa Cafe

Mt. Tamalpais State Park - July 19, 2010

The morning began with Tim replacing the battery and all the light bulbs in the '42.  Once that was finished, we decided a ride to Mt. Tamalpais State Park would be a good way to test it out.  The bike performed great and the weather on top of Mt. Tamalpais was clear.

Tim replacing the light bulbs in the '42

Barb sitting high atop Mt. Tamalpais overlooking Stinson Beach

We could hear the ocean from here

We were above the fog on Mt. Tamalpais

Our next stop for the day was at Muir Woods National Monument which is a National Park within a State Park.  It also happens to be where Vicki spent a month with the Student Conservation Association repairing trails.  Tim has memories of visiting Muir Woods as a child and it was interesting to see how it had changed over the years.

Muir Woods

Barb & Tim at Muir Woods

This is the trail Vicki worked on

The Hillside Trail

Giant Sequoia's have a way of dwarfing you

Sunlight through the Redwoods

Muir Woods scenery

Reflection of Redwoods

Our next stop was the overlook for Muir Beach where it was definitely brisk! Strong winds & very cold air - not something Floridians are used to!

Barb & Tim at Muir Beach Overlook

Muir Beach

We rode along the Shoreline Highway to Olema where we had a fantastic dinner at the Farm House Restaurant.  The Barbequed Drakes Bay Oysters were outstanding as were the Grilled Halibut and Dungeness Crab Louis Salad.  By now it was very dark out and we had to travel over the mountains and through the woods to make our way back to Novato.  With the dim glow of a 6 volt headlight, windy back roads can be a challenge at night but we made it safely home to camp.

Driving north to Novato, CA - July 17, 2010

This was a travel day leaving Santa Margarita and heading north on CA 101 to Novato.  A little ways past Paso Robles, we drove by signs to Camp Roberts an Army National Guard Post.  Tim needed to have a picture and security told us there was a museum on the Camp we could visit.  We decided this would be a detour we didn't want to miss.

Camp Roberts as seen from 101

Corp. Harold W. Roberts

Medal of Honor Recipient - WWI

Corp. Roberts is the only enlisted man with a base named after him

Our next camp site was in Novato, Marin County - just north of San Francisco.  Our route took us through San Francisco, Golden Gate Park and across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Golden Gate Bridge

Our destination - Novato RV Park

Santa Margarita, CA: July 13-16

We left Malibu with a lot of fond memories and a wish that we could stay longer but we pressed on to Santa Margarita, CA.  We arrived around 5:00 PM and were treated to a nice shady sight where we set up for the next 4 nights.  The first day was maintenance (oil change for the van) and then on to lunch - great Mexican.   We then stopped to see an outstanding Veterans Memorial "Faces of Freedom" in Atascadero, CA.  The Memorial was built to honor all veterans and specifically the 231 Veterans from San Luis Obispo County who paid the ultimate price for our nation.  Their names are engraved on the heros wall at the Memorial.  It was truly a memorable sight.

"Faces of Freedom" Veterans Memorial - Atascadero, CA

Tim at "Faces of Freedom"

The back of "Faces of Freedom"

Next we decided to explore and see what winery's we could find for tastings.  We decided our first stop would be Pomar Junction Vineyard & Winery.  When we arrived, we were told they were one of the few Winery's open for tastings on Wednesdays.  Good luck was with us!  Greeting us & pouring our wine was Shelley, and what started as a quick tasting turned into an afternoon affair.  The tasting room was surrounded by the vineyards and great views were found in every direction.  The tasting was very laid back and we were encouraged to roam the grounds as we sipped their wines and return for another varietal when we were ready. Outside, there were gardens and even a boxcar and caboose that we roamed through. We spent a leisurely 3 hours tasting multiple offerings and enjoying the company of Shelley.  As we prepared to leave, one of their neighbors appeared in the garden - a large hawk!  It came to cool off in the fountain, have a drink and the go on to the bird bath.  We were all entertained by its antics.

Pomar Junction Vineyards

Barb enjoying her wine

Tim enjoys his wine while checking out the caboose

The Hawk

Enjoying a bath

While we were talking with Shelley, she mentioned that there was music in the park in Templeton on Wednesday evenings.  She said it was always fun and something we should check out.  We decided to go and she provided us with lawn chairs, wine and glasses.  We purchased sandwiches to go with our wine and proceeded to have a great evening enjoying the swing band in the park.

Tim at Templeton's Music in the Park

The Band

Can you tell we're enjoying ourselves?

Our final day here was spent riding the Super Glide to the Hearst Castle. Temperature swings were the order of the day.  When we left Santa Margarita, it was in the 90's but when we got to the coast we were glad to have our leather jackets on.  We arrived at the Hearst Castle visitors center to purchase our tickets for a tour and then took a break to have a picnic in the parking lot.  The first part of the tour was an IMAX film on the building of the Castle.  We then took the 5 mile bus ride to the Castle itself.  The tour took us from Neptune's Pool, the gardens,  through Casa del Sol and Casa Grande.  The views were beautiful and the houses and gardens were spectacular.  It's hard to believe that people really lived here at one time.

Tim enjoying our picnic 

Casa del Sol

Barb at Neptune's Pool

Hearst Castle sits on a hilltop overlooking the Pacific Ocean 5 miles away

Casa Grande

Indoor Pool with gold tiles

At the end of the Castle tour by the indoor pool

As we began our ride home, we stopped on the coast to join the rest of the tourists in watching the elephant seals sunning themselves.  It was definitely a sight to see!

Elephant Seal taking in the sun

Elephant Seals on the beach