Sunday, October 6, 2013

Places I have visited, I have a lot more to see!


visited 31 states (62%)
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visited 21 countries (9.33%)


Thanks to this site for the maps

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Wine Country

Heidelberg is in the Sonoma region. Nestled in a valley formed by the Russian River, the area is famous for their grape farms and wineries. Our hotel was called the H2 which was odd for me as my SHDR project uses the name H2 for the to-be named value hotel. H2 in Heidelberg was a very modern European style hotel run by very young people. The downstairs is a very chic restaurant and bar with the reception desk nestled into the bar. The rooms were very nice and Sally was in heaven. H2 was part of the tour package I chose. We awoke and went down for breakfast to be greeted by a trove of other cyclists all clothed in spandex. We wondered which group we would be riding with but with one gesture from the leader the group got up and left us alone in the restaurant. We realized they were not with the same tour group as us.

We made our way to Wine Country Bikes and met up with Jay our tour guide and one of the owners. It is now Tuesday their slowest day and we were told the couple that we were supposed to ride with canceled their reservation so we were going to have a private tour. Sally quickly told Jay all about our cycling abilities and he planned a route accordingly. We opted for the hybrid tandem since Jay was also on a hybrid. The ride out of the city was short and once into the valley Jay’s knowledge of grape growing, harvesting and wine making was very evident. He was a treasure for two wine novices. At each winery the staff or owners called out to him by his name. He engaged the staff asking about the harvest and was able to speak their language of grapes. At Bella, our favorite winery, they were sorting and washing their harvest of Zinfandel grapes. Jay was able to get the winemaker to agree for us to come into their area and sample some of the grapes. Remember the commercial where candy explodes in your mouth with flavor; this is what it was like as we bit into these perfectly ripened grapes. The grape eating was an experience in itself. We joined Bella’s club and then moved on stopping and sampling different wines.

At our least favorite winery we met a fun couple that was on our same schedule but they were driving. The husband swam from Alcatraz Island to the SF bay in an annual ritual on the day we were visiting the rock. While we were visiting with this couple Jay laid out an incredible spread of food for our lunch. Jay packs local goat cheese and crackers for the tastings but a driver brought out our lunch. The Granville grocery store made our lunch and it was delicious. As a final treat Jay had strawberries and chocolate paired with a nice red wine. Full as a tic as Sally would say; we pushed on past Raymond Burr’s winery and across town to Seghassio a nice Italian family winery. After joining their club and buying a couple of special reserve bottles our toured ended back in town. At the bike shop we were surprised to learn our package included a $150 credit at a hoity-toity restaurant in town. I went to look for a button down shirt at a local men’s clothier to find the cheapest shirt at $160. I threw on my already worn button down and off to a very nice dinner paired with a Russian River valley Pinot. Back at the hotel The iphone app still showed my phone had not left the rental office but with only 3% battery life my ability to track it was coming to an end. Day two of our biking adventure found just Sally and I on the hybrid tandem. Road construction blocked the normal pass to the other side of the valley so we took a scenic way which was perfect fast paced cycling for us. Believe it or not we were wined out and were out for detoxing ride but as we passed Moshi winery we remembered Jay saying this winery was in his top 3 in the area. Moshi was as Jay described. The pourer inside the winery, while new to the area, was very knowledgeable. An Apprentice winemaker from another winery came by and it was fascinating to hear them compare notes. Sally discovered to like “horse blanket” wines which are wines with Brettanomyces. She made friends with a couple from the Denver area that had biked out to the coast and back. At Moshi we hekd our ground and bought just a few bottles knowing that we went overboard the day before. During prohibition this area changed to tobacco growing and this side of the river was noted for their large tobacco drying barns that were now wineries. Very cool place for a bike ride. We showered at the bike store, cleaned up and then started the drive back to SF airport. We were finally were able to reach a lost and found agent who acknowledged having my phone. He explained what I needed to do to pick it up which was very easy during the rental car return. In hindsight my fear of an over inflated price for the wine tour was discredited. After experiencing how great it was and adding up all the perks we think we under paid for the experience. This was one of the best husband and wife trips we could have taken!