We decided to take a great route over the Sierra Nevada range through Monitor Pass.  Very beautiful.

We arrived at Lee Vining, California this afternoon very near Mono Lake.  Mono Lake is a sad looking lake which has been nearly destroyed by the diversion of water from the lake to Los Angeles.  What once was a major flyway for many birds has been nearly destroyed.  Concern over the impact has led to a project to increase the lake level once again to restore habitat and attract the wildlife again.  The water levels are up some but it will take a long time to bring it back and California’s high water consumption make this a controversial project. 

From Lee Vining we entered Yosemite on the Tioga Pass.  We were lucky this road was open as it frequently closes this time of year and will close completely very soon and won’t reopen until late spring 2011 due to snow.  Here is the “muscle car” about to enter Yosemite.

Tioga Pass is nearly 60 miles long and traverses several ecosystems.  We were in high mountain passes as well as beautiful meadowlands.  Yosemite is noted for the enormous granite features and waterfalls.  Our trip today let us get a glimpse of many of the granite features but the waterfalls would have to wait for our other days in the park.  We had a long road trip today but did a couple of short hikes which helped stretch our legs.  Olmsted Point was one of our stops and we were glad we did not just take in the view from the roadside pullout.  We took about a half mile hike and our first views of some of the parks granite wonders from the north.

By the time we got to our home for the next three days just outside the southwest entrance of the park in El Portal we were exhausted.  Here is the view from our balcony and I wish you could hear this river.  It sang us to sleep each night.

Reno was our first stop and we didn’t stay long.  If you’ve never been there I wouldn’t rush.  Kind of sleazy.  The trip over the mountains was pretty but the city itself isn’t much to look at.  Here’s the famous sign:

Our next destination was Virginia City.  This is kind of a goofy little town that time left behind.  The main street is full of old time saloons, gift shops, tourist traps, etc.  We walked around for a bit and even dropped a few coins in the slots before heading home.  One very interesting thing about staying in northern Lake Tahoe is that you are right in the middle of two enormously important political races for U. S. Senate and the political advertising is vicious.  We thought about spending the night in “romantic” Virginia City but decided that this little B&B wouldn’t live up to Emily Dunn’s standards:

Reluctantly, we turned the “muscle car” back westward and bunked down in our Hyatt High Sierra Lodge digs.

We took a few more photos of beautiful Lake Tahoe during the early morning.

We had another light dinner at the Hyatt and then decided to try our luck at Blackjack for a few minutes.  We ended up sitting next to a guy from Hilton Head!  Small world.  He and his wife just moved there from Ellicot City, Maryland last December.

Here’s a nice view of Donner lake:

We were very cold and wet by the time we reached the trailhead.  We stopped by the grocery store and purchased some fixings for a little dinner in front of the fireplace.

The root system of each tree is enormously wide but very shallow.  The biggest risk to their survival not that they are protected by the government is wind.  Armstrong is located in a canyon which greatly reduces the risk of high winds.  Check out this root system.

After leaving Armstrong we headed west to the Sonoma Coast north of San Francisco.  We drove along route 1 from Jenner to Bodega Bay.  This is a very desolate coastline but quite beautiful.  We stopped and talked to a real character who was selling smoked salmon from his truck parked on the roadside.  This was a very “California” experience.  He was launching tennis palls in the air with a little racquet ball racquet and his adorable dog leaped high in the air to snag them every time.  This big guy must have been quite an athlete in his day but he is definately burned out now.  He expressed opinions on every sport but was especially expert on the topic of tennis.  His business card has a photo of his dog surfing–classic.  We bought some of his smoked salmon and continued on our way. 

At Bodega Bay we started inland and drove through the little farm town of Bodega.  You wouldn’t think much of this town but it was the place where the Alfred Hitchcock movie “The Birds” was filmed.  If you imagined the town in black and white, it is easy to see nothing has changed much here since that frightening movie was filmed.  Outside the general store is a weird looking scarecrow type figure standing with birds all over him-creepy!

At that point we were in for a long drive across central California to Lake Tahoe.  We drove along I-80 through Sacramento.  Didn’t see Ahhhnold but did see lots of beautiful farm country.  After that the scenery started to change as we began the climb into the Sierra Nevada mountain range.  The temperature also dropped.  Lake Tahoe and the vicinity is beautiful.  Since the lake temperature never exceeds 68 degrees it is unlikely John would ever consider a second home here. 

Our Hyatt High Sierra Lodge place is huge and gorgeous.  Completely and comfortably equipped with everything-fireplace two baths, two bedrooms, big living room and full kitchen.  We even have our own laundry.  Our balcony looks out at the mountains, aspens in full fall foliage, and ponderosa pines.

We didn’t arrive until late but we shared a wonderful bottle of Ramey Chardonnayat our place before heading to the Hyatt Resort and Casino next door for a light dinner.   On our way out, John placed $60 on a roulette table for one spin and picked up $80 for a quick $20 profit before bedtime.

We started out at 7:30 the next morning for a beautiful drive through Napa Valley heading toward Howell Mountain.  Soon we were on a very narrow country road winding our way up Howell Mountain.  We were definately feeling that we were headed to the middle of nowhere.  Dunn Vineyard does not have a sign and barely has a mailbox with a street number.  We drove by the driveway a couple of times before we spotted where it must be.  We pulled up to a very mountainous farm with several acres of vines planted that we could see, lots of flowers, an old tractor, an old fire truck, two houses and lots of wine making equipment.  The first person we saw was a guy wearing a cowboy hat and a tee shirt which read “Out of Tequila—Life is Crap!”  That gentleman turned out to be Randy Dunn himself.  He quickly hollered for Kristina and she came out to give us a warm greeting.  Not only did she give us a wonderful tour of their winemaking operation and their wine caves but she treated us to a tasting of three different vintages of the Dunn Howell Mountain Cabernet.  Check out the photos of John and his “relatives” along with some freshly harvested grapes. 

Here are some of the freshly harvested grapes and the Dunn Vineyard wine caves>

We said our goodbyes and headed off to our next scheduled appointment at Fantesca Estate & Winery in St. Helena.  This is another small vineyard which is not generally open to the public.  Our Hyatt concierge, Ramon, set this visit up for us and it was a treat.  Fantesca is owned and operated by a couple originally from Minnesota who were originally with Best Buy during its rise to a national powerhouse.  We were met by Susan Hoff, one of the owners.  Susan gave us a detailed history of how they purchased the vineyard in 2004 and the process of creating their brand.  They produce chardonnay, cabernet and a very limited production pinot noir named for her father, King Richard Reserve Pinot Noir(fantastic.)  King Richard was Susan’s late mother’s nickname for Susan’s father.  We toured the vineyard, had a tasting in their enormous wine cave and then headed up to meet with their Sales and Allocation Manager, Angela, to sign up for their wine club and, of course, purchase a couple of bottles for the road. 

We finished there barely in time to meet Cleo Pahlmeyer, daughter of Pahlmeyer Winery owner, Jason Pahlmeyer.  This appointment was made for us by Greg Butch at Elizabeth’s.  We really looked forward to this tasting as we learned to love the Pahlmeyer chardonnays at Elizabeth’s.  Cleo was delightful and sat down to share a tasting of some of their top wines in her office in St. Helena.  Pahlmeyer does not grow grapes but purchases grapes from various growers to produce their wines.  Yes, we did buy more wine both to take and to ship home. 

After that we cruised around Napa valley marveling at all the names we recognized of well-known and not so well-known wines:  Opus One, Beringer, Sterling, Grigch, Far Niente, etc. etc.  It was a beautiful day.  If we had another day we would probably just stop by all the major winemakers who have beautiful chateaus or historic buildings filled with art and artifacts but we have to think about moving on.

We got to our hotel and decided the “good Dunns” better hit the gym again for a workout before dinner.  Afterwards we walked to another nice little Italian restaurant in the Santa Rosa historic district.

Our first stop was at Ramey Wines compliments of the folks at Elizabeth’s on 37th. 

 Ramey is not open to the public for tastings so we were thrilled to be included.  We had a great group of 8 folks for our 10AM tasting appointment. Two couples were traveling together from Pittsburgh and two guys traveling together who were from NYC originally but one is not from Washington, D.C.   Since we are newbies at this, we were a little anxious about the idea of a 10AM wine tasting but quickly got the hang of things.  Patrice Veneziano was our guide to flights of whites and reds including five Ramey chardonnays, a Syrah, Claret and three cabs.  If you haven’t done this before, you don’t have to worry about getting sloshed at 10AM.  The idea is to learn the subtle and not so subtle differences between one wine and the others so you barely swallow any wine.  You are given a good 1/4 glass of each but most of it you pour into a bucket.  Ramey makes incredible and rather pricey wines so it kind of broke our hearts each time we tipped our beautiful crystal stems full of wine into the bucket but you do get used to it.

Ramey doesn’t grow their own grapes so they are pure wine makers and are well know for crafting some beauties.  They have slick, modern facilities in Healdsburg.  Not your typical romantic image of the vineyard but a great experience.  We ended up taking a couple of their great chards for our road trip and had a mixed case of chards and cabs shipped back to Georgia which will be timed to arrive right after we return.  Amex is going to love us by the end of this trip!

Our next stop was a quick look at the Francis Ford Coppola vineyard.  This is a Disneyland type atmosphere which is not yet complete.  An incredibly over-the-top chateau with a tasting rooms and restaurant overlooking the rolling hills and some of their vineyards.  The place is loaded with movie memorabilia and wine accessories(for purchase.)  A hotel is under construction which will be a full-service resort.  We did not taste any wines as we had two other planned tastings scheduled and needed to pace our selves.  This place is definately worth a look and they do make some great wines.  Not sure how much they charge for tastings.

Our next tasting was at another beautiful place, Ferrari-Carano.  Josh at the Hyatt got us comped for a tasting here but we would recommend going even if you are not comped since they will refund the tasting price if you buy any wines either to take with you or to ship home.  We are fortunate that Georgia is a place you can ship wine.  This vineyard is owned by a former gaming attorney named Carano who is now in his late 70′s and lives in Reno.  Obviously the gaming business is lucrative as you will see when you tour the facilities and grounds.  The name Ferrari is for his mother.  

The gardens here are so beautiful to walk through.  The chateau is another eye popper.  We took another bottle for the road and shipped a few bottles home for our “cellar.”

Our next experience was an appointment set up in Sonoma County by Josh at the Hyatt.  It was the beautiful Chalk Hill Vineyard.  This very large property was owned by yet another attorney named Furst.  He was a class action liability attorney (of course he was) and he developed Chalk Hill into a world class vineyard.  They do grow all their own grapes on an extensive property.  It is not as glitzy as some, but it does have extensive facilities for entertaining large and small groups.  He recently sold the property and the new owner is planning extensive development of the facilities with a resort type model planned.  Caesar was our host for this tasting and did an outstanding job.  Quite the personality.  Tastings are open to the public and even if you have to pay it is well worth it.  Their chards are wonderful but they make several types of red and white including a very nice and crisp sauvignon blanc.  You may want to linger on their lovely outdoor deck while sipping one of their wines and look out over the hillside vineyards.  If we had planned ahead we could have arranged for a wine and food pairing in their dining room.  They grow all their own produce on the property in addition to the grapes and we are told their chef is terrific.  Maybe next time.  We got back to our hotel by about 5:30 and decided we better hit the gym for a workout if we wanted to justify actually drinking a nice bottle of wine with our dinner later that evening.  Aren’t we good?  Oh yeah.  We had a light dinner with a decent bottle of Hunter Chardonnay but our palates had been totally spoiled throughout the day so we didn’t even finish it. 

Tomorrow is Napa time.

After that we were on our way in our bright red, Chevy Malibu “muscle car.”  So, a Chevy Malibu doesn’t really count as a “muscle car” but it is bright red.  We drove through San Francisco heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge and only got a little lost(Ok a lot lost) but we were tired. The Golden Gate Bridge sure looked pretty old and not so golden as it did in the jigsaw puzzles we used to do with Walter as kids.  It is pretty old.  From there it was pretty smooth sailing up to Santa Rosa and our lovely Hyatt Vineyard Creek Resort.  Santa Rosa is a great location in Sonoma County but right next to Napa County.  Our Hyatt is right in the historic district.  One fun fact is that Santa Rosa was the home of Peanuts creator, Charles Schulz.  As a result there are statues of Peanuts characters scattered around the historic district including the Hyatt’s own Lucy.

"Lucy"

The Hyatt is very conveniently located and well-appointed  if you want to visit both Sonoma and Napa vineyards but it isn’t one of the charming little boutique inns scattered throughout wine country.  That being said, the entire staff from those at the front desk, our concierge(Ramon), the assistant food and beverage manager(Josh) and all the servers at the restaurant were incredibly friendly, helpful and informative.  A big variety of historic district restaurants are in easy walking distance for dinner too.  After a long day of tastings the last thing you want to do is get back in a car to drive to dinner.

The Moon Coming Up Over the Marsh

and:

The Sun Coming Up Over the Marsh

Our room overlooked the riverfront which isn’t exactly hopping but it was pleasant.  John loves bridges, boats, and all manner of transportation so he was excited to see the bridge in front of our room in action just after we arrived.  Here it is:

Downtown Jacksonville

Of course we had to walk back and forth across this bridge!  It is a vehicle as well as a pedestrian bridge.  Cathy was just glad it seldom goes into action because otherwise John may have stayed up all night watching it.  We walked to dinner along Jacksonville’s riverwalk.  This isn’t exactly San Antonio but we had beautiful early evening weather.  We went to sleep early to get ready for what awaits us at home.

Goodnight Jacksonville

Sunrise on Gulf of Mexico

Late yesterday afternoon we tried our hand at some gambling in two of the casinos, the Beau Rivage and the Hardrock.  Wonder of wonders we ended up a bit ahead and were able to make our escape before the nightime crowds started pouring in.  Cathy sat next to a 93 year old man who called himself “The Colonel” at a black jack table.  He was visiting from Florida with his son and was celebrating the fact that 65 years ago that day he had come to Biloxi for his honeymoon.  He was quite excited to play blackjack and, other than being a little slow when matched with the lightening-quick dealers, he did just great.  He let Cathy know that usually he has one gin martini each night before dinner but that tonight he was going to have two!  Quite a guy.  

We had looked into staying at one of the beach front casinos but none of the casino hotels have “no-smoking” rooms.  Hard to believe but true.  These casinos do have pretty great deals on rooms but it isn’t worth putting up with living in an ashtray as far as we were concerned.  They did do a good job of handling smoke from the gamblers so the non-smokers in the casino do not leave smelling like they just put out a forest fire.

For dinner we tried another local place which featured Italian food and jazz.  John claimed it was the best meal he had had on the entire trip.  The service was very friendly and we got a lot of information about the frustratingly, slow progress of recovery.