Apr 3 – 5
Wed, Apr 3 – hang out day in Lodi. Overcast, and the look of rain, but comfortable temperatures. Headed for downtown Lodi to find a place for lunch. Wandered the main street and settled on The Dancing Fox – a restaurant, winery AND brewery. Really good food, their Sauvignon Blanc was yummy and the beer that our server, Luis, recommended for Robin (Picnic Lightning for it's hoppiness – not one of theirs) was a huge success for that particular consumer. We asked for Luis' advice on wineries to visit and he was very helpful. Of course, his first suggestion was their tasting room in the back of the restaurant (had no idea it was there) and it was complimentary with our meal. Delightful experience, and our tasting host was very friendly. Had some interesting discussions with him on various topics, including the current political atmosphere in the US. Wished him and his country luck when we parted ways.
From there we headed off to Jessie's Grove - rustic farm setting. Certainly not as fancy and modern looking as some we've been to, but a great experience. Once finished there, we figured we should just head back to the RV. You know – bevvies with lunch and then two different tasting rooms can give you a bit of a buzz (at least it can for me). But there was a large, somewhat commercial winery about ½ mile from the park (Michael David), so "what the heck" we decided to stop in there as well.
As with most tasting rooms, lots of reds but limited whites. I told Marissa, our host, that I would pass on the tastings and keeper glass, as there were only a couple that I was interested in. She said she would just charge us for Robin's tasting and keeper glass, and I could have a couple of tastes of my choice. She actually ended up giving me three wines to sample and would have given me more, but I figured I should probably finish the drive home, so I declined. I guess when you look at a charge of $10 for 5 wine samples, including the keeper glass which they sell for $9, they are basically giving away the wine, which probably explains my potential multiple tastings and Robin's 6 tastings.
A most relaxing day. It was a bit tempting to maybe hang around for another day and check out a few more of the 6 or 7 other wineries that Luis had recommended, but home, family and friends are calling and the weather isn't particularly encouraging us to linger.
Thur, Apr 4 – travelling new roads for us, as we headed west on Hwy 12 and eventually made our way to famous Highway 101. Very scenic - lush green hillsides, dense trees with moss and lots of ground cover, and loads of vineyards. Kind of makes you think Vancouver Island crossed with the Okanagan. The roads weren't too bad; somewhat twisty, a bit rough in a few spots, but relatively low traffic volume. One thing I discovered on the drive, with twisty roads and up and down speeds, is that visits to the onboard facilities require a great deal of balance and attention, and it's always good to have a wall nearby to stop your potential face plant. We travelled as far as Garberville, CA at the start of the California Red Wood Forests. Light mist on our arrival, and a bit of rain off and on during the rest of the afternoon. The lady in the office told me they have had lots of rain lately. Welcome back to the Wet Coast.
We met two couples at Flag City RV in Lodi, both from Vancouver Island, traveling together and making their way home. They pulled out just before us, heading for 101 as well and not sure how far they would travel. Robin mentioned the park we were headed for. We called ahead for a reservation after leaving this morning, and the park operator told us to pull into site number 65 upon arrival. When we pulled in and headed for the site, a fellow came to make sure we had a reservation and knew where we were going. Robin told him which site and the fellow mentioned that they had two rigs travelling together who would like to be beside each other – they had called in shortly after we did. He mentioned that they would have to take sites 66 and 68 as there were problems with services at 67. Robin said we would take 68 so the traveling companions could be together. You guessed it – when the two rigs pulled in later in the afternoon, it was the folks we had met in Lodi. We have stalkers. They had stopped in Fairfield to take a tour of the Jelly Belly factory. We had noticed it just off the highway on our way through, but didn't stop. Kind of wishing now that we had. HELLO!! - SAMPLES!
Rain started up in the early evening and was off and on all night. No wifi and virtually no cell signal here, so everything is being saved for tomorrow. Should get something when we travel a few miles further up the road tomorrow, in a more populated area. Hope our kids won't get too worried when they don’t hear from us.
Wed, Apr 3 – hang out day in Lodi. Overcast, and the look of rain, but comfortable temperatures. Headed for downtown Lodi to find a place for lunch. Wandered the main street and settled on The Dancing Fox – a restaurant, winery AND brewery. Really good food, their Sauvignon Blanc was yummy and the beer that our server, Luis, recommended for Robin (Picnic Lightning for it's hoppiness – not one of theirs) was a huge success for that particular consumer. We asked for Luis' advice on wineries to visit and he was very helpful. Of course, his first suggestion was their tasting room in the back of the restaurant (had no idea it was there) and it was complimentary with our meal. Delightful experience, and our tasting host was very friendly. Had some interesting discussions with him on various topics, including the current political atmosphere in the US. Wished him and his country luck when we parted ways.
From there we headed off to Jessie's Grove - rustic farm setting. Certainly not as fancy and modern looking as some we've been to, but a great experience. Once finished there, we figured we should just head back to the RV. You know – bevvies with lunch and then two different tasting rooms can give you a bit of a buzz (at least it can for me). But there was a large, somewhat commercial winery about ½ mile from the park (Michael David), so "what the heck" we decided to stop in there as well.
As with most tasting rooms, lots of reds but limited whites. I told Marissa, our host, that I would pass on the tastings and keeper glass, as there were only a couple that I was interested in. She said she would just charge us for Robin's tasting and keeper glass, and I could have a couple of tastes of my choice. She actually ended up giving me three wines to sample and would have given me more, but I figured I should probably finish the drive home, so I declined. I guess when you look at a charge of $10 for 5 wine samples, including the keeper glass which they sell for $9, they are basically giving away the wine, which probably explains my potential multiple tastings and Robin's 6 tastings.
A most relaxing day. It was a bit tempting to maybe hang around for another day and check out a few more of the 6 or 7 other wineries that Luis had recommended, but home, family and friends are calling and the weather isn't particularly encouraging us to linger.
Thur, Apr 4 – travelling new roads for us, as we headed west on Hwy 12 and eventually made our way to famous Highway 101. Very scenic - lush green hillsides, dense trees with moss and lots of ground cover, and loads of vineyards. Kind of makes you think Vancouver Island crossed with the Okanagan. The roads weren't too bad; somewhat twisty, a bit rough in a few spots, but relatively low traffic volume. One thing I discovered on the drive, with twisty roads and up and down speeds, is that visits to the onboard facilities require a great deal of balance and attention, and it's always good to have a wall nearby to stop your potential face plant. We travelled as far as Garberville, CA at the start of the California Red Wood Forests. Light mist on our arrival, and a bit of rain off and on during the rest of the afternoon. The lady in the office told me they have had lots of rain lately. Welcome back to the Wet Coast.
We met two couples at Flag City RV in Lodi, both from Vancouver Island, traveling together and making their way home. They pulled out just before us, heading for 101 as well and not sure how far they would travel. Robin mentioned the park we were headed for. We called ahead for a reservation after leaving this morning, and the park operator told us to pull into site number 65 upon arrival. When we pulled in and headed for the site, a fellow came to make sure we had a reservation and knew where we were going. Robin told him which site and the fellow mentioned that they had two rigs travelling together who would like to be beside each other – they had called in shortly after we did. He mentioned that they would have to take sites 66 and 68 as there were problems with services at 67. Robin said we would take 68 so the traveling companions could be together. You guessed it – when the two rigs pulled in later in the afternoon, it was the folks we had met in Lodi. We have stalkers. They had stopped in Fairfield to take a tour of the Jelly Belly factory. We had noticed it just off the highway on our way through, but didn't stop. Kind of wishing now that we had. HELLO!! - SAMPLES!
Rain started up in the early evening and was off and on all night. No wifi and virtually no cell signal here, so everything is being saved for tomorrow. Should get something when we travel a few miles further up the road tomorrow, in a more populated area. Hope our kids won't get too worried when they don’t hear from us.
Friday, Apr 5 – Rain continues – sometimes it's a light patter on the roof and sometimes it sounds like its pounding down (always sounds worse from inside than it actually is outside) - and now gusts of wind have been added. I had picked up some tourist info in the campground office yesterday, and thought we might make a stop in Ferndale, promoted for its Victorian architecture. It's about 60 miles north of Garberville. But with the ugly weather it doesn't encourage sightseeing, so we decided to bypass. After driving for a while and bearing in mind the forecast for our planned destination (Coos Bay – weather alerts for flooding starting late Saturday) Robin felt we should just skip the 101 plans and make our way inland. 101 is challenging enough in a big rig like ours, but even more so when it's raining and occasionally windy. Add to that not really seeing much of anything through the fog and clouds, and the extra stress and work just didn't make sense. So we decided we would cut east on 199 at Crescent City and head for Canyonville, OR and Seven Feathers, where we've stayed a few times before. Cell service along 101 (and later 199) was off and on like a strobe light. Finally got through to make a reservation and had to leave a message. Of course, shortly after that the skies started to brighten and the rain let up.
Shortly before our required right turn to the interior, we got cell service again and I got the reservation confirmed, just as the sun poked through the clouds. So the drive across on 199 was sunny and clear, but even more twisty at the start than anything we had encountered that far. And some of the spots along the way had me looking away. Steep drop offs and the only thing between us and the bottom was a low railing that might as well have been made from tin foil and toothpicks. Robin was more than ready to park the rig once we got to the RV park. A drink in the sunshine, showers and a call for the shuttle and we were off to the casino for the seafood buffet. Forty-five minute wait to get seated, so we hit the slots for about ½ hour and ended up about $6 to the good between us. Shuttle back to the RV park, time for a night cap and then off to bed. Weak wifi and hotspot not fast enough, so catching up the blog will have to wait another day.