Sonoma Valley
By no means am a wine conaisseur but 1 1/2 weeks ago I was in Sonoma for a wedding. Sonoma is essentially the
birthplace of California and the original Bear Flag itself. The wedding was at the Beuna Vista Carneros which is the
oldest winery in CA (est. 1857). Their specialties are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Merlot and Syrah. We brought a bottle
of Pinot Noir back with us. The ceremony & dinner was oustide in a luscious tree grove nestled beside the building.
There were "activities" in the days leading up to the main event. One was a "sip & cycle" to different wineries but
it was so damned hot we never rented bikes and had a shuttle bus take everyone around. It became "sip & shuttle".
Sonoma also had a place where you could go up in vintage aircraft (a WW2 AT6, a P-40 Warhawk, several bi-planes...)
Didn't get to meet up with roundshort since he was away that weekend. Maybe next time, roundy!
Spent Monday & Tues. in San Francisco. It was my 1st time there and luckily we had good weather since I hear
it's usually foggy. What a funky town! Loved it much better than L.A. Did all the usual tourist stuff. Crab dish
in Sausalito, Chinatown, the sea-lions at Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, cable car ride, sushi for dinner and a
shopping spree at the gigantic Virgin store. We stayed at the King George, Union Square and caught a late
viewing of "Skull" on the hotel TV. Couldn't find any Rice-a-Roni, though.
Do they still make that stuff?
It's the
San Francisco Treat!
Incidentally, the Buena Vista founder (a Hungarian immigrant who is considered the "grandfather of modern,
Califonia wine-making") met his untimely end when he was devoured by alligators in a swamp river!