~ Wavy

I need a topic to start on.  Maybe pictures?  More about wine?  How about my bicycling??

Lets go with cycling today.  I got in 20 miles today, and this is my 5th day in a row in the saddle.  My goal is to hopefully get in 60+ this weekend.  Over the last five days, I have gotten in 130 miles!  I have been riding a roadie “Giant”, if I had not already told you.  Gary (for those of you who do not know, is the name I gave my mountain bike) is in the garage just sitting there, waiting patiently for me to take him out to the trails, but jumping on the Giant for some road action is much easier and more spontaneous right now.  Also not to long ago, I got a Droid and installed RunKeeper on it.  It tracks my miles and calories burned.  I entered my weight when I started at 214 pounds, and now I am down to 199!!!  It has been diet and exercise.

I typically just ride two different trails, but am eagerly waiting to get on more.  The two that I have been riding are the ARBT (American River Bike Trail) & the Canal Trail.  The ARBT is about 32~36 miles long and runs from up in Folsom Lake all the way to Discovery Park in downtown Sacramento.  The ARBT is by far the better trail, as it has a nice canopy along the way as well as many small little ups and downs and lots of twists and turns.  And it runs along the American River the entire way, so the view is mostly non stop beautiful.  The Canal Trail that connects to the ARBT at Nimbus dam runs out towards Rancho Seco and side lines Sunrise a fair amount of the time.  It is very plain and dull…no trees and the view is exactly the same all the way along…concrete lined canal.  But it has been good to me, regardless of how dull it is.

Just recently, I have learned to call my rides journeys…I always knew they were, but it is now something I like to call them.

Well, I had better not give away the farm on this new journey of getting back to blogging again,

~Wavy

~Wavy

I have been contemplating this change for some time now…it is not political(maybe a little, see below).  It is ME!  I care about me.  I am attempting to make better diet changes for myself.  I have been leaning on the vegetarian (Ovo-lacto) diet, but I do want to continue to eat fish, which is healthier then the “meat” I was eating.  The meat I was eating was usually hamburgers or compressed chicken patty type fast food.  And when dining out, it was usually always fish or chicken.  And let us not forget the BACON…ohhh the bacon.

I do have to say, that my last home cooked chicken meal was the best I had had in a long time, so that will be a good memory, if I can really stick to this.

If you are interested, here is a LINK to learn more about the pescetarian diet.

The only “political” thing abut this is that I am really trying hard to eat organic and sustainable food that does not contain GMO.  What we feed the food that we eat is horrible and the way we treat them is horrible.  I do believe that if you can treat the animal respectfully as it is growing into the food that we eat, then it is OK.

Oh, by the way…I finally got a smart phone, the Droid Charge.

~ Wavy

Courtland stop…when I decided to cut the trip by a day, I thought I would make the best of it and cut through the Delta to get home…it was worth it!

A little stop in Big Sur for a few shots of espresso in a nice glass with chocolate milk and ice   The only bad thing that happened, while I was there and the only motorcycle accident I saw the entire trip.  I did not witness the biker going down, but I heard it.  A car may have stopped short, and then the second biker ran in to the back of her husband when he braked hard.  She appeared to be alright though, just a few scrapes and bruises and one messed up ego…and I am sure that the Harley had several thousand dollars of damage from the slide.

My second stop in Morro Bay…since the first one was just a drive by.  One of the things that were good about the trip is that I did not make any plans, except for the first Saturday…other than that; it was flying by the seat of my pants.  Well, emotionally it paid off in dividends, financially it sucked…but oh well.  So that being said, I paid almost $200 to stay at a hotel in Morro Bay that really sucked…I am sure I will blog about that later or maybe even write a bad review somewhere.  But back to the good stuff…I had never been here before this trip and found it to be a cool little city.  I took a walk on the Embarcadero to find the place where I would feel the most comfortable eating solo.  I found this awesome little place that had a live band and Coho-Salmon fish & chips!!!  Those both paired well with a few Blue Moons   When I woke up on Sunday, the fog had lifted and let me get some better pics!

First stop in Morro Bay…just a drive by on my way to Solvang.

Just a stop to see the Elephant Seals…it was a nice little lookout that really got you a little closer than you would normally get.  I got to watch a small territorial spat between two males.

My lunch stop in Lucia…I would recommend that this is a “Must do” on your next trip to the coast.  The view was breathtaking.  Food was good too!

http://lucialodge.com/food.html

North of Malibu on PCH at the north western edge the Santa Monica Mountains.

Did I mention I ride a 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 650r   My trusty stead kept me safe, took me fast and let me see the ride.   Along the way, one of the things that were so great was the smell of it all.  Being on the bike allowed me to smell the ocean in all its wonder (and sometimes all its blunder) as I rode along.

One of the main attractions of this ride was going to be stopping off at the Bixby Bridge.  I fell in love with this Bridge a few years back and can never stop thinking about her.  I knew that I had to one day ride my motorcycle to the Bridge…over the Bridge and around the Bridge.  I did just that. I stopped and listened to one of my favorite DCFC songs…”Bixby Canyon Bridge”.  I took pictures.  I breathed.  I reflected.  Of all the stops along the way, this was the best.  I even got a little choked up as I left her in my mirrors.

On the southbound leg of the trip, I stopped off at a “Vista Point” south of Gaviota and took these pictures.  As I was getting geared back up to leave, I heard the unmistakable sound of a mammal’s blowhole.  Not know what it was, I rushed to get my camera back out.  They were too far away, but I snapped away anyways.  Once I got home, I was able to see that they were dolphins.  Yay for me!  I liked the train tracks here too, as they also portrayed the constant of the ocean.

No trip to So-Cal is complete without at least one stop off at Kinda Lahaina (or as we lovingly put it…Whana Haka Lugi) in Seal Beach.  So I did twice…Once with the bestest girl in the whole wide world and the second time was a wonderful time with just me and my step-mom.

Huntington Beach, on my day with my daughter.  We got to see a Surfing contest and just walked around the shops and the pier.  It was kind of cool, on one side of the pier was the recreational surfers and the other was the contest.

On my way up to see my sister, I took PCH up through Long Beach and around Palos Verdes Peninsula and then a stop off at Toes Beach in Playa del Rey.  Most of the pictures were taken in Long Beach…but the best parts of this little mini trip were the mental pictures.  The stop off in Rancho Palos Verdes was to get a Mocha…and what a view that little Starbucks had!  Then while at Toes Beach I thought of all the good times that were had there.  After that I had a great time with both sisters at dinner.

The Beginning of it.  As I descended down on to the first true coastal part of the ride, this was the first stop.  This is Ocean Beach on the “Great Hwy” just south of the Sutro Baths.

Stopped off in the Monterey area and got a car tour by my friend Donna.  We went through Monterey, Carmel by the Sea, Sand City.  These pictures were at a little tide pool area…but it did not have the abundant seal life I was hoping for…but it was still cool.  Had dinner with a view!  There was a sea lion hanging out on the rock below our window seat and a momma seagull feeding her baby.

On the northbound leg of the trip, I took Highway One through Lompoc…glad I did.  I stopped off to take a break in Lompoc, as you can see by one of the pictures.  This little side trip took me through Lompoc, Vandenberg and Guadalupe.  I decided to take this little detour since I had to skip it on the southbound leg to get to Solvang.

Just a stop along the way…Not sure where I was, as I am looking back through the pictures.

A tribute to my late grandfather.  He had to pictograph so many things that happened in his life.  This is his lathe as it was being loaded on to a big rig on its way to its next journey.

They all wanted to sit on the Ninja…some even “joked” about wanting to ride it.

My second night of the southbound trip was a little stop off at Solvang.  It was a good stop.  I ended up getting the best hotel room of the trip at the best price (http://www.svendsgaardslodge.com)!  I had dinner at the Bit O’ Denmark…Halibut and local wines…nice!  I walked around the entire town a couple of times, taking it all in.  The next morning for breakfast at the Solvang Restaurant, I decided to be a bit more daring…LOL.  I had Medisterpølse with my breakfast.  I was glad I did.

Lets go for a ride..

~Wavy

It is the 2008 Aglianico.  The last time I posted about the Aglianico it was being labeled as a Montevina wine.  But they have since changed their mind and it is now labeled as a Terra d’Oro.  I am a huge fan of the Aglianico and think that you would be too, if you have had a taste.  Here are the notes from the bottle:

An ancient Italian varietal, Aglianico thrives in the hillside vineyards of our ranch at Terra d’Oro.  Here, this robust and exciting grape develops soulful pomegranate and orange zest flavors and tremendous balance.  Our Aglianico pairs beautifully with grilled meats, roasted vegetables, and star-gazing.

I have yet to have a glass with grilled meats or roasted vegetables, but I have gazed at a star or two with this one.  And by the way, I was corrected in the way that I pronounce the name of this grape,  this last time I was at Terra d’Oro.  It is as follows:

(pronounced [aʎˈʎaːniko], roughly “ah-LYAH-nee-koe”)

Anyways…I really do suggest that you make a trip to Amador and get a bottle or two.  If you do not want to go alone…just let me know.  I would be happy to go!

~Wavy

Not only did I have a bug to get to Amador, I had a reason.  I needed to get some wine to take to So-Cal for Turkey Day festivities.  So I through out an impromptu invite on FB and got several “wants tos” but only one taker.

So we took off Sunday morning to Amador.  It was fun, because my partner in crime for the day had never been to Amador…so that left it up to me to pick the wineries.  First off, we went to Terra d’Oro (Monte Vina), because I think that everyone should go there on their first visit to Amador. From there, we went over to Dobra…I was a little disappointed when we got to Dobra.  I was going there to specifically buy 4 bottles of their Tempranillo for my pops, but they were out.  The other wines they had were a bit young on the palette, so it was not a good stop to take a first timer to.  I did, however,  pick up a jug of Milan Ruz and a Zin.  In regards to the Tempranillo issue, they referred me to their neighbor, Driven Cellars.   Hmmm, that peaked my interest, I had not heard of this one.  I saw the sign when I came into the driveway (they split the road to the right, for those of you Dobra fans) but did not think anything of it.  So off to Driven it was.  Very nice drive back to it and once you get there, it is nicely laid out.  The tasting room is small…really small, but cozy.  They stated that they are working on a new tasting room.  Interestingly enough, not all the wines they produce come from Amador grapes, but they were very good none the less.  I picked up two Temps for my pops, I hope he likes them.

After that, I did another thing that is out of my routine…we took off back to town to have lunch.  I was going to go to Taste, but they were closed.  So instead, we went to this deli, Amador Vintage Market.  From the outside it did not look real exciting, but I was hungry and in the mood to just do something different.  Once you go inside, it is a whole different story.  Very nice country/wine country deli!  Once we ordered, we sat over by the window, it was nice to just look out onto the street.  Next time, I am going to stop off here first and get lunch to go and then take to to Driven to eat, since they had an absolutely gorgeous view from their picnic area!

After lunch we stopped off at one last winery, Bray.  I just love to pick up on the Red Hussy when I am in Amador!  They suckered me into a Petite little number as well.

It was a great time, as usuall and I had great company to share it with!

Till the next time, have a happy Turkey Day!

~Wavy

From the bottle:

The Trader Joe’s Growers Reserve Petite Sirah was made with organically grown Petite Sirah grapes.  We believe in working with nature to produce outstanding wines.  A wonderful full-bodied red wine, the Trader Joe’s  Petite Sirah bursts with lush fruit flavors of cherry and blackberry.  A spicy, peppery finish makes it the ideal choice for grilled lamb and cheeses.

I picked this up at TJ’s for $4.99 and at that price, it meets the criteria for me on the Cheapo category.  Also when it comes to that price, it is a good little Petite Sirah (PS).  I really do love a good PS and how dark they pour from the bottle.  This one is really good, when you put it in the price category that it is in.  This wine is produced and bottled by ASV Wines, which is one that I have not researched yet.  Have fun and happy drinking to you!

~Wavy