Yountville, oh Yountville

You may remember a recent, or not so recent trip to Yountville CA, home of the French Laundry and a few French soup places.
American Express wants you to use their card on your next visit.


http://youtu.be/S6qVPg56z9w


Enjoy :)

It's 76*F and the Cherry Tree Knows It!

On Monday, 20 Feb, we were greeted by this:

By this morning, we had this:

Not too shabby.







Our First General

Wednesday, 22 February, is the Birthday anniversary of our first President. He was also our first General.
Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

For a bit more serious review, please consider:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/02/remembering-the-indispensable-man.php

Well worth the time.

Aaand, it's back!

33 hours ahead of schedule, CalTrans and the CHP started picking up the cones so by 8:00 p.m. Sunday, the Bay Bridge was open again!

Traffic on the Golden Gate and Hayward/San Mateo quickly returned to normal.

It's nice when things go much better than expected.

It's unusual, too, more's the pity.

We had a bit of rain today

and it was refreshing

but, we need a lot more.



Lunch in St. Helena

So, I found myself on California 29 with three delightful Japanese ladies today, and we stopped for a bite of lunch in St. Helena, at the Northern end of the Napa Valley.

The lunch was delicious, the setting divine. :)
 http://travignerestaurant.com/

Two Gentlemen, Two Guns

First, a marshmallow cannon:

 

Second, a 30 calibre rifle (with a Pontiac Gran Torino) :

You don't have to choose, of course, but if you did . . . ?

Restaurant Scene, Murphys California

So, we did a bit of winery investigation in the Shenandoah area around Plymouth this weekend.
(Aside, I start my sentences with "So" because I've been watching @dickc, CEO of @Twitter, and he starts all his sentences with "So.")
There have been a large number of new vineyards started since we were last on Shenandoah and Shenandoah Schoolhouse Roads. Perhaps a dozen or more, replete with tasting rooms and museums.
On the way back to Saddle Creek we detoured to Murphys for lunch. DW#1 has always wanted to try Mineral Restaurant on Main Street, so we did.
Little did I know, it's a vegetarian place. Looks like a husband and wife team, he doing the cooking, and she doing the dining room. We quickly noticed that she did it all, ordering, serving, bussing, setting with her infant on her back. The kid never woke up.
DW#1 had a veggie burger, and I a three-cheese and spinach grilled sandwich. You see it above, with pickled cauliflower and homemade garlic potato chips. The chips were magnificent, the cauliflower much less so. The sandwich was pretty good, better than okay. Prices (about $25/per) were about average for a tourist place.
So, if you're in the neighborhood, and if you're looking for vegetarian, this is a good place to check out.