Back from Cali.....

tonyb

....and had a great time. Flew in to San Fran, hopped in the rental car and straight out to Carmel. Of all the cities I've been in, in that state, Carmel has it down pat. Beautiful white sand beaches, no rude people,everyone is curteous and respectfull. No loud noise what so ever, no horns, and a pace that anyone can be envious of, and probably the most dog friendly place on the coast. Love it and will be back. Also did the Big Sur drive on the way to the Hearst Castle, simply stunning, the drive that is. BTW, paid 5.39 a gallon of gas in Big Sur.
After almost 4 days there, it was time to head up to wine country. Can't go to Cali without a stop in Napa Valley. The only wineries that impressed this year was the reserve wines from Frank Family, Silver Oak, and Flora Springs. I only taste the wines I can't get at home, makes sence, no ? You simply can't get a bad wine at any of those 3 and I rate Frank Family at the top. Other Stops included Rubicon, Cakebread, Staggs Leap, Jarvis, Duckhorn, Ledson, and Nickel & Nickel. Call me crazy, but if I'm going to spend between 100-200 clams on a single bottle of wine, I want it to knock my socks off. This year only a few did and thats not to say they were all bad, just not worthy of the price imho anyway.
The eats in Carmel and Napa were fabulous. Stop in at the Rutherfurd Grill in Napa if you get a chance, the best cornbread that will ever touch your tongue and everything else was supurb too. Sucked down more oysters than I care to admit to at Go Fish too. The eats in Carmel were surprisingly cheap except at the higher end places which I only graced once but also had a ringside seat to the ocean to make the bill easier to swallow. The Pacific restaurant in the Hyatt Highlands was exceptional. Had a nice relaxing time in both locations which the wife desperately needed. In these hard times though, can't imagine those big bonuses will continue that fund some of our higher end tastes in wine so this may very well be the last for awhile. Even so, we did it up pretty good this time around, but still nice to be back home.

I also see in my absence, that John hasn't managed to get himself banned, which is a good thing. I tried staking out his new joint waiting for those monster tube amps but the wife kept asking why we were parked infront of someones house for so long.

slk55amg

very glad you liked it so much.....................................

tonyb

I forgot to mention Clints place, The Mission Ranch. Gorgeous setting, nice rooms, good food at the restaurant, and I missed him by a couple hours, damn. Clint is well regarded up there as a man of character. Everyone has a story about him, and he walks around freely, usually unnoticed under a baseball cap. One thing I didn't know, is he's part owner of Pebble Beach, which is next door to Carmel.

slk55amg

I have seen him at the Mission Ranch a number of times. He is very warm and friendly, as long as you treat him as another guy, rather than a " star".

Danny Tse

tonyb wrote: »

and probably the most dog friendly place on the coast.

Regarding being a dog friendly town, as Clint once said when he was mayor of Carmel, "You don't mess with Doris (Day)"....the other famous resident of Carmel and well-known animal lover.

kawizx9r

And you wonder why I left Chicago? :cool:

Oldfatdogs

I'm glad you and the wife enjoyed your trip out here in Ca.It doesn't get much better than the coast. I have lived here all my life and never get tired of my coastal trips.We will be heading up to Mendocino soon the ocean up there is spectacular.

cfrizz

Welcome back, glad you had fun Tony!

tonyb

kawizx9r wrote: »

And you wonder why I left Chicago? :cool:

Nah brother, just jealous is all.

I may yank your chain from time to time but thats all in good fun. Cali is a great place to live.