Sonoma wine country around Cloverdale

We traveled north out of San Fransico crossing the Golden Gate Bridge around 5 during rush hour surprisingly Californians were polite and the bridge crossing is awe inspiring.  From a previous visit we knew of a nice sea food restaurant on the water front in Soccolito so it with a little guessing we soon jumped off the freeway and we went down on the water front enjoying some fresh clams watching the sun shine onto the Oakland bridge.

 From there we journeyed to Cloverdale in the mid of the evening rush. In late October and early November the sun sets surprising early at 5ish making for a drive in the dark.
We arrived at our B and B about 7ish in time to check in and get aquainted with our other guests a wonderful evening capped by sharing a glass of wine overlooking the moonlit valley full of grape vines.

Cloverdale is at the top of wine country in Sonoma with smaller vineyards but the location is perfect for just motoring along going from tasting to tasting.  We got up not too early just in time to enjoy our breakfast at the Auberge B and B and meet a number of the other guests mostly from the eastern seaboard.  Striking out we heading down a local road adjacent to the freeway but loaded with local vinters each having a diferrent take on their craft.  At noon we came across a local General Store with the best sandwiches and local tavern full of character.  It was the best.  The balance of the day was spent exploring local towns and communities.

A Fast Tour of the Western United States from Yelowstone to Reno the long way

If your in the mood to drive take a trip from Regina to Palm Springs and take in the sights along the way and then head to LA up to Frisco and out back to Reno and home.  Well follow me as I wind my way down through Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and down and up through California.  Our first stop was to overnight in Miles City a pleasant town with a cool bar downtown called the Montana. It features a great atmosphere of old stuff animals, cowboy music and locals having a nice time. The bar as they say with most antique bars was floated in on the river.  Next we stopped for lunch in Billings a bustling town with a nice heritage downtown area combined with newer buildings a university and set in a river valley. We visited the Northern Hotel my grandpa Nick worked there and it burned down in 1922 only to be rebuilt after.  A recent face lift had brought it modern charm and it looks like a great hotel to stay in. We had lunch in their trendy cafe with a glass curtain wall around the whole restaurant. 

From there we set off to find Old Faithful and Yellowstone Park.  A short ride down the Freeway and we turned onto a decent US highway and arrived at the town site near the gate entrance in Montana. From the Montana entrance you drive under an arch and end up at the local hot springs and follow the road to old Faithful. This trip through the park is most interesting marked by streams, steams and water vapours pouring from everywhere.  Finally arriving at the interpretative center at Old Faithful we walked up just in time to watch the geyser shoot upwards into the almost dark sky. Even though it was dark the sounds and seeing the geyser shoot up into the air made the trip worthwhile.  The museum attached to site looks like it offers the visitor lots of good information.

Peurto Vallarta sand scultptures on the Malecon

Puerto Vallarta is a now a large commercial tourism center, but once it was a sleepy little fishing village before John Huston shot the film the night of the Iguana in Mismaloya. The film featured two hot stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton who were having an extra marital affair at the time. My sense of PV as people fondly call it today is that it is a resort which has huge potential and offers the visitor a tremendous variety of visually tantalizing treats right within a short walk from your resort. The problem with PV like many tourist towns the tourist has become someone who is seen more as a cash register than a person. Yet the amount of people who truly care and give you the best that Mexico offers is truly amazing. Besides once hosting Richard Nixon the City hosts thousands of tourists each year and does a great job of it. Our trip to PV took us to a nice all inclusive called in English the Pelcan Beach Club centrally located on the beach it offered lots of walking again I mention the beach vendors polite but constant. I found the food good with a nice Mexican flair. The beach is clean and the water is warm with long walks easily done. I enjoy the Mariachi bands and folks riding horses and the Malecon especially a kind of open air arcade of shops along the sea side. The many shops I enjoyed on the side streets were quaint with friendly but not pushy vendors. The cathedral in the center of town is a real treat for those with a spiritual bent. The best part of the public atmosphere is the beach in front of the Malecon. Here one sees sand carvers and other performers of all sorts making the trip a little more than the usual. Things to check out in the future are the surfing beaches outside of PV surfers love it they say.

Ocho Rios Jamaica Mahn

The thing about going to Jamaica is one has to be ready for the sales pitches coming in a familiar tongue- English. Upon landing the first thing you hear in your transport van is banter of island DJs selling and talking a mile a minute in English. In many ways this banter is really reassuring for all to hear we still in the Commonwealth and being a Canadian that is okay. The next thing you notice as you drive along is the state of housing in Jamaica. Everyone is building on their house and all seem to be in a state of almost being done to just being started. However not to hold totally true one sees many houses that are complete and looking good. The trip to the resort is punctuated by the honking of horns as vehicles recognize one another and signal to their family or friends. This gives one the island feeling that this is an okay place. At the resort staff again communicate in English and work efficiently to help out where they can. The fair at our all inclusive featured many Jamaican dishes and these we sampled along with locals who were staying at the hotel also. The feeling is that Jamaica even though poor has a citizenary with wealth and means. The best dish I love was the afternoon seaside restaurant where they served Jerk Chicken. This stuff is addictive. Our days were spent mostly at the resort where local entertainers came by with such as interesting things as turtle racing a rare and money making event for the entrepreneur who dreamt this up. He basically cleaned up paying only for the individual completely unpredictable winner. Other days we spent running the gauntlet to the town of Ocho which is actually quite pleasant except for the first 50 feet outside the resort where one is offered everything under the sun even is your wife is walking with you. Dunn Falls is one of the major attractions as well as a man made nature walk each presenting wonderful pictures. The idea one should keep a lot of small bills is a great idea as the requests for tips is polite but ongoing. The weather is constant and the food is fine. The island offers many diversions and one cannot hope to see all in one trip. The trip to the airport had us leaving at 2ish am and it was really apparent Jamaicans love to stay out late and hand out. A large Rostafarian festival was on as we passed by thousands had come for the music and the message, it said one key performer travels with his own chef and hands out free lifestyle advice.

St Johns River Houseboating in central Florida

The thing about house boating that impressed me the most is that St John's river runs through some of the nicest backyards and some of the wildest places ever. The real treat is coming to areas where natural springs come up through the limestone and fill an area with the clearest of water. So clear that fish cannot really do well in it as the water is stripped of its natural oxygen. We were fortunate enough to go to several of these places one particular one is a state park. Here we went swimming in a pool that at the center was a huge up welling of water coming from this large well. I went down the well a bit in a free dive with my sunglasses on. However the piece de resistance check spelling on that one was as we swam down creek to another area I was confronted with something I thought I would never see up close. I was breast stroking along and this female manatee looked up at me and came to me at full speed. As she got close you looked up and literally zoomed past what a site. As I spun around I saw her encirling my wife with her sister literally screaming on her back. Turns out it had been tame in a zoo and liked its female trainer and thought my wife was her... yikes Manatees up close.

Other treats we sitting in our house boat wathing local poachers all dressed in camo in high speed fan boats come by with bow and arrow jackolaterning fish... another yikes but interesting. If you like a bit of adventure try this its cool

La Qunita Resort Waldorf Astoria

All I can say is we stayed here in the shadow of the Santa Rosa Mountains and watched the sunset behind them. We were here for News Years and we were wowed by this resorts history. The day following New Years I noticed a sign that said they were showing the great Christmas story Its a wonderful Life. I guess Frank Capra wrote this classic while staying at the La Qunita resort. The original building was made from bricks, tiles and roof tile manufactured right on site. It has a reputation for hosting some of Hollywoods best actors. The lobby is rustic with big hearth fireplaces burning slowly surrounded by comfortable couches. Our room was in one of the neat one story motel type rooms with a pool and hot tub a few steps from our patio and doorway. I loved the room a spacious place also done in Spanish Mission Motif. If you are in the Palm Springs area stay here you will not be disappointed. Our recommend came from a manager of the Treasure Island Casino in Vegas he said " you won't be disappointed" and as they say we weren't. Bicycles are available for a nice ride right from the resort from entrance.