It was a spectacular fall day in Northern California, one of those days with sunshine, but cool enough for chaps. As we left, the sun was shining, but we faced thick fog as we crossed the Benicia bridge. It was the first long ride on the new bike. As the damp fog surrounded us on the bridge, I suddenly felt my butt getting warm... It was not my imagination, Julie had cranked up the heat on the seats, one of the features of the new bike I had forgotten about, but obviously she had not. As we got closer to Kirk's place, the fog broke and the sunshine gradually warmed us up.
After meeting up with Kirk and Patty, we headed up to Healdsburg, crossing 37 and turning up Lakeville Highway to Petaluma. then up 101 to Windsor where we ate lunch at the Downtown Grill. It is a nice little place with outdoor seating and a 50's era interior with lots of unique signs, Marilyn Monroe and Jimmy Dean posters and various other entertaining decorations. The menu is basic Americana, our kind of place. We've also had breakfast there, but I believe they stop serving it at 11:00. The service was good, the food was good and the company was great. Next to the ride itself, it is always wonderful to catch up with old friends over good food. It had been a few days since we had seen each other so naturally there was a lot of catching up to do.
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| Downtown Grill - Windsor |
Windsor is a quaint town that looks like it was either entirely remodeled as all the main buildings are similar in design, or it was all built new in the past few years. I honestly don't have enough interest to look it up, but enjoyed the visit. Just as a note, there is a candy store that has all the old candy we had as kids such as the flat wide strips of taffy, the paper with the candy dots and many candy bars that are no longer available in regular stores. I have to wonder if they are really old candy bars, unlikely, or just reproductions done on a smaller scale to meet a niche market.
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| Just one view of the Francis Ford Coppula Winery |
After lunch we rode to the Francis Ford Coppula winery off of Independence Ave. It is a beautiful winery and the grounds are exquisite (please note that I will not be using that term ever again, but thought it was appropriate). We stopped and walked around. There is large swimming pool that can be used by visitors to the winery for a fee. We all decided that we would ride up there next summer, enjoy some time lounging around the pool, sipping wine and then ride back. I got my Speedo out just to make sure it is ready to go... There was also a tee-pee on the property. I have no idea why it was there or what purpose it served, but perhaps it was to recognized the contributions of the Native Americans to our country. After all, they were living in tents when Europeans who sailed across the ocean in wooden ships discovered this fine land. They were also using sticks dragged by horses to carry materials, rather than the clunky wheel that the Europeans had used for hundreds of years. Come to think of it, I don't know why the tee-pee was there, but it was...
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| Dave mugging for the camera |
On the way out of the winery, we stopped to take some glamour shots of our bikes... Hard to beat the setting and we thought the fall colors would go well with our paint, so here they are....
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| Dave and Julie's Bike |
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| Kirk and Patty's Bike |
After visiting the winery, we road the back roads of Healdsburg following the same route that Dave and Julie ran during a recent half marathon. The ride was beautiful with the grape leaves having turned orange and red and the smell of remaining grapes fermenting on the vine. Fall is a great time in wine country, particularly on a motorcycle. The ride home was almost as nice since we cut over the hills to Calistoga and took the Silverado Trail through the Napa Valley. After a quick stop at Kirk and Patty's it was back over the bridge and a quick ride home.
A great day in all. See you on the road.
