Stuck in Lodi again.......CCR

Lodi California??? Wine country...really? That's what I thought, but after doing a little research Joann and I decided it was worth the trip up the road to check it out. Lodi is about 40 minutes north of Modesto. Here's a little history of the area, a very abbreviated version. In 1852 a Massachusetts man by the name of George West established the first major vineyard in the region. In 1858 he built the El Pinal winery and became the regions first commercial vintner. I couldn't find anymore history about this vineyard and when I asked the locals they had no idea. Maybe he went out of business during the Prohibition as did many of the farmers tore their grape vines out of the ground prematurely. Those that didn't shipped their grapes across the country for "eating" instead of wine making.

Excuse me can you direct me to the restroom?

Really???

Jessie's Grove Winery

This is the first and oldest winery we visited today. Jessie's grove is nestled between the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Lodi. The ranch was established by Jessie's father Joseph Spenker in 1868. The tasting room is housed in an 1870's building whose exterior was carefully preserved. The barn was built in 1870 in the 200 year old oak grove.

Michael David Winery

The second winery is a winery and country store and cafe. We grabbed a bite to eat here then ventured into the tasting room. Phillips farm, originally devoted to vegetables. The Phillips farm evolved to include many different fruits, including fifteen wine varietals that were shipped throughout the country during Prohibition with instructions on "how not to have the grapes turn into wine" thereby, Prohibition was good for Lodi growers with families everywhere keeping up the tradition of wine with meals by ordering these grapes and "juice" to be bottled at home.
Michael and David Phillips represent the fifth generation of growers in Lodi.

Harney Lane Winery

This was our third and favorite winery. This is one of the newest wineries we visited. The tasting room and the grounds were more in the tradition of the Napa Valley and Sonoma wineries. We are planning on going to a blues concert here next saturday Aug 7th so look for that post should be lots of fun!!!

Last Stop Macchia Wines

This was our last stop of the day. We were able to visit 4 wineries which is a perfect amount. We were really impressed with this small area and the amount of wine they produce. This particular winery had a vintage which was bottled 2 years ago and all the proceeds go to breast cancer research. The cancer survivor herself thought up the name and of course we had to buy a bottle for the cause.

Monterey Bay and the Jelly Fish

I was unable to publish these pics with the following post. Monterey bay the view from hotel and the Jelly Fish exhibit at the aquarium.

Friday July 9

I had Friday to myself until about 2pm. I started my day with a run overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I went to the rooftop spa and fitness center of the Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa and the treadmill was situated in front of a huge picture window overlooking the bay. What a view!!! I then got dressed and walked down cannery row. I had an awesome bowl of clam chowder at Louie Linguinis. I walked through the little shops and museums then headed back to the hotel to meet Russ. We spent the afternoon in the Monterey Bay Aquarium. All the exhibits were wonderful but the jellyfish were spectacular, they are really beautiful creatures. I know in the ocean they don't glow like in the pictures and I would never want to meet up with one but they are graceful creatures.

We then headed to Carmel for the night to meet up with John and Susan for dinner. We went to Mission Ranch which is a nature preserve that is owned by Clint Eastwood. The food was again just wonderful. I enjoyed grilled sea bass with rice and asparagus. Russ had fillet Mignon with lobster....the lobster was mmmmm to die for!! and apple pie a la mode for dessert!!! To give you a little history about mission ranch Clint (because we are on a first name bases) bought it to keep it a nature preserve. A company wanted to buy it to build condos. The picture of the ocean is the view we had from our table.

Saturday July 10 Monterey and Carmel

Before we left Monterey and headed for Carmel we stopped by the Monterey Museum of Art for the Ansel Adams exhibit. Russ bought me a copy of his picture of the Tetons and the Snake River...beautiful. His work is very impressive especially when you see his earlier works in the late 20's and 30's and think about what the camera he used was like compared to today's technology. He had quite the eye to be able to capture the essence of the scenery like he did. If you are not familiar with his work as I wasn't before the exhibit I would encourage you to see his work if it ever comes to a museum near you...

We then drove to Carmel to stay with some of Russ' friends John and Susan Edwards. Before meeting them we walked around Carmel. We walked down Ocean Ave until we reached the ocean. We walked the beach toward Pebble Beach golf course. The picture of me with nothing but the golf course behind me is holes eight and nine. The one with the little shack behind me is hole 10. What a shame the way these people have to live, in that little shack with the Pacific Ocean for the front view and Pebble Beach Golf course to the side and back. I am sure they sat on their back deck and watched the US Open and sipped martinis.

We ate dinner at the original Hogsbreath Inn. This is a neat little restaurant, you have to walk down an alleyway to reach it and it opens up to an outside area with multiple sitting areas with fireplaces. The walls of the adjoining buildings are painted with murals so it feels like you are really out in a field. There is inside and outside dining. We had some of the best burgers and enjoyed some Hogsbreath Merlot.

Castroville Sun July 11

As we were leaving Monterey we passed through Castroville which is the Artichoke center of the world...is case you ever need to know that....when I worked in Salinas last year I passed these fields many times but they were always new, never mature fields. I didn't know artichokes grew like this...several on one bush...