078: Side Trip

An July 11th we left Clayton to drive to Syracuse so we could catch a plane the next morning at 6:30 a.m. to fly to Sebastopol California to attend a Kanzler Family reunion at my cousin Steven's Vineyard. 

We got picked up by "Bubba," a ride share freelancer who took us to the Hertz rental car place in Watertown, approximately twenty-four miles away.  We then got the Hertz and drove to Syracuse.  We went to the "Destiny Mall" (like Mall of America) to walk around a bit, but then Nancy dropped me back off at the hotel for me to do work-work, while she went sightseeing.

The next morning we were up at 4:15 a.m. to get ready and get to the airport.  The flights were Syracuse to Dallas, Tx, then we had one hour to race a few terminals over to the gate for the flight from Dallas to Santa Rosa (years of traveling to the Bay Area as taught me to avoid Bay Area traffic if at all possible).   Flights were uneventful.

We got in around 1:00pm and checked into the hotel in Sebastopol and then later met up with Steven and his wife and my cousin Susan's family for dinner.  

The next morning Nancy and I went to the Armstrong Woods to hike and see some redwoods, but I only got one good picture (hard to get an entire redwood in a picture frame).

We got to the vineyard around 3:30 p.m. and it was great.   Nice to see cousins their children.

Vineyard pics:

New tasting room:

Family!

The next day Nancy and I drove up the coast to Goat Rock State Park where the Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean, breeding area for harbor seals.   Alas, the seals had moved on.  On the way we got a shot of the school house from the movie, "The Birds*" by Alfred Hitchcock.  Now a private home with a sign that basically says, "yes this is the place, now leave us in peace." (not literally, but you get the gist).

Goat Rock State Park Views (it was sunny a few miles inland, but foggy at the Ocean (which makes this a great area for growing Pinot Noir grapes).

The mouth of the Russian River:

This area of California is spectacular.  You have the wine country, the Pacific Ocean, the redwoods, and the Russian River Valley all in a half day's drive.  Amazing.

That afternoon we hung out in Sebastopol but I didn't get any pictures of the hippies dancing in the drum circle.  We then went to the movie "Thelma,"  had dinner and called it a night.

On the 15th we flew back to Syracuse getting in at 11:30 pm and got a hotel near the airport.  On the 16th we got a rental car and went to Costco to stock up the boat, then headed to Clayton.  I had to return the rental car to Watertown, but the reliable Bubba picked me up and got me back in time for a nice sunset.   

It was good to be back at the boat, but it was even better to take the time to see family.  Too often only just get together at funerals....

Dave

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