Sad canine faces guarded the entry door as we packed up to leave the gracious hospitality of the Chapman’s. Our stay had been so comfortable and easy and we are very grateful. It was time to move on and we did so by noon in order to pick up Debbie at the El Cerritos del Norte BART station since plans for the arrival of a few members of our team changed just a bit.

Turns out, both Lori and Laurie had their flights either changed or cancelled due to computer breakdowns at Southwest Airlines. A few texts and phone messages went back and forth then we got the following Slack…..

Heck with flying, we are driving!

With the Double L’s heading up Hwy 5, Debbie arrived at San Francisco Airport and boarded BART for the hour ride to meet with us. The Starbucks where we chose to wait, well, let’s just say it was less than appealing, and we ended up listening to music in the parking lot until the train arrived.

Once we found the house at 130 Oak View Drive in San Rafeal, our home for the next four days, we again bow down to Lynne and her ability to find us the perfect lodging. The house is nestled among the oaks with an incredible view, a tree growing out of the second floor deck and a beautiful hawk soaring above. (Though Lisa swears it is a turkey vulture. We are going with the hawk…much more romantic.) With room for 20+, a central area which will fit us all and stunning panoramas of the Mill Valley, it is truly perfectly suited for the Pink Bragade.

The evening transpired to one that affirms why these trips are such an integral part of all of our lives and our experience with the Avon Walk. The warmth and friendship we share, the laughter and blending of talents and interests that a makes this such a workable group. We savor every minute and every flavor of being together and are reminded just how fortunate we are to be the ones who are healthy enough to have this opportunity.

See what a bit of sugar will do at the end of the day. The cause for this mayhem was either that or the pure unadulterated joy of these North Orange County residents to find the Napa version of their favorite gelato store. Frati Gelato in downtown Fullerton closed up shop a few years back making us very sad. The gelato is truly some of the best, so we just HAD to make our way up here for a visit. We found them as they had told us, right on the River Walk with a bigger and better store. But the gelato was just as good.  Unfortunately, the owners had left for the day, but there was a reminder of days gone by on the wall with an old article in the Fullerton Tribune. Well worth the trip and a delicious end to a pretty perfect day.

Carol’s dream comes true!

Now back to another to do on Wendy’s list, a stop at the Russian River Brewery, hands down her favorite brewery, we were told. So off we went, with very little arm twisting, to Santa Rosa. It was a good call, because with only a few bites of cheese and sips of wine since breakfast, we were ready for some sustenance and liquid refreshment. The brewery answered both calls. We enjoyed meeting a few folks who were supportive of our cause and sat down for a pizza intense meal.

(We didn’t realize that our appetizer pizza bites were in fact VERY similar to our meal order. – Heck we are going to need the carbs in a few days.)

It was a great time and they were happy we came as most everyone in our group left with a six pack or two from the store. Mostly Pliney the Elder IPA which turns out to be quite a favorite. In fact, there are now a few Pliney the Elder for President shirts in our wardrobes. And, we were happy we came because when we stepped out of the brewery, there was a farmer’s market up and running. And, it was a great one, especially the fruits and vegetable section.

Wendy can always make new friends. :). This time the green grocers!

One part of this day that wasn’t MY top priority to report, but I am honor bound to Wendy to do so, would be the reptile experience. Now with a very deep fear of the slimy (yes, I know they aren’t really slimy) beasts, I didn’t get too close to the event, but I’m told that Wendy moved past her fears and actually let Lisa show her the attributes of the reptiles on display by the Santa Rosa Reptile Society. So, here are the pictures and here’s to Lisa and Wendy! (And to those who got in close to grab and photo or two.)

Lynne’s one request for our Northern California adventure was a trip to the Merry Edwards Winery in the Russian River Valley. Since the cheese farm was practically a neighbor, we let WAZEY (our new BFF) take us through a very circuitous route to the Merry Edwards doorstep. From the start, the winery had a very welcoming feel, throw in a free wine tasting and we were  on board.  Turns out, the experience was priceless with a knowledgeable and charming tasting host who did not run from our inquisitiveness. Pounding him with questions ranging from how to properly taste a wine to the variations of the pinot grapes, he stayed the course. After stating that “we weren’t so bad”, he brought in a special taste of the Merry Edwards 2014 Coopersmith Pinot Noir which turned out to be a big favorite of the group.

Guessing the country of his origin kept us hanging for awhile, but we got it before the tasting ended – Nigeria. We also thank him for a wonderful quote from Colette’s Prison in Paradise. Which we will have to Google to hear again as none of us took it down. Think we were concentrating on the wine.

http://www.merryedwards.com

Wendy was in charge of the morning’s agenda so it wasn’t a surprise when we returned from our walk and high tailed it off to a cheese farm complete with goats. (Wendy has a thing for both!!) She had organized a tour at a family farm which turned out to be a real highlight of our trip. Arriving just in time to wash off our shoes allowed us to enter into the work room where the owner, Donna, detailed the process of making cheese. We learned so much and quickly became familiar with the operations and the people. There was Ramon whose biceps were famous from stirring the cheese, Karen who magically changes the flavors of cheeses that aren’t “quite there yet” and the 15-year old “delinquent” son who was in real trouble with Mom, enough to get the morning milking duty for an undetermined time period.

The tour included a brief visit to the “girls” barn and introduction to some of the animals that were near and dear to Donna’s heart including Charles the beef cow, who wasn’t long for this world :(, and a calf just two days old.

Meet the girls and boys of Achadinha Cheese Company Farmstead.

http://www.achadinha.com

A smile for our miles

It won’t be easy to sum up our day as it was a full 13 hours beginning at 7:30 with a morning walk and pulling up in the driveway to the Chapman’s house just after sunset.  The best way is to run it down from start to finish.

Our day began with a five mile walk to the local reservoir. It’s summer so things are pretty dry, but the colors and contrast of the gold of the fields, green trees and blue sky was glorious.  A cool crisp breeze made the walk a real pleasure. We moved up a few notches in the dogs’ eyes since we actually took them for a walk today.  Dakota awarded us with five, yes, five stops to fill up his “doggie” bag.  Thank heaven for the free bags along the route.  Zipping down the local park’s mega slide was a fitting end to the walk.

This photo was taken the end of the day by a handsome young visitor from Singapore via Manchester England. You can tell we had fun by the looks on our faces.  I think most of the smiles came from the memory of watching Wendy attempt her handstand with Lisa and Leanne…that is where the motto what happens in….comes into play.  Actually, it was a great day, truly beautiful weather, awesome friends and some delicious food and wine.

We got up and out by 9:30, pretty good for this crew.

Turned out it was a bit early actually for the downtown Benicia which apparently doesn’t get going until well after 11 – especially on a Tuesday. After a quick walk around town, we decided to make our way to Sonoma – with wine in mind.

No complaints about the drive which meandered through beautiful hillsides decorated with vineyards. We stopped at one, but were met with a rather unfriendly “gatekeeper” who pretty much said we had to choose our tasting menu – with a rather expensive range – before being allowed to transcend the stairs into the actual tasting area.  Not really our style. (The iron horse statue which decorated the lawn was pretty cool though.)

We landed in downtown Sonoma which was a great collection of shops, restaurants, galleries and wine tasting room.  We had a lunch at the Sunflower Cafe. Trip Advisor served us well, as it was a perfect place with a nice garden and good food.  The tangerine beer was a hit – really refreshing – like the sign says – it’s five o’clock somewhere.

After a few stops in the local shops, we ventured down a small alley and found Passaggio Winemakers for our first tasting. Frank did the pouring and actually joined us for a picture for his Facebook page and our blog. After that, Lisa and Carol took off toward the next destination and made the mistake of not looking back and when they did, the rest were nowhere to be found. Turns out they had hardly had gotten out of the first wine tasting shop and they found another one serving free tastes of Pinot Noir!

A trip to the local bakery and a quick stop at the chocolate shoppe (yes this group enjoys food) and we were on our way back to the Chapman’s.

We were glad that Donna could join us for dinner. We made the short drive into Benicia and ate at Luca’s Bar and Grill – famous for their Tuesday night fried chicken which Carolyn and Heather sampled. All around the table the fries got a thumbs up, as did the roasted brussel sprouts. (And to think of all those times our moms tried to get us to eat them as kids.) It was an enjoyable meal and  the night was clear under a full moon. Walking down the tree lined streets of Benicia in the dark was however, a bit precarious due to an influx of Pokemon Go players on the hunt.

The first of the Pink Bragade to make their way up north were Wendy and Heather who had a few days headstart by cruising up to Paso Robles for some early wine tasting. After fighting traffic – even at 9:30 in the morning -the rest of the Benecia crew #BBACPP, made their way out of Southern California on Monday morning with a straight drive on the 5 through California’s farm belt, stopping for a taste of the best of the cattle country with lunch at Harris Ranch. Yum!

As expected, the drive involved passing a LOT of trucks, many hauling tomatoes or garlic. The Prius Peeps actually passed a load of stuffed animals that had been “dropped” on the highway making for rather odd flotsam to pass by.

Arriving in heavy traffic in Benicia around 6, we were welcomed at the home of David and Donna Chapman, friends of Carolyn’s and host/hostess extraordinaire, who opened their beautiful home to our group.  We met the canine “kids” – Dakota and Cooper and enjoyed a really nice evening at their lovely home, which we will be making ours for the next few days.

Congratulations to our Pink Bragade teammate Terri who took her vows on the beautiful Maui coast!

Terri you look beautiful and so happy.  But where are your tennies? We’ve got a walk coming up.

CONGRATULATIONS TERRI AND BOB! 

“I have found the one who my soul loves.”  Song of Soloman 3:4 

Just eight of the team was able to meet up in Fullerton for our final training walk before we head to San Francisco in a few weeks. We did add one canine member, Loki, Lisa’s pup who joined us for the walk and managed to wrangle a swim in Laguna Lake along the way. We had a beautiful – June gloom in July – morning for our short 5 mile walk along portions of the Fullerton loop. Our final destination was Lisa’s house and when we arrived the aroma of fresh chorizo, beans, rice and homemade tortilla’s filled our senses.  Thanks to Lisa’s friend Lilia and her daughter for the amazing lunch!

A quick dip in a very inviting and refreshing pool, armed with Lisa’s first try at homemade Sangria and we were all very happy pups!  Lunchtime conversation included wrapping up logistics and plans for getting up to Northern California for the walk and other adventures.  Lynne and Carole already on their phones planning out our meals. The day ended on the early side, with everyone having busy schedules…including Terri, who leaves on Sunday for her Hawaii wedding.  Congratulations Terri!  Before the last of us left, Linda stopped by to say hello and wish us well for our walk, sorry that she is unable to join us this year. She and Paula will both be in our thoughts as we walk. They’ve worked hard and trained hard with us over the course of the past two years – we will miss them on this Pink Bragade adventure.