Yes, I'll have Some Wine with my Cambria, Please.

For my birthday weekend, we headed to Cambria for a night with our dear friends, Manual & Lora.

Weather was incredible,
the fields were green from all the recent rains, and the skies were clear.....
the perfect recipe for a great weekend. 🍷

Along the way was the usual wine-tasting; but of course. 😉

First stop to wet the palettes is Vino Robles.
We always get treated well here and enjoy their wines.
 Our server had a wonderful French accent and gave us a few new perspectives on the wines. 

Then for lunch at our new favorite spot....the La Bellasera. 
The food is great, the service is superb and 
the atmosphere is cozy,  whether you 
sit inside or out. 

Paso Robles has grown so much and offers so many amazing wines, it's impossible to have tried them all....but, we try. haha. We have our favorites, but also try to find new wineries and we read good things from a recent Paso article on Kukkula.
 The website shows some great red varietals and a good story, but we couldn't find the taste today. Can't all be winners. 😏

  We drove back down the hill to our favorite winery, Tolo Cellars. Josh and Michelle greeted with us with warm hugs. After taking us through their wonderful Fall line-up, we moved to the front porch.
We chatted for quite awhile with them.
     What a great ending to our day. It's special and rare to catch Josh, since he's usually working on the next wines. Also, discovered they have a big heart for giving back, focusing mostly on veterans.

Josh, winemaker/owner of Tolo Cellars

Bluebird Inn, Path just outside your room.

We're staying at the Bluebird Inn for the first time in Cambria.

  Everything here is great; the location to shopping and restaurants. 

This would be a nice place for the Harley and the rooms 

overlooking the back of the property are so nice 

with the path to the creek.

     Quick fresh-up for dinner at Robin's....just a short walk away. 

We were also pleased to find some shops that we hadn't discovered before: especially this cheese shop.....RIGHT next door to the Inn. Score!

      Indigo Moon ... apparently, it's also a small restaurant, with a cute patio outback. Just cheese for now....lunch or dinner next time!

Josh from Tolo recommended Dubost winery. We noticed the sign along the road and it didn't look like much. So, for Sunday we planned to visit. 

After a long, fun drive down their dirt-road, we discovered an old shed filled with old cars and trucks...then the Adobe style building. 

Kate, co-owner, welcomed us and served us up some outstanding wines along with great stories. They are working on their new tasting room, and we look forward to coming back in warmer weather to enjoy one of their outdoor parties. 

 Dubost Winery

Dubost, has some great reds: we loved their Tempranillo, and the Vingence, which is their huge red. A lovely blend of Tannat & Syrah. This bottle is rather expensive, but will be great to share on a special night. But, they also have a great $20 Blend of 7 reds called the Homestead Red. 

Kate's son, who recently passed away, painted this.... it has great meaning to her.

Winery cats.... Rule!😣

  

Incredible Walnut bar taken from fallen tree on the property.

A frequent winery, but always incredible, is Venteux. 

 Love their wines so much right now. Especially, the  Dry-Farmed Cab. We had the magnum over Friends-giving and it was delish. They pride themselves on unfiltered wines, and it's obvious with the sediment left in
your glass.

  Chuck, our favorite wino, was there and gave us a few minutes....love how he describes the tastes of the wine on your mouth and tongue :) 

Turley Cellars 

A spontaneous turn and we're at Turley Cellars. They pour primarily Zins. Their vineyards and grapes are from all over California, so you get a
great variety of wines from different regions. We all really liked it. Such a beautiful tasting room, too.
    Besides a wine club, they also offer a Mailing List. Where you get offered wine discounts 2 times a year, without a club commitment.

 We did get quite a few bottles.....that's what happens when you find great wines. 

Cheers, til next time :) 

Gorgeous night sky just before the lunar eclipse (red moon) 

Tahoe, Bloodies & Beyond

Day 1
     Murphys, CA

Danny loves to ride his '12 Electra glide and
I love to navigate the trip.

My riding gear :)

           We left home on the Harley early Sunday, cruised up to Oakhurst area and had Bloodies and breakfast at the Hitching Post in Ahwahnee, CA. Always great start to the day :)

New seating at the Hitching Post

Dinner at Grounds

   We didn't think to look into road construction....but, we got detoured on the 49. As we drove further north, they had closed the road!! UGH! not a great way to start out. We rolled into Murhpy's Inn about 4:30, Danny made a quick run to our favorite winery Villa Vallecito and the new wine attendant gladly hooked him up with 2 bottles.

     We enjoyed a nice dinner at the Grounds with our VV wine and our mood quickly improved. We've been to Murphy's a few times, stayed at the same motel and ate here, as well. Love their downtown.

    





We had great hopes of leaving Murphy's on Sheep Ranch Road, since we'd heard it's a fun "bike trail"....well, they must have meant dirt bike. The road was rough and we turned around by the Mercer Caverns  entrance (next visit), but at least, we saw this cool truck, haha

Murphy's:  Old Red Truck 

  

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Day 2

   Nevada City, CA

        It's a short drive made long to Nevada City. We were glad to be here early enough to do some sightseeing and wine tasting.
       Can't say enough praises about our accommodations: the Broadstreet Inn.  

      This Family-owned and operated Inn is so incredibly quaint and tidy....loved the decor, the area, the rooms....everything about it. 

street view of the Inn

Coffee on the back patio

The innkeeper gave me a quick tour of the larger suite. "The Carriage House." I definitely would encourage a couple to book that room. It gives you space to relax and possibly invite guests to visit. Reasonably priced for what you get, too. 

Getting cozy at the Nevada City Winery.
We drank a bottle of their Primotivo.

Short walk to the Nevada City Winery. Great wines at affordable prices....we joined for those reasons. The owner, the winemaker and the cellar manager were all available and told us about their process. They produce 10,000 cases a year. Very impressive for such a small facility.










     Dinner at the Friar Tucks upon a recommendation. Food was very good, and they're dining room has some unusual decor, like a large "tree" in the middle.

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Day 3

   Tahoe Vista

     Our plan was to have bloodies and breakfast at the Historical National Hotel. But, they were under renovations and closed for the next 6 months. So, we opted for the Classic Cafe, a cute french-owned cafe across the street. Guess we'll have to find bloodies along the way....

           

Great photo spot on the Yuba-Donner Scenic Byway Hwy 49 just before Sierraville

   We traveled north on the 49 through Downieville connecting with the 89 by Sierraville; a perfect place to stop for bikers at the Los Dos Hermanos. We had Bloodies and chips & salsa before heading south on the 89 towards Tahoe.

Los Dos Hermanos in Sierraville, CA

And we found them.....Mexican restaurant makes them bueno :)

  

  Arrived in Tahoe just around 3:00. The mood here is more laid back, we're close to King's Beach, but it's very quiet along the Vista. Some of the places are closed up and still preparing for the summer crowds. We quickly learned to appreciate the solitude of the area.

Fire Lite Lodge

Our view across the street...Not bad :)

Our room is large with a sitting area, patio to the pool and 2 queen beds. We can walk to the Old Range Steakhouse for dinner and across the street to the beach. All we need for the next 2 days. 

Villa Vallecito Barbera

There's truly no other lake as blue and clear as Lake Tahoe.

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Day 4
     Tahoe Vista (2)

    












  
Reno Day Trip

   We took a drive around the northern part of the lake, through King's Beach, Incline Village and then north up the I-431 into Reno. Stopped in for Bloodies and lunch at the Sierra Gold Casino.
Really good food....we were pleasantly surprised. But, then, we have the best luck with restaurants.

Fish tacos at Sierra Gold Casino

   The Chester H-D in Reno is in transition 

with new owners, so they didn't have 

any logo t-shirts. But, the new showroom 

is very nice and they're excited for

 the new ownership and the 

changes it will bring.
Danny and I had fun looking at
the beautiful new 2018 Harleys. Flat
black seems to be the trend this
year for paint color.

     

Incredible metal Artwork along the I-580

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Day 5

     Carson City, Virginia City, South Tahoe....full day

 Battle Born HD in Carson City

Beautiful Showroom 

HD espresso Cup....score!!!!

      We met up with a friend, Mike Carlow, in Carson City. 
Then we all road up to Virginia City. 

      

Such a great town....and we had the perfect attire, we
looked more like locals than tourists. 

   

The drive to Virginia City is a much different scene: filled with red rocks and dry landscapes. But, still awesome. Virginia City is a fun, old western town. Great time there just eating, drinking Bloodies and walking around.

The guys didn't notice, but many of the tourists were somewhat intimidated by the "Bikers" ha, ha. I liked hanging back and watching the guys talk & laugh.

 
                                                                                          Virginia City Mercantile

Great tourist shops....deep with mounds of taffy, clever tin signs, and gadgets displayed all over the walls.      

     Bonanza Filming 1960's

Virginia City was the backdrop to the old western tv show Bonanza. I can so picture it. Not much has changed, still wooden sidewalks, old signs and not a square corner in the town. 

                                                 
 

View from the lookout on Geiger Grade Road                                     We look more like hikers than bikers :) 

This is a lookout point at the top of Greiger Grade Road. 

We walked down to some sites with remnants of 'what looked like' fireplaces....bit odd. Danny thought they may be camping spots. Kind of steep area, but possible since this was a popular area for mining gold & silver in the late 1800's. 

We parted ways with Mike at the bottom of the hill, as he went home to Reno and we headed to our next stop in South Lake Tahoe.

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Day 6, 7 & 8

Hotel Becket South Shore Lake Tahoe

     We arrived at the motel around 5 pm, and we were both tired from the day. The area was busy and we were concerned about the location of the motel. We've stayed here when it was the Park 968, but now it's merged with the nearby motel and is the Hotel Becket which made set-up a bit odd. But, we stayed on the restaurant side and all was well. We got to park the Harley right in front of our room and the king bed was super comfy.

     The area near the rooms had some fire-pits and Adirondack chairs, with a back door entrance to the bar and restaurant; where we ate every meal.  I don't think we'll stay here again while on the bike, it's just too touristy. This would be a great location for walking to the casino's, Heavenly Valley or concerts. We made the best of it and took some great rides from here. We stayed here for 3 nights....

   I took a solo walk to the beach, just a couple blocks and it was gorgeous

LOVE

  

No riding today, so a little cheese and wine on the bed :) 

The on-site restaurant Ten Crows is very good. They started the smoker at 7am and we enjoyed watching the prepping and smells throughout the day. The cook was very happy to speak with guests about the process. Their ribs were delish!  

We relaxed outside our room with wine and cigar.

Bloodies at the 10 Crows used Smoked garlic YUM!

pic from website....not our meal :) We didn't eat this well....haha

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Day 8 
    Bridgeport

    Headed out Sunday morning for our next stop.....Bridgeport, CA. This town is not known was staying in, but more of a pass-through town. I beg to differ and planned to prove it. Not much in the town except little cafes and bars. What more do we need?! 

    Danny drove their along the Monitor Pass. Another high mountain pass with elevations up to 9000'. We took a detour through Markleyville with hopes of the "old lady's" Bloodies....but, sadly it was closed and we found out that she lost her liquor license....oh NO!?!??? 

      None the less, it's a great ride and we spoke to other bikers and went on our way.
        

The black rocks of Markleyville 

The Markleyville Creek that runs along the Monitor Pass

the views of the Eastern side of the Sierras as you enter Bridgeport

This ride takes you right along the border of Nevada and just west of Lake Topaz.

As we pulled up to the Silver Maple Inn I got excited.

 The rooms surrounded the grassy, tree-filled center of the property. 

We grabbed some lunch prior to checking, since it was early. 

Great food and drinks at the Sportsmen's right across the street. 

View from the road

                                                                      Classic old room key  

A back entrance to the motel grounds....loved the look of this shed. 

 Historical Old Court House in Bridgeport

Using the motel room tray as an appetizer tray.... haha 

Bridgeport Inn 

Found a restaurant with a sign that read "fine dining".....hmm....we'll give that a shot. The bar was rugged looking and the dining area was old and quaint with linens. The food was excellent: Danny had blackened steak and I had Ahi Tuna Salad. 

Coffee and breakfast was served in the Cain House on the property. love this place.

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Day 9 

      Sonora Pass to Home

Time to head home...We chose the Sonora Pass. So beautiful and just the right temp. No jackets, and slightly cool before hitting the high valley temps. 

Lots of slow turns with an increase and decrease to the elevation makes a gorgeous ride on the bike. 

  

Strawberry InnOne last stop for lunch and Bloodies! Large bar, restaurant overlooking the trees and stream below. With multiple levels for outdoor eating makes this place a must-visit.  

It's been a great ride.