California, Here We Were!

Nothing like stretching out a vacation for an extra month, right?   But it's not like I did it on purpose.   You see, I had a bit of a distraction with a snake in my yard.  And then I had to go eat some pie.   Now that all those fun distractions are out of the way.... I can finish talking about my vacation.

As I have mentioned previously, our California trip was essentially split into two halves: Wine Country and San Francisco.  The pro: we got to see two awesome places.  The con: we did not see near enough of each place!  I have already summarized, in great detail, the three days spent wine tasting.

Since we were California -and therefore San Francisco- newbies, Michael wisely decided to book us a bus tour upon arrival in the City By the Bay.   But, Michael being Michael, he found a deal on Groupon for a new tour company that uses a small (think airport shuttle van) bus that gets to the standard tour stops, but also takes guests to many more fun, out of the way places.   It was a blast.   The photo below was taken in a little turn around between Twin Peaks and Mount Sutro, near a ginormous cell tower.   Despite the low clouds (aka fog) it was a great view.

In four hours we saw pretty much all the main San Francisco tourist spots, from Alamo Square (Full House picnic spot)

 to the Golden Gate Bridge (across the bay, too!) 

from Haight-Ashbury (notice the clock is set to 4:20!)

to Union Square

If you are planning a trip to San Francisco, I highly recommend the tour company, City by the Bay Tours.  Our driver, Jason, was a riot, and was very knowledgable about the city.  And!   He had a soundtrack.   Cheesy?   Perhaps.  But I liked hearing "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" in the morning, and then driving back over the bridge to "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"

We actually did quite a bit of exploring on our own aside from the guided tour... more on that next time.   I should be able to conclude the trip by the end of May!

Great America Pie Festival

Crisco sponsors the "Great American Pie Festival" every year in Celebration, Florida.    I am very close to the idyllic town (even more idyllic during said festival!) and decided to pop over this year to see what it was all about.   To avoid possible guilt trips, I first ran 5 miles.   Highly recommended in order to be able to indulge in such a gluttonous afternoon.

It did not disappoint.  The even itself is free (think demonstrations, local high school bands and dance groups, craft show set up of folks selling goods) but $10 per adult got us admittance to the Never Ending Pie Buffet.  This is, pretty much, just what it sounds like.   Multiple pie vendors set up several varieties on folding tables.  You take what you want (don't worry- plastic forks abound) and enjoy.  

The set up was not conducive to photo snapping.... Picture if you will about 10 tents on each side of the street, each full of banquet tables stacked high with pieces of pie.   Each vendor had at least 3 varieties, most had 5 or 6!  Talk about decision making.

I am a dessert monster as many people know.   Michael is less of a sugar monster;  I ate a bunch more pie than he did.  There were the typical apple, cherry, berry, chocolate, key lime, etc. and they were all quite tasty.  But I did manage to find 3 that were new to me.

Village Inn's Lemon Blueberry Supreme: Each layer totally different!  From bottom to top, pie crust, lemon supreme (lemony cream cheese), lemon cake, whipped topping, and fresh blueberries slightly mashed up.

Lemon Chess: A thicker version of lemon meringue.  Think lemon bar, but in pie form.   I learned that
this is a Southern favorite... so maybe I am just a Yankee who is clueless?  Either way, it was darn good.  (Bless their heart!)

Dixie: Pecan pie's more interesting cousin.  Turns out chocolate chips, walnuts, and pecan filling all combined is a great idea.  Again, props to the southern bakers for thinking of this one.

The best news of the day, perhaps, was that all the varieties included in the buffet were available for purchase as whole pies!  

I bought a Dixie and stuck it in the fridge yesterday afternoon.   After the buffet, we were not in the mood to eat any last night.   Good thing that didn't last long... I tried a piece after lunch today with a cup of tea.... whoa boy.   Dixie tastes even better while you are sitting on your couch in your air conditioned living room whilst watching your team win a baseball game.

No House Cup for Salazar

Certainly you are all itching to know the situation with my neighborly reptile.

The news is not good, folks.  We walked out of the house earlier this week and saw him all wrapped up in the bird netting.   Like a big spiral of snake wrapped up with layers of netting between the spirals.   Honestly the image is quite disturbing and you are being spared a photo.  Kind of gross.

Michael hypothesized that a bird or other animal came after it, snake tried to escape, and got further stuck in the netting.   Whatever creature was stalking him was not near clever enough to get Salazar out of the netting, so there he remains.   Fear not, we are removing him (and the tomato plants, which do not do well in May due to the heat) to a final resting place in the nearby dumpster.  For the first time in several months, our garage will again be bare of both vegetation and creatures.

Salazar Slitherin is dead...  10 points Gryffindor!  

Too soon?

Slytherin vs. Gryffindor

Thursday we noticed something behind the tomato plant closest to the sidewalk.  Michael asked "Is it a snake?" so I took a look and, sadly, yes.   A black snake with a grayish white belly.  A quick web search told us it was a racer.  (I was so relieved it was not a basilisk)

Isn't it pretty?  Ours was coiled up a bit more than this, but they tend to be almost 3 feet in length, which is plenty big for me, thank you very much.   Racers are not poisonous and they eat all sorts of icky critters such as rodents and also lizards and bugs and probably bunny rabbits if they get super hungry.  Being a huge Harry Potter nerd, I promptly named him Salazar.   Michael promptly stopped using the backyard gate and pathway (seriously) and emailed HOA -a company to which we pay a healthy monthly sum- to let them know our pest situation, and hope they could fix it quickly.  These HOA folks help out when cockroaches and other pests are in the house, so it's not a random choice.   His email was lovely.

Hi Oraine,

We have a snake living behind some tomato plants in our back yard, and I was wondering if somebody could come and remove it. 

Thanks,

Michael

The reply back was not.

Mike:

I apologize but we have no one that can do that, snakes will typically move on. I am sorry about that. 

Regards,

Oraine

Side note: the day my husband goes by Mike voluntarily I will eat my foot.   Why do people do that?   Some clients call me Julie when they respond to emails.  So bizarre.

The worst part of this email, of course, is that we are back to square one.  So I did what any logical person would do.   I told my mother and sister about our predicament.   Their responses were just as helpful as Oraine's.  And despite how absurd they both may seem, I assure you both these women are 100% serious in their suggestions

Al: Put Broadway out there. She speaks parseltongue and can politely ask/demand that he or she vacate the premises immediately.  (Broadway is a stuffed bison who is a sort of Travelocity gnome, appearing in all sorts of our travel photos, she also has quite a backstory.  More on that another day)

Mom: 

You need to call this idiot, remind him that you pay $$ and ask him to explain just what the hell your HOA DOES cover.  What if the snake was in your house?  I would catch the snake and  take it over to the [main building of the resort] and release it in the lobby, but that's just me...

Needless to say, neither suggestion proved extremely helpful.  We noticed on Friday afternoon that Salazar had not moved at all.  I took a closer look (to take a photo which sadly did not turn out well... hence my use of google images above) and saw that his little head was stuck in the bird netting over the tomatoes.   So the problem shifted from:

We have a snake living by our tomatoes and it could possible slither out at us whilst we walk on the backyard pathway 

to

We have a snake living by our tomatoes and it is now stuck in the bird netting and will likely die there.   It will no longer slither out at us, but someone has to now free the scared reptile from its trap

I sort of want to email Oraine and say "Oraine, I don't think this snake will be moving on" but that doesn't really help much either.   

As of Saturday morning [also Michael's birthday!  how about that] Salazar was in the same spot, so we figured he'd died of suffocation or dehydration, we'd remove the body, and throw it... away?  In an empty lot down the street?   Not sure.     But to make things even more interesting, later that day, Salazar's head is still stuck in the netting, but the back portion of his body kept moving.   I think he was trying to free himself.   All I can say it's a good thing we didn't try to remove the 'dead' snake on Saturday because that would have been a rude awakening for all involved.

Sunday was more of the same; his rear kept changing places but his head is still stuck.  Michael decided we needed some gardening gloves (in case he tries to bite) and longer hedge clippers so we can free him from the netting, hope he's fatigued, and relocate him.    I worked all day so I have not been out to check on the progress (or lack thereof) but I cannot wait for Salazar to be out of the yard.

California Dreamin' (Drinkin) Part Four

I'm taking awhile to do this, and for that I apologize.   I figure at the very least the next time we go I will have a fantastic record of what we did!   Anyway, you're surprised we have not suffered cirrhosis of the liver aren't you?   Truly, we did not drink that much each day.  We shared tastings and dumped out the wine we didn't like or just got sick of drinking.  Don't judge until you are on winery #5 and you have already tasted 30 wines.

In addition to offering some tasty wines, nearly all of the wineries we visited offered spectacular views and settings.   A few favorite photos are below.   Yes, folks, it was WINDY on Monday.

After an epic downpour that morning, the sun came out at Plumpjack.  So naturally I made Michael stand in among the grapes and take a photo

In addition to having a cute name, Plumpjack also featured this cute bench outside their front door.  And!  Can I please point out my gold flats?  I am obsessed.  How have I lived without them so long?

While waiting for our drunk tour guide (for real) at Beringer I did manage to take some artsy shots like this one.

After our sit-down wine tasting at Saintsbury.  Such a cute place- a bit of a shabby chic winery

Side note: Am I the only person whose nose gets sunburned not in Florida, but in Northern California during what appeared to be monsoon season?  What gives?

Standing on top of the hill- more like a mountain- at Artesa

And when we change direction, my hair blows into my face.  I have a sinking suspicion Justin Bieber circa 2010 had a similar issue whilst performing in London

Domaine Carneros was unique in that the wine was served at tables for two, and offered cheese plates!  Delicious and a fantastic way to eat lunch..... before you eat lunch.  

Matanzas Creek was one of my favorite stops.   First of all, it looked like a tree house.  Secondly, the setting was so gorgeous I am pretty sure I would be happy living in an actual tree house on property.

If the tree house situation weren't enough, they grow lavender!   Acres of it- and it smells amazing.  This is a teeny tiny portion of it

It poured all day during our last traipse through wine country.   No seriously.   We're talking inches of rain in Sonoma.  I still managed to get my J picture, though.  Umbrella and all!  I think I should have gotten a discount since, I, too, am a J.

Attitude

While we were in Sonoma we went to a delicious lunch spot called The Wurst.   This was on the wall, and I love what it says- kind of puts it all in perspective, don't you think?

A List from Mom

As you may recall my parents were in Florida for 3 months.  They arrived on New Year's Day and left last Friday.  THey enjoyed gorgeous temperatures, sunshine, theme parks, swimming pools, movie stars (ok, not really), and generally had a nice time away from the Ohio winter.  Ironically, northern Ohio had one of the mildest winters on record.  Dad said it doesn't matter because he was swimming in January and even a warm day in Ohio is not that warm.  Anyway.   I digress.


Mom and Dad got back to Ohio Saturday evening and were on hand to partake in the family Easter festivities.  They also got there just in time for a cold front and perhaps the grossest stretch of weather the county has seen in months.  Snow in April just is not fair.   Yesterday I received a list from my mother comparing northern Ohio to Central Florida.  I have posted it here for amusement purposes.  Guess which location she prefers right about now?


It's ok, Mom.  It's almost spring.  I promise






Central Florida 82 -Northern Ohio 42
Publix Boar's Head meats - Giant Eagle Market Day Meats 
Publix chicken salads - No chicken salad at all
Walk outside - Run into house, desperately trying not to get wet
Air conditioning - Furnace
Hot steering wheel - Must wear gloves to drive
Sandals - Shoes & sox
Shorts - Coat
Disney World - Nothing
But the worst thing of all:
Jujle & Miko - No Jujle & Miko