Sunday, May 9, 2010

Discoveries in California

I am still new enough to the Napa area so I have the pleasure of being able to go on rides and runs and discover hidden gems. After a hilly trail run that absolutely kicked my booty and prompted my running buddy John to say "you can kiss those flat Chicago legs good-bye" I went on an afternoon bike ride in Suisun Valley. Suisun Valley is one valley "over" from the Napa Valley and is very quiant. I found a fruit stand, a small coffee shop, a bbq joint that smelled unbelievable and signs for fresh picked fruit and homemade pies! If I had a basket on the front of my TT bike for groceries I would have stopped. However, the 2 mile climb up to my house with a load of groceries would have made for a long, tough climb. I also found a roundabout (see pic below). Ever since visiting New Zealand and Australia I have a soft spot for roundabouts. I really enjoyed my new discoveries and they are very different from the Chicago type of discoveries I would make on my two or three cycling routes. Discoveries in the Chicago area usually consisted of new traffic lights, more construction and bigger potholes. For realz.


Friday was preceded by a Thursday night dinner at my friend John's house with his wife Julie and their two daughters, Haley and Grace. I am used to eating some sort of one pot wonder at home with my kitties while skyping with Andy so it was great to have a little change in the dinner routine. We even helped the girls with their homework and I got the lowdown on the local kids in their carpool to school.

I finished the weekend with a killer swim and ride and run on Saturday, dinner at Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen with friends who were visiting from Chicago and then a run and swim today. The best part about Cindy's is the Campfire pie pictured below. Pure Bliss!


1 comment:

  1. Campfire pie - good. Husband doing all the work to get house in Chicago ready to sell while wife eats campfire pie - bad.

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