Dodge/Savemart 350

Our first race of the season was at Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA. This track is one of the two road courses the Nextel Cup drivers run each season. The remaining 34 races are on oval tracks. This track is a 2-mile course with 12 turns, both left and right. It’s demanding on drivers because there is more braking and shifting involved than usual. The race is 350 miles, and took just under 4 hours. Cheech Marin was the Grand Marshall.

Before the race began, Donny and I represented USG in presenting a $5000 check to Casey Mears, who gained the most positions during last week’s race in Michigan. We looked great up on the big screen, by the way. It was both fun and educational to have access to the garage and pits before and during the race. Matt Kenseth started in 9th position today, and finished 18th. That’s still somewhere in the middle, but not nearly as well as he’s been doing in general this season. Jeff Gordon, in the Dupont #24 car, won the race. A word of advice to anyone who might attend a race at Infineon though: Remember where you parked. We ended up taking two shuttles then walking for more than an hour through the rolling fields in search of our truck.


For more pics- http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j97/d3loeber/San%20Francisco/Infineon%20Raceway/

Energy Nor Cal Style

Big Ol' Trees

Moving inland from the coast, we followed the Russian River. There were sunbathers, kayaks, canoes and a host of other recreational activities for a sunny June afternoon. The river is dotted with small hamlets inhabited by a mix of the rich and fabulous, bohemian artists and their followers, and migrant laborers. Right in the middle, near the town of Guerneville, is the Armstrong Woods State Reserve. Our hike was a 5.6-mile journey with an 1100-foot climb and lots of switchbacks. Among the ancient redwoods, we saw the 1400 year old Armstrong Tree and the 310-foot tall Parson Jones. We also saw two deer, lots of squirrels and birds, and a couple of hawks.

Check out more pics- http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j97/d3loeber/San%20Francisco/Armstrong%20Redwoods%20State%20Reserve/

Contrasting Coasts

Growing up on Cape Cod I have a certain idea of what the beach is supposed to look like. Sand stretches as far as you can see, flat except for rolling dunes filled with beachgrass and driftwood, beach plum and saltspray rose. The sea is deep blue or emerald green. Surfers are lucky to catch anything big enough to challenge them, unless there's been a storm. The north Pacific always impresses me. The rocky cliffs are not gentle. The waves crash instead of roll. Much of the land surrounding the Sonoma Coast is still farmland, with cows wandering the craggy headlands above and occasional harbor seals in their own world far below.

Check out more photos- http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j97/d3loeber/San%20Francisco/Sonoma%20Coast/

Got Grapes?

We did a lot of initial research on the best way to get a feel for Napa Valley. There were bus tours, bike tours, shared shuttle vans, rented limos/SUVs, and the Wine Train (which doesn’t even let you off). A sense of independence, adventure, and a tight budget dictated we choose the drive-yourself-and-figure-it-out route.

Napa County is known as one of the finest viticulture regions in the world. There are two roads that form a circuit through a large number (over 200) of vineyards. Our first stop was the Chimney Rock Winery in the Stag’s Leap District.

Our next stop was Rutherford Hill. We had a nice walk around, smelled a few flowers and went on our way.

We then stopped at Calistoga's Old Faithful Geyser. Whether it is natural, and just opened when domeone was drilling a well, or whether the it was created by someone drilling a well around the turn of the century, it's now considered by many to be one of the three "Old Faithfuls"
in the world (designated as such due to constant, predictable eruptions). While we were there it performed about every 15 minutes, spouting scalding water about 50 feet into the air. The water comes from an underground river, which boils, expands and builds up pressure after flowing over molten magma deep in the earth. It may even be used in the prediction of earthquakes.

After the geyser, we head to Clos Pegase Winery, which had lots of cool sculptures. Further along, at Sterling Vineyards, we took a tram ride up to the winery. They had things set up for a self-guided tour (educational, and from grape to glass), followed by a tasting. We bought a bottle of 2005 Malvisia Bianca. We had an early dinner at Mustard's Grill in Napa--great food featuring fresh local ingredients. Tasty.

Back at the hotel we were greeted by the field-full of long-eared Jackrabbits next door.

For more pictures of this lovely day, click here http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j97/d3loeber/San%20Francisco/Napa%20Valley/

Believe

The new Shamu show at Seaworld. We also caught the dolphin show.








Check out some other photos
http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j97/d3loeber/San%20Diego/Sea%20World/

Memorial Day at the Zoo

Check out some photos from the world famous San Diego Zoo.

Make sure you look at both pages.
http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j97/d3loeber/San%20Diego/Zoo/