Still South Dakota.
Found a cute campground that most of the year is a hopping family holiday retreat. But it’s cold and snowy and latish October, so it’s virtually empty.
Still snow on the ground.
South Dakota, if you’re wondering. I can only assume the town was named for acting great and original Felix Unger, Jack Lemmon. Prove me wrong.
There’s not a lot to say about this place and so I won’t.
That’s a torrential snow storm off in the distance.
The next few blog entries won’t have much. I’m currently racing across the northern states to get positioned for my annual trip to Vermont. But please enjoy these pictures of mountainy Helena.
Two feet of snow got dumped on Glacier so alternate plans were required. I was told there were a few wineries around Walla Walla, and by a few I mean 170ish. Thus a change of plans to Walla Walla was obvious.
And I am so glad this change was made as I had one of the best meals I’ve had in 2019 at Hattaway’s. If you ever go, eat at the bar and have bartender Chad be your guide.
And a fine Penicillin at Marcy’s
And a great tasting from a very friendly owner at Isenhower.
Firsts
The first time I traveled to Glacier NP, I drove along US 2 and after passing my namesake Steven’s Pass, encountered this Bavarian mountain village. I didn’t stop that time, but I have every time ever since.
Leavenworth is adorable and fun. Ok, maybe it’s not the most authentic Teutonic experience, but it’s still fun.
I love Seattle. It is easily my favorite city in North America. And the funny thing is people always complain about the rainy weather there. But whenever I’m there, it’s nothing but sunshine. I must bring the great weather and I await the Seattle City Council’s invitation to move there.
No trip to Seattle is complete without requisite trips to Elliot’s, The Brooklyn, and Top Pot. I was extremely relieved to see that Top Pot was still good. The Top Pot in Dallas is shit and are ruining the fine name of Top Pot.
Time for more wine tasting.
This time, except for the great De Ponte, I looked for wineries that had something else to offer other than my beloved Pinot Noir. For my efforts I was 1 for 2. Brooks Winery had some very nice and aromatic whites with a very special nod to their Gewürztraminer. I seriously wish I had bought more than just a half a case. Also, their tasting room was pretty hoppin’. Most of the tasting rooms in the WV are pretty small and quiet, but not Brooks.
Elk Cove on the other hand. Well, their wines were ok. And the road to their winery was rather rough on Stevie Ray. So I wasn’t in the greatest mood going into this tasting. But, especially compared to Brooks, the whites were just ok – better than average but not great. They did have a beautiful estate, though.
And whenever I’m in McMinnville, I have to have the schnitzel at the Golden Valley Brewpub. It is one of the best schnitzel I can get in the US and also the 4th and not final schitz of the trip.
Guess what!
My phone has been found.
Other than that, there’s not much to say about this day. It was just a moving day to get to McMinnville.
Well, really Orangevale.
This was just a day to get the hell out of Oakland and chill with an old friend with some all you can eat sushi and 90 Day Fiancée.
But I did get some decoration for Stevie Ray’s Fridge.
That’s me an Zoe if you couldn’t tell.
After drinking so much wine it was time for a long beer dinking day.
Starting at Oakland United in the Jack London area of Oakland.
Then off to Federation Brewery, but alas no pix.
So this is where the trip takes a bit of a turn.
I woke up on day 9 and could not find my phone. All the pictures I had taken the day before, unless I posted them to Facebook, were gone.
And this is why all the wineries were closed once I got to Sonoma. I had to stop on the way and get a new phone. But at least I got to drink at my now favorite west coast brewery, Henhouse. They are bringing the hazy IPA.
The next day was filled with beautiful Sonoma scenery and wines. Wineries visited – Rochioli, Bacigalupi, Scribe and Grunlach Bundschu.
Holy motherforking shirtballs!
It was 97 degrees in Oakland when I showed up. These are not the temperatures I’ve come to northern California for.
The first night was fairly chill. Dinner at a local German restaurant where I had my second schnitzel of the trip, Afterwards, a quick beer or two at the much hear of Tigers.
It was the second night where all the stuff happened
The evening started as so many evenings do, with several Irish Coffees at the home of Irish Coffees, The Buena Vista. Some may wonder how it is that Ireland’s two iconic beverages, Guinness Stout and Irish Coffee, just happen to look alike. I guess it’s just some crazy coincidence.
Then it was back to Hog Island for oysters.
Do yourself a favor and find someone that looks at you like Sam looks at oysters.
A quick ferry ride back to Oakland.
Then it was off to The Greek Theater to see Flogging Mollys – except they were just finishing up as I arrived. Still, it was awesome to hang out at such an amazing old outdoor arena. And Social Distortion was pretty good too.
Then finally I ended my night in Berkley at The Graduate, named for one of my all-time favorite movies.
This was a great day.
It was my original plan to camp in East Yosemite on day 5 and somewhere west of Yosemite on day 6. But when I got to the day 5 campsite there was no cell service. So I couldn’t work. I decided just to blow though Yosemite and find an RV Park and hang out for a couple of days to relax and not drive. Thus I found this place in Angels Camp.
Cool story, huh?
This was a long day of driving. But I did get to check off a bucket list item, seeing the Hoover Dam. I wish I would have had more time there, but I needed to get to the next campsite before it got dark.
If your ever in Edgewood NM and need a place to park your RV overnight, I highly recommend the Walmart there. This has got to be one of the friendliest Walmarts I’ve ever been in. But that’s admittedly a very short list.
The whole point of staying in ABQ overnight was to go to my beloved Gruet Winery. But, according to Google, it didn’t open until noon, so I headed over to the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History. Cool place, check it out.
I finally got to Gruet and it had been opened for an hour. Thanks Mountain Time. Regardless, this was a great tasting. So great I may have purchased more than a case.
The day ended at Sunset Crater just north of Flagstaff. This was the first of two nights i went to sleep before 9pm just because that’s all there was to do.
Still South Dakota. Found a cute campground that most of the year is a hopping family holiday retreat. But it’s cold and snowy and latish Oc...
