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.
Having taken over 1200 pictures over the long weekend, I will have to publish them half days at a time. Please to enjoy.
In-N-Out burger is a veritable institution in California. Its reputation as the best fast food burger in California traveled to Dallas through numerous Cowboy Training camp visits from The Ticket guys. Trips to the In-N-Out were usually the denouement of any late night drunken Corby story. So the second I crossed the border and saw my first In-N-Out, I headed right to the drive-thru.
The menu of In-N-Out is very simple – Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Double Double. You then tell them if you want it with onions and if you want fries or a drink. No Chipotle Guacamole Angus on Chibatta here. So, I ordered a Double Double with onions but no cheese. I later checked the website and it said I should have order just a Double Meat. Next time I guess.
The burger was very good. It is very reminiscent of a Whataburger. It has that same flavor, only maybe a little juicier. The fries were generic fast food fries.
While I think it did live up to its reputation, I don't think it is overall as good as Whataburger since I could not put bacon or jalapenos on it.
B+
Multiple locations in California, Arizona and Nevada
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...
