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Sizzled and Sozzled in Sonoma!
Bed count = 17/18/19/20
Hi there!Firstly apologies for the lengthy instalment last time out, but there's' so much happening in our life right now, that I'm struggling to capture it all!You'll be pleased to know that I have ditched the public transport blogging for a while and you're getting my pearls of wisdom from a hotel bar overlooking some distant Pacific Islands under the glistening sun, in a place they call ''Fiji'!Earlier today, I discovered that if you are willing to pit your will against the scorching midday sun and listen to a man blast the bongos in your personal space, you will be rewarded with a free glass of Fijian beer!I thought this was certainly an interesting way of reducing sun burn and possible dehydration when I tasted the first refreshing mouthful!Ok I'm been sarcastic here…not that anyone in America would understand me!It would seem that they don't understand/tolerate my sarcastic Yorkshire tones any more than I understand/tolerate the word 'awesome'!To highlight my losing battle of introducing at least one ounce of sarcastic wit to the US public, I will refer to the 'San Diego cream incident'….it's still very 'fresh' in my mind.Whilst enduring a bit of food shopping the other day, Melissa delegated a high profile task of searching for a pot of single cream that we required for a recipe later that night.Now, one would have thought this would be the simplest of tasks, as hunting down an over calorific compliment in an American grocery has not proven challenging previously.However, after a quick once over of the fridge section, it was immediately apparent that this challenge would be different this time out.Now, if you want full cream no problem, or if your partial to a bit of half cream/half milk (creatively called 'half & half') no worries either!However, if you're after anything else just forget it and I started to appreciate the full scale of the challenge when an emergency call went out for the 'dairy specialist' to assist me on aisle nine!To be fair, he was well versed in his trade and did everything he could to convince me that no such item exists on planet earth.We even had a 'Mexican stand-off' when I challenged the point, which resulted in him offering to randomly open cartons to further hammer home the point.Up steps the 'sarcastic' Yorkshire man to test his nerve by asking the rather harmless question of 'don't you guys have any cows over here' (inclusive of wry smile for full impact)?! The straight faced answer back 'yeah man, we have plenty'!!!Back in England we call this sort of event 'a joke', but looking at his dead pan response, I'm pretty sure it wasn't received as such! I'm also equally positive that he went home utterly confused to his wife to pronounce 'you'll never guess what happened today, I met this guy who foolishly thinks we have no cows in the US…what a loser'!I guess this is one such example of the cultural differences that I have observed during my travels and whilst testing at times, it has been an experience I won't forget!Now, as I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, we are currently on the shores of Fiji but a lot has happened since my last update! As ever, I will try to give you a flavour of a few events gone by, but first I have to rescue my wife who is currently baking in the midday heat.Melissa's quest for a tan has been elevated up a notch today and as with most things, it tends to be an all or nothing approach, this time it could result in half wife/half lobster!
So in the last blog outing, we had experienced the quiet night life of the suburbs of San Francisco and after waking bright eyed and with a slightly fuzzy head the next day, we said our goodbyes to our new found friends John and June.Today we would be heading north to the wine regions of Napa and Sonoma.However, it wouldn't be a normal day's outing without testing my patience thresholdby driving though a US city centre in the mid-morning rush hour!Our satellite navigation (Sat Nav) system has been a life saver this holiday, but occasionally it decides to keep me on my toes by throwing in a random route or two just for fun!One of the iconic pictures in San Francisco is the red/gold tinge of the Golden Gate Bridge against the backdrop of the bay.There are a few ways to see this tourist attraction, one would be to catch a bus, another is to cycle across the path or another slightly more elaborate way is to ride a Segway.However, why waste your time with such relaxing approaches when you can just drive straight over it during rush hour traffic…..special thanks goes to the Sat Nav lady for this one!After to speaking to a few people, it would appear that this bridge was never designed to take the vast load of traffic that frequents it on a daily basis.Therefore, rather than trying to reduce the flow of traffic or building another bridge, an ingenious solution has been implemented to solve the issue.A traffic light system has been introduced that changes to open or close various lanes dependant on the load of traffic from either end.Ah ha, a modern marvel of engineering brilliance I hear you cry, why all the scepticism Mr Duckworth?!Well my dear Watson, in theory it works, but in practice these lights can change in an instant and whilst you might start out on a green light, you may not end on one whilst crossing the bridge!That's right, in the blink of an eye you can go from a one way lane to facing an articulated lorry coming head on at full speed!Fortunately, I didn't endure such an incident, but accidents are common place here and I rest my case on what is quite frankly a ridiculous system!Needless to say I didn't have much time to take in sights off this bridge whilst crossing, but Melissa made sure we had some memories by 'capturing the bridges by a thousand angles!If I am training to be a budding travel writer, I think Melissa is honing her skills to move into a part time pharmacist and part time paparazzi on our return!After the ordeal of crossing the bridge, we pulled into a view point on the other side to get a better view.Using the latest meteorological guidance, we ensured that we timed the viewing with a good degree of sea fog and a blistering cold north wind for full impact…that my dear US friends is sarcasm!So after seeing practically nothing, we still found time for a quick picture to remember the event and carried on our trail north for an impromptu stop at a town called Sausalito.A few friends had mentioned this place to me and I'm sure the clever ones amongst them will correct me on my facts here.However, this is a very quaint little village/town right on the west coast probably 10 miles or so north of San Francisco.It seems to be an artist's retreat with a very definite Italian influence and we stopped off here for a spot of lunch.After wandering around a while, we sampled the delights from a local deli which is currently winning our coveted award of 'sandwich of the trip'!Apart from the great weather, you also get a magnificent view back to San Francisco and glimpse of the bridge without any adjacent sea fog.Whilst seated on the side of the promenade we witnessed a man stacking stones on the beachside.I had never seen this crowd pleasing act before, but basically it involves a small Chinese man balancing large stones on top of very small ones and then whacking the structure violently with a bamboo cane to prove its stability.Random tourists are then invited to try to repeat the feat without the aid of super glue or chewing gum!It's certainly an interesting occupation and whilst I'm not knocking the guy, I do wonder how he found out that he possessed such a skill?!Did he just wake up one day slightly discontent with his 9-5 landscaping job and pop down to the local careers centre for advice?!Maybe the conversation went along the following lines: 'Well Mr Wang, have thought about the things you enjoy in your current role or any transferrable skills you may have out of work?', 'Well…I really enjoy the creativity aspects of my landscaping role and I especially enjoyed building a rock garden for Mrs Wang the other day.'That's great Mr Wang, do you have any favourite pastimes?' Well, in my spare time I am partial to a spot of Jenga now and again…', 'well Mr Wang, I think we might have just the job for you....'!!
So after lunch in Sausalito we continued our journey north to the rolling vineyards of the Napa and Sonoma valleys.From memory, I think there are ~100 vineyards (or wineries) in Sonoma and over 300 in Napa….which is more than enough to please even the most resilient of alcoholics!However, the plan for the day was simply to perform a 'drive by' to scope the area and then head to our pre-booked accommodation.Once again we had used our trusty friend 'vacation rental by owner' and managed to secure what looked like on paper to be our best booking yet.We would be staying on the edge of Sonoma town in a poolside villa for the first night, before transferring to a 5 bedroom house on the property for a further two nights!Sometimes a bit of charm and wit goes a long way when securing such bookings and this would be a prime example…luxury living at a cut price and it will come as no surprise that Melissa was extremely excited by the prospect!!We arrived early and checked into our villa for the night.It was better than we were anticipating, although the only comedy factor was the size of the bed!Well not the size really, but rather the height of it and I can assure you that there was no graceful way to embark!I am around 6ft tall and ~5ft of that constitutes my legs and even I had a struggle with a scissor kick entry for a night's sleep.This begs the question, what chance would Melissa have?!The answer, very little and we had to resort to a makeshift ladder arrangement by using a nearby bamboo towel rack to ease her climb!!However, once in bed it was extremely comfortable and the following morning we both agreed that it was the best night's sleep to date.Before we dropped off however, we did venture into the beautiful market town of Sonoma for a relaxing meal.Again on recommendation we ate at 'The Girl and the Fig' restaurant, which is one I would further recommend if you are ever in town here.
Waking the next day we had a lazy morning and Skyped our friends Claire and Chris from the garden area near the pool….yes we also had a swimming pool and hot tub here!Skype video calls are such a great tool to stay in touch these days and despite the odd dodgy connection, we have spoken to most of our good friends and family by now.Travelling is amazing, but it also makes you appreciate your friends and family back home, so let that be a further invitation to call us anytime!
On our first day we decided to drive over to the Napa Valley region and take advantage of the full tank of petrol we still had in the hire car.We planned a route over to the V.Sattui vineyard, after following a tip off that they did some tasty deli lunch in their gardens.The drive over was relaxing, but I quickly lost count of the number of wineries that we passed.The vast majority are open to the public, but some are purely commercial.However each one is unique and the adjoining buildings can be pretty spectacular here.It's not uncommon to see a huge French chateau or similar structures here as the wine business is big bucks in the valley.I find it interesting that we don't get a whole heap of Napa or Sonoma wines in the UK and the reason is that they just don't need to export the stuff!The vast majority is taken by the US market…the greedy beggars!A shame really, as I firmly believe that some of the best wines are produced here and the taste is quite unique (you may have the impression that I have a slight hint of 'sour grapes' on this subject!). Anyhow, we arrived at V.Sattui around lunch time, which was a big mistake as it was a bit of a tourist trap at this time.However, this didn't stop us wandering round the impressive property and popping in for bit of wine tasting.I was on the spit bucket due to my taxi driving duties, but Melissa was well and truly off the chains!It became quickly apparent that the servers would give over generous measures, but still expect a rapid consumption rate during proceedings.All of this on an empty stomach combined with the midday heat, gave rise to a few merry giggles and two bottles of needlessly purchased wine!With 50% of the Duckworth's slightly sozzled, we popped into the garden to the pleasing sight of a BBQ.Following our order, we basked on a picnic bench in the beautiful surroundings and this is probably one of the most relaxing highlights of the trip for me.
On the way back, we decided to take a scenic route back and found time to stop at the 'Mumn Napa champagne' winery, which is probably a name familiar with anyone celebrating.Melissa also decided that a random celebration was in order for us, so we pulled in for a quick viewing.Well that was the plan, but moments later we found ourselves on the balcony of the property with three glasses of champagne in front of us…how did that happen?!The view out was pretty spectacular and the surroundings most peaceful, so it wasn't a bad end to the day.After finishing some fine champagne, it was time to leave, but not before another impulse buy of a bottle of the 'Mumn Demi-sec'.If you haven't worked it out already, there seems to be a trend emerging here! It involves me driving to a vineyard, Melissa sampling the delights and a bottle of wine in the boot after a slightly clouded judgement!!Not knowing the exact route back, we turned on the Sat Nav and a route was generated.Fifteen minutes later during a 1 in 3 ascent up a wafer thin road, I knew something was amiss!Not content with sending me over the Golden Gate Bridge, Mrs Sat Nav was trying her hardest to kill me once again.I'm not sure whether it was the tone of my voice I used the other day ('it's not what you said, but the way you said it') or the fact that I wasn't paying her enough attention, but either way I was being punished for some wrong doing!After 45 minutes of intense concentration and a few near death drop scrapes we hobbled back into Sonoma!We transferred into our new abode, which was absolutely stunning - the downstairs floor space was bigger than our house in Sandwich.The fact that it had a table football games room upstairs just added to the excitement!It was a very pleasant evening and we decided to take advantage of a few complementary bikes which were included with the property.After a rocky start, involving a stubbed toe and spider in the helmet, we were satisfied to hit the road!There was a lovely bike trail that ran through a nearby park and some vineyards before hitting the town of Sonoma.The fact that we timed the sunset perfectly and found time to sample a few chardonnay grapes along the way just added to the experience.After arriving back, we popped down to the local Sonoma market to collect some fresh fish and vegetables for a hearty supper.The route back took slightly longer than expected, as Melissa's ice cream senses homed in on a local Ben and Jerry's shop …who needs a Sat Nav?!Following a home cooked meal and some cookie dough ice cream over-indulgence, we hit the hay for what promised to be another great night's sleep.Things were going quite well, until I was abruptly woken for an impromptu episode of the US version of 'most haunted'.Melissa had pretty much jumped the whole distance out of our ensuite bathroom to the other side of the bed, after being thoroughly convinced that someone else was present?!The remainder of the night involved flinching at all the creeks in the property and the bathroom light firmly switched on for the duration…all a little spooky I might add!
Despite a broken night's sleep, we had something to look forward to the next day.The owner of the property was also the CEO of the major wine tour company of the region and had kindly arranged a tour the next day.Following our pick up, we would visit four wineries and the best thing about it was that I could also have a tipple as well!When we joined the bus, there was only one other couple on board so it became apparent that this would be a relatively private tour.Our first stop at 'Kunde' vineyard involved a tour of the underground caves used to store barrels of wine at the optimum temperature and humidity.All very interesting and not a bad place to be trapped if ever there was an earthquake!After this we went on to sample wines at a French Chateau (Chateau St Jean), a European-like castle (Ledson) and a boutique vineyard (VJB).It was a great day out and I would firmly recommend it, but beware of the amount of wine you may consume during the day!Following our previous days trend, we returned with several more bottles of wine and enjoyed a good night with cheese and crackers to accompany us.Unfortunately our night's sleep was again interrupted, as the ghost mysteriously reincarnated as a beetle and ran over my face during the course of the night…another rude awaking!
The next day it was time to move onto the next leg of our trip, downtown San Francisco.However, we decided to utilise the hire car by heading to a few other Sonoma vineyards on our way back and found time to stop in the 'Nicholson Ranch'.I have visited this vineyard a few years back, although the weather was against us from memory.I did however remember this particular vineyard not necessarily for its grandeur, but more the relaxed atmosphere and its amazing wines. It did not disappoint this time around and we had a rather personal wine tasting experience followed by some lunch on the beautiful terrace.Once again, we left with another bottle of wine in the boot, but this time it was for good cause, as their 2006 Pinot Noir is outstanding.Rather than take the freeways onwards, we decided to take the scenic route over to catch the coastal Route 1 down to San Francisco. Following some breath taking changes in scenery, we stopped at Point Reyes for an afternoon snack at a quaint little café.Following this, we continued along an extremely narrow and winding road that certainly challenged my driving ability.Sheer drops to near certain death combined with limited visibility meant the margin for error was pretty tight!I'm not sure whether it was this observation or the fact that the road resembled a roller coaster, but Melissa was starting to feel pretty queasy.Thankfully a curb side stop off was averted and her lunch stayed comfortably down!Following the challenging road, I wasn't given a moment's respite as we hit the freeway around rush hour…again!I have slowly become accustomed to the crazy lane swapping and inappropriate horn beeping , but for some reason this time it really grated me!Despite falling out with the Sat Nav lady the other day, it appeared we were now on speaking terms, as she safely guided me through the labyrinth of one way streets in the city.Just about on time, we arrived on a busy street to unpack and check into our accommodation in the 'USA hostel'.Having a mixed experience of our first hostel outing in Kelowna, we had decided to give it another go.We were pleasantly surprised when we checked into our private room, which kind of resembled a boutique hotel!A nice bed, funky wall paper, hot water, you name it, all the luxuries here! Satisfied with the room, we made a quick sprint to return the car back to the rental station on time.Locating the entrance proved difficult, but finding the actual drop off point inside was a far greater challenge.After driving aimlessly round the parking lot for ten minutes, we decided to ask the helpful assistant.She told us with great pleasure that place had shut one minute ago and for added frustration, we would have to keep the car for another night and suffer the financial penalties the next day.Things had not exactly gone smoothly so far in San Francisco and the fact that kerbside parking for > 30 minutes is pretty much illegal here, it left us in quite a predicament.However, the hostel was pretty helpful and we were given directions to an overnight car lot not too far away.The cost wasn't too bad, but I wasn't entirely happy on handing my keys over to a rather suspect bunch of dodgy looking parking attendants that evening.In order to minimise the cost implication, we would have to return the vehicle as soon as possible the next day...this boiled down to us getting up at 6am…so much for a lie in!However, it wasn't all bad, as the new attendant took pity on us this time around.Employing our potent combination of good looks and Yorkshire charm resulted in the fee being waived upon explaining the situation …not all bad!Following this great success, we decided to treat ourselves to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory at the top of Macy's in Union Square - thanks to Amy and Charlie for the top tip to try this place out!False advertising resulted in no cheesecakes on display, but we did eat some nice savoury snacks whilst taking in the views.We were both in a good mood and not even a rampant sea gull that tried to break into the restaurant could tarnish that!After this we decided to walk off our dinner by strolling to the distant ferry building on the sea front.One piece of advice here, things are not always as close as they appear and maps are not always to scale!However, the long walk down was justified, when we entered the Ferry building which gave us a respite to the numerous tramps that tried to accost us on the way down.Those folk who have been here before will probably be well aware of the homeless crisis in this city.Well, I say this city but it's pretty ubiquitous across all cities in the US…it just seems more prevalent here.There's no two ways about it, it's a terrible situation for them and there is quite obviously a flaw with the system over here.However, despite the vast majority of tramps been pretty respectful (given their poor situation), there are the odd few that just make the atmosphere that little bit threatening.
After spending some time wandering the ferry building we jumped on a tram along the Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf.I have visited San Francisco before and knew exactly what to expect here, however Melissa had high hopes for this area.These expectations immediately plummeted upon exit out of the tram and continued to fall for the next ten minutes that we endured the place.There's no two ways about it, it's just not a great place!However, the Pier 39 just back from Fisherman's wharf is much better and despite being a tourist trap, there are some rather nice little shops here.We had also been advised by Melissa's mum to get a 'to die for' peanut butter cookie from the area and I can proudly say we completed this challenge.A sweet snack digested, we found time to see the hundreds of sea lions that have taken refuge off the ferry point for many years.After this, we caught a tram back and endured yet another homeless hassling for good measure.
The next few days involved a similar pattern of events, although Melissa found time for a spot of shoe shopping.People keep commenting that I am always talking about Melissa shopping, well that's because Melissa is always shopping!!However, I might add that this tends to be (on balance) predominately window shopping and only 'emergency' purchases have ever taken place (hopefully my ears will remain unbashed after this disclaimer!).I stayed to write the blog and I was rudely disturbed by some rowdy French folk in the hostel common room and moved to the refuge of our private room.One minute I was sitting on the edge of the bed and the next minute I was on the floor, as the room started to shake for the next five seconds.Slightly confused, I checked the internet and discovered that an earthquake had just hit the city!Not a big one, but big enough to dislodge me from my perch!Clearly concerned for my wife, I text Melissa to check that she was ok and received a reply straight back…she hadn't felt a thing!Forget the 'duck and cover' guidance; I am now advocating the US government enforce women's shoe shopping in the face of pending earthquake!However, joking aside we did have a follow up aftershock later in the evening and Melissa felt this one!With two natural disasters now under our belt, we decided to celebrate by joining the local pub crawl that was running from the hostel!Even if drinking isn't your thing, this is a great way to meet people and we had a great night with several fun people from all over the world!Now, it will come as a slight surprise to some people that I am not getting any younger these days and hangovers just seem to be getting that little bit worse over time.Therefore, the following morning was spent with a headache and a lot of cursing at our house insurance which had decided to drop its cover on our property.We also had the fun task of packaging and posting some of our items/souvenirs back to the UK to reduce our weight limit.I'm not sure whether I have mentioned this before, but Melissa has a real trust issue with the US postal system and I think they can sense this every time we visit!Each time we enter calm and composed, but somehow manage to leave completely frazzled by the whole experience.It also seems to be a prerequisite to have the most annoying and ignorant women on standby to step up to the counter upon our arrival.Following the derogatory tone, random forms will ensue and messages will follow that totally contradict the last outing…..to be fair there is good reason for her trust issue!After yet another rough ride at the post office, the packages were sent and Melissa was frazzled…surely there must be something that could ease the situation?! It turned out that 'emergency shoe shopping' would be the appropriate medicine here!I did have some internal chuckles at this remedy, which quickly disappeared when I found myself in the bargain section of an unnamed shoe store.Either the earthquake had hit again or someone had bombed the place, but there were shoes everywhere and women were frantically running around emptying boxes on the floor.Apparently this is usual behaviour in such a store, but I can safely say that it's not my 'happy place', especially when Melissa stayed that extra minute longer than we needed to!After this we headed back for some rest and recuperation and planned our next stage of the adventure.
Oh yeah and I almost forgot, we went to Alcatraz as well!My memory is blurring at the moment, but how could I miss that?!I have done this trip before, so I knew what to expect but Melissa was super excited about this one…strange really when she was going to get locked up in a prison cell!However we pre-booked our tickets and boarded the ship with the other masses waiting in the port/Pier 33.There was ample time for the token photograph behind a ridiculous back drop…does anyone every buy these silly souvenir photos?!If you do…shame on you!We were also blessed with a very sunny day, although I forgot my sun hat so a small sulk was in order!It's actually quite a pleasant thirty minute trip over to Alcatraz providing some stunning shots of San Francisco, but once you reach the dock you do get that little heart flutter.The place is stooped in history, still slightly spooky and has held some of the world's top criminals (Al Capone to name but one).After disembarking the ship, we watched a quick movie to get an overview of the facility.After this point we walked up to the main penitentiary and picked up some headphones for the audio tour.If you ever come here, I would definitely recommend this self-guided tour as it gives you a real sense of the facility.The cells are absolutely tiny, which suited Melissa just fine and there are a few good shots in the San Francisco album showing her feeling right at home here!There were also a few elaborate escape attempts from the prison during its time.One such time, two guys managed to get onto the roof and into the sea…however they were never found thereafter.The currents are deceptively strong off 'the rock' and the swim to San Francisco is further than it looks, so even if you do manage to break out there is still a lot to do!Another thing I didn't realise is that many of the guard's families actually lived full time on Alcatraz! Apparently you just got used to the crazy howling of the inmates whilst pulling your potatoes from the local allotment!Anyhow, it was a great day out and one I would firmly recommend if you're ever in the area.
For now, I'll leave with a parting comment of those planning a trip to San Francisco…don't do it!They say this place is like marmite (you either love it or hate it) and I'm sorry if I offend anyone here…but I didn't like it and if anything it smelt like marmite!Yeah, there are some nice places to go and maybe I didn't experience the real deal.However poor weather, dirty streets and living in the presence of the 'walking dead' each evening was enough for me.On the positive side, we did meet some cool people and I forgot to add that we met up with John and June again in a really trendy poolside bar downtown called Chambers.As per usual we had a great time with them and we are looking forward to catching up with John when we hit New Zealand in the New Year.I'm going to stop there, as I have written far too much yet again! But I will be following this blog up in a couple of weeks to conclude our US/Canada adventure.
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