GuerneTrek, Day 2: Time for a Drink!
It was a nice day out.
We started with a leisurely breakfast of eggs, toast, and sausages, and all talked about our parents and how ridiculous they are.
After the morning routine was finished we set out for Korbel, a nearby winery that happens to be the largest producer of premium methode champenoise sparkling wines in the country. We took a garden tour and a winery tour, the last of which ended in a free tasting (limited to 5 tastes). The winery tour also included a nine minute video about the history of Korbel that had us cracking up because the narration had an obsession with the word time that bordered on absurd. Unfortunately we didn't count, but I would guess that the word "Time," spoken with much wieght and signicance, like "T i m e," was repeated about 50 times during the 9 minutes of video -- about once every 10 to 15 seconds. "...Korbel -- quality that only T i m e could produce. And now it's T i m e for you all to go to the next part of the tour.
We were not the only ones on the tour cracking jokes about the video afterwards. In fact, one of the people who poured some samples for us asked us if we counted "times" during the video. Fortunately for Korbel, their samples were good enough that we found ourselves buying a few bottles in spite of ourselves.
We decided to head out to an Indian restaurant for lunch. The restaurant is on HWY 1, just south of the junction with HWY 116, near Willow Creek Rd. -- the food was pretty good, but not as good as the view it offered of the Russian River. In case any of my readers are looking for dining advice, I can say without hesitation that it is the best Indian food you can buy between Bodega Bay and Fort Ross.
After lunch we drove south till we found a largish beach, and went for a longish walk in the coldish ocean wind. ish. This made us thirsty, so we decided to head to Stumptown Brewery, the makers of Rat Bastard Pale Ale, among other things. The brewpub has a wonderful back patio, and a flight of stairs that leads down to the banks of the river. We realized two things as soon as we sat down: first, that the beer was very good, and second, that the live music was not. As soon as we finished our beers (alcohol is not permitted on the riverbanks) we headed down there to get further from the music. Thus our day out concluded with a peaceful round of stone-skipping (during which Nick managed to throw a rock clear across the Russian River), after which we watched the sunset illuminate the trees along the tops of the hills that surround this beautiful valley.
We started with a leisurely breakfast of eggs, toast, and sausages, and all talked about our parents and how ridiculous they are.
After the morning routine was finished we set out for Korbel, a nearby winery that happens to be the largest producer of premium methode champenoise sparkling wines in the country. We took a garden tour and a winery tour, the last of which ended in a free tasting (limited to 5 tastes). The winery tour also included a nine minute video about the history of Korbel that had us cracking up because the narration had an obsession with the word time that bordered on absurd. Unfortunately we didn't count, but I would guess that the word "Time," spoken with much wieght and signicance, like "T i m e," was repeated about 50 times during the 9 minutes of video -- about once every 10 to 15 seconds. "...Korbel -- quality that only T i m e could produce. And now it's T i m e for you all to go to the next part of the tour.
We were not the only ones on the tour cracking jokes about the video afterwards. In fact, one of the people who poured some samples for us asked us if we counted "times" during the video. Fortunately for Korbel, their samples were good enough that we found ourselves buying a few bottles in spite of ourselves.
We decided to head out to an Indian restaurant for lunch. The restaurant is on HWY 1, just south of the junction with HWY 116, near Willow Creek Rd. -- the food was pretty good, but not as good as the view it offered of the Russian River. In case any of my readers are looking for dining advice, I can say without hesitation that it is the best Indian food you can buy between Bodega Bay and Fort Ross.
After lunch we drove south till we found a largish beach, and went for a longish walk in the coldish ocean wind. ish. This made us thirsty, so we decided to head to Stumptown Brewery, the makers of Rat Bastard Pale Ale, among other things. The brewpub has a wonderful back patio, and a flight of stairs that leads down to the banks of the river. We realized two things as soon as we sat down: first, that the beer was very good, and second, that the live music was not. As soon as we finished our beers (alcohol is not permitted on the riverbanks) we headed down there to get further from the music. Thus our day out concluded with a peaceful round of stone-skipping (during which Nick managed to throw a rock clear across the Russian River), after which we watched the sunset illuminate the trees along the tops of the hills that surround this beautiful valley.