Viewing by month: June 2003
Murphys
Yesterday Kris and I took the short drive to Murphys California. Murphys is even smaller than Angel's Camp, but there are several wineries based out of the area, with tasting rooms and galleries. We went to Ironstone Vineyards and I think we probably hit the best vineyard first. They have gorgeous grounds, a small museum/gift shop set up, and it was just overall picturesque. There were also free tastings :). I wasn't overly impressed with their red wines, but we bought two whites that Kris liked. After that we grabbed two sandwiches (we should have shared one, they were huge) and sat out on one of their decks and ate lunch. All in all very relaxing.
After that we drove back into Angel's Camp, took a short breather from the heat, and went to see Finding Nemo at the teeny little theater here in Angel's Camp. For it's size it was actually very nice. We sat about halfway up the theather, which means we were 7 rows from the front :). But they had DTS sound, comfy seats and only 2 previews before the movie, so I was happy. The movie kept us out of the hottest part of the day.
After the movie we just came back to Worldmark and cooked some steaks on the grill, and I crashed early (somewhere around 8), so here I am at 4:30 in the morning blogging :). Damn my internal clock.
Today we have plans to visit another winery or two in Murphys, and probably drive up to Big Trees State Park for some cooler weather and massive amounts of shade :). It hit 100 degrees today according to the temperature guage on the Sebring...
Note to self
Add selection for GMT - hours to blog app :)
At Angel's Camp
Kris and I are at Angel's Camp now. It was a decent drive, but we had to keep the top up on the car due to our already reddened necks and the high temperatures. It's supposed to be in the upper 90s all week, and us Portlanders just aren't used to it :).
We got here around noon, and checkin time wasn't until 4, so we drove about 30 minutes in either direction of Angel's Camp, and checked out 3 or 4 teeny towns along the way. Kris was starting to wonder "Why did we choose to vacation here again? It's hot and there's no shopping." But that's exactly why we chose it :). Out of the way and few people.
The land around here is gorgeous. As we drove Kris was giving it all a look of slight distaste. It reminds us both of Texas to some degree, and we're spoiled by the lush greenness of Portland. But I like it... it's like the difference between Martha Stewart and Ikea. Martha loves to have a vase full to the brim of flowers... falling out all over the table. In an Ikea catalog you'd see a single tulip in a glass vase. They're both beautiful in their own way. This area of California is dry, hot and not all that thickly wooded, but gorgeous nonetheless.
Tomorrow we're heading to Murphy where there are several wineries. We'll visit a few and get a better lay of the land. We're also going to check and see how far a drive it is up to Yosemite, and we may take a trip there. Neither of us have been, and it would seem a shame not to go given how close we are.
More updates to come :), but you won't get to see pictures until I get home. No way I'm uploading them over this dialup :)