45 minutes by car up "The 99", as the highway is known in the Valley, lies Modesto, CA. Home of the Gallo wine empire (generous donors to UC Merced), hometown of George Lucas (celebrated each year with American Graffiti Days), and home base of Yosemite climber and outdoor clothing designer, Royal Robbins, Modesto is a town we visit often.
Every six weeks or so I schedule a haircut at the Aveda salon in Modesto. I plan the appointments on Saturdays to coincide with the farmers' market. The Modesto Certified Farmers Market is a nice, mid-sized market with a variety of produce, cheese, fresh fish from Santa Cruz, and the best flavored olive oil, Sciabica. Because we buy so much, my guy sets me up with good deals and cheap shipping for my visitors. On our last visit to Modesto we also discovered a great organic grocery, Sunflower Market.
Lately we have also enjoyed great meals at Modesto restaurants. We celebrated our friend Mike's tenure award at UC Merced with he and Laura at Camp 4 Wine Cafe, a terrific place for wine selection and delicious panini opened by Royal Robbins' son, who placed it in the original Royal Robbins clothing factory and named it after the climbers camp in Yosemite. Another favorite is Dewz where we celebrated our wedding anniversary. The table-side Caesar salad preparation wowed Sean and I was smitten by a delicious cocktail. Sugar N Spice contained: Ron Zacapa, Cherry Herring, Cinnamon Schnapps and Jalapeno, served with a Cinnamon, Sugar and Cayenne rim. It was liquid Big Red and it was fabulous.
Merced has its charms, but Modesto has won us over for its produce we can't find in Merced and its great dining options.
Showing posts with label Daytrips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daytrips. Show all posts
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
Visitors!
I have been derelict in my blogging as of late, but there is an excellent reason. We have had visitors! From Memorial Day to the 4th of July we had 4 sets of visitors spend time with us and it was marvelous!
Kim and Aaron
First up were my sister Kim and brother-in-law Aaron. They came for a long Memorial Day weekend all the way from Washington, DC, and I believe we showed them as good of a time as they have shown me on my many visits to the nation's capital. We visited Yosemite where a late season cold front dropped snow at 5000 feet. Viewing Mariposa Grove with snowflakes falling through partial sunshine was magical. Wine tasting in Lodi and a visit to the Modesto Farmers' Market was a highlight, as was the meal we created that evening with our purchases. Our planned pool party turned patio party due to the cool weather, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. A day on the coast in Carmel topped off a wonderful visit.
My good friend Melissa, who I met as an undergrad at Winona State came to visit for part of a week and enjoyed sunny California. We spent a lovely day poolside with magazines and margarita freezee pops. The swimming was excellent and it was so great to catch up. We also showed Melissa the sites in Yosemite. Wine tasting in Lodi was on our agenda too and we enjoyed some of our purchases with dinner in the evenings. A trip to Modesto for some shopping, particularly to Stewart and Jasper for almonds in the shell, was fun. We have really turned a lot of people onto those almonds! We also had a delicious woodfired pizza at Bella Luna downtown Merced for our final dinner together.
Mom and Dad
We were able to convince my mom and dad to extend their trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons to join us for a long weekend at some tent cabins near Tuolumne Meadows. Our good friends Heather and Joe offered to dog sit the huskies, so we had peace of mind the entire weekend. The Tioga Pass section of the park is so gorgeous it deserves its own blog post, so expect more from that trip later.
Heidi, Barry, Ben, Leah and Grace
My sister Heidi and her family were able to spend their 4th of July week of vacation with us and we had a terrific time! We tried to break up driving days with swimming days to give the kids a break. We saw the classic sites in Yosemite and also spent some time near (and in - for the kids) the Merced River. We spent the 4th swimming and grilling and watched the fireworks in Atwater at the old Castle Airforce Base parade grounds. We cooled off on Thursday by heading to Monterey and Carmel, with a stop at Casa de Fruta for snacks. Carmel Beach was gorgeous and the shopping on Cannery Row was great. We even checked out the 17 mile tour of the Pebble Beach area and saw the Lone Cypress. Our last day involved more pool time, with dinner at In 'N Out and cupcakes from Little Pink Boxes. That has to be the most fun that has been had in our pool in one week.
The only remotely bad thing about having all these wonderful visitors is that I now think the rest of the summer might seem anticlimactic. Sean and I will just have to find some more fun things to keep us occupied in and around Merced. I think that list of Yosemite hikes is around here somewhere...
Kim and Aaron
First up were my sister Kim and brother-in-law Aaron. They came for a long Memorial Day weekend all the way from Washington, DC, and I believe we showed them as good of a time as they have shown me on my many visits to the nation's capital. We visited Yosemite where a late season cold front dropped snow at 5000 feet. Viewing Mariposa Grove with snowflakes falling through partial sunshine was magical. Wine tasting in Lodi and a visit to the Modesto Farmers' Market was a highlight, as was the meal we created that evening with our purchases. Our planned pool party turned patio party due to the cool weather, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. A day on the coast in Carmel topped off a wonderful visit.
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| Aaron and Kim in front of Tunnel View |
Melissa
My good friend Melissa, who I met as an undergrad at Winona State came to visit for part of a week and enjoyed sunny California. We spent a lovely day poolside with magazines and margarita freezee pops. The swimming was excellent and it was so great to catch up. We also showed Melissa the sites in Yosemite. Wine tasting in Lodi was on our agenda too and we enjoyed some of our purchases with dinner in the evenings. A trip to Modesto for some shopping, particularly to Stewart and Jasper for almonds in the shell, was fun. We have really turned a lot of people onto those almonds! We also had a delicious woodfired pizza at Bella Luna downtown Merced for our final dinner together.
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| Melissa and me in Yosemite Valley |
Mom and Dad
We were able to convince my mom and dad to extend their trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons to join us for a long weekend at some tent cabins near Tuolumne Meadows. Our good friends Heather and Joe offered to dog sit the huskies, so we had peace of mind the entire weekend. The Tioga Pass section of the park is so gorgeous it deserves its own blog post, so expect more from that trip later.
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| Mom and Dad on Lembert Dome |
My sister Heidi and her family were able to spend their 4th of July week of vacation with us and we had a terrific time! We tried to break up driving days with swimming days to give the kids a break. We saw the classic sites in Yosemite and also spent some time near (and in - for the kids) the Merced River. We spent the 4th swimming and grilling and watched the fireworks in Atwater at the old Castle Airforce Base parade grounds. We cooled off on Thursday by heading to Monterey and Carmel, with a stop at Casa de Fruta for snacks. Carmel Beach was gorgeous and the shopping on Cannery Row was great. We even checked out the 17 mile tour of the Pebble Beach area and saw the Lone Cypress. Our last day involved more pool time, with dinner at In 'N Out and cupcakes from Little Pink Boxes. That has to be the most fun that has been had in our pool in one week.
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| Barry and Grace in the Merced River - Yosemite Valley |
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| Ben could almost reach across the tree tunnel in Mariposa Grove |
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| Leah and Heidi waiting for fireworks |
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| The Danielsons checking out the Pacific at Cannery Row |
Monday, March 5, 2012
Blossom Time
The fruit and nut trees are blossoming a little early this year due to the mild winter. It is difficult to describe the extent to which Merced and the surrounding communities are filled with orchards in bloom. There are pistachios, almonds, walnuts, plums, apricots, pluots, peaches, and more. We took a short drive to see and smell the orchards and to walk through the falling almond blossoms. The smell is almost sickeningly sweet and the falling, swirling petals reminded Sean of Japanese anime. The most disconcerting thing is to stand still, listen, and both hear and feel the hum of bees. They were too busy working to bother us, but we avoided their boxes nonetheless. What a beautiful way to spend a Saturday afternoon in spring!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Madera Wine Trail Wine & Chocolate Weekend
Oh my, it has been far too long since I have posted on this blog. What with the holidays, moving to a new house, and spending inordinate amounts of time at the veterinary specialists with the huskies as they were diagnosed, and are now treated for, cancer, we haven't had time for much exploring. We have been having fun times with friends, but haven't really gone on any roadtrips until this past weekend. We headed out on the Madera Wine Trail for their Wine & Chocolate Weekend with our friends Heather and Joe and their friend Andrew, who recently moved to Sacramento to take a job at a law firm.
The special event cost $25 and included a commemorative wine glass, tastings at all area wineries, and delicious chocolate treats. Many wineries featured artists with work for sale and some had food and live music. Our first stop was Quady Winery which specializes in ports and other dessert wines. We enjoyed some of their wines, but one of them, Purple, was an "acquired taste". The label reminded us of a frat party invitation and the taste was most similar to Grape Pucker.
Basically, it was gross and we sought out the nearest tray of chocolate truffles to cleanse our pallets. The moscato was good, though, and Sean particularly enjoyed their Starboard Batch 88 port.
One of the best parts of the Quady Winery visit was the mobile wood-fired pizza oven onsite for the event. I loved my little wild mushroom, tarragon, and goat cheese personal pizza, and the nutella, wild berry, and mint dessert pizza was fabulous!
Our next stop was Chateau Lasgoity Winery. We sampled some wines and Heather treated us to chocolate-covered strawberries.I particularly enjoyed the Blanc duVal (white of the valley) which was light and crisp, and will make perfect sipping by the pool this summer. Unfortunately at this point we had to leave our friends to head home and check on the huskies. They enjoyed more tasting, with their trusty designated driver, Heather. Once home we thought twice about cutting off our wristbands as they were good for the entire weekend, but since Ili was headed to the radiation center for the next week we wanted to spend as much time with her as we could. There's always the Spring Wine Trail Adventure in May!
The special event cost $25 and included a commemorative wine glass, tastings at all area wineries, and delicious chocolate treats. Many wineries featured artists with work for sale and some had food and live music. Our first stop was Quady Winery which specializes in ports and other dessert wines. We enjoyed some of their wines, but one of them, Purple, was an "acquired taste". The label reminded us of a frat party invitation and the taste was most similar to Grape Pucker.
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| The crazy label for the crazier wine. |
Basically, it was gross and we sought out the nearest tray of chocolate truffles to cleanse our pallets. The moscato was good, though, and Sean particularly enjoyed their Starboard Batch 88 port.
One of the best parts of the Quady Winery visit was the mobile wood-fired pizza oven onsite for the event. I loved my little wild mushroom, tarragon, and goat cheese personal pizza, and the nutella, wild berry, and mint dessert pizza was fabulous!
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| The Nutella, wild berry, and fresh mint pizza! |
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| Waiting for our wood-fired pizzas. Sorry I cut you off, Andrew! |
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