Cesar Chavez Holiday Weekend in Carmel and Big Sur

The State of California kindly gave me an extra day off to honor the important work of Cesar Chavez.  The continued abuse of farm workers was always present as we drove through the San Joaquin and Salinas Valleys on our way to the coast.  While we did enjoy our holiday, we also renewed our commitment to sustainable farming - for the land and the workers.

A trip to the Monterey Peninsula wouldn't be complete without a stop at Casa de Fruta for a snack and leg stretch.  While I headed inside for drinks, Sean walked the dogs near the peacocks. They were enthralled.

Once in Carmel we headed straight for the dog-friendly beach at the end of Ocean Avenue to smell the sea and let the dogs feel the sand under their paws.  It was sunny and lovely.

That is Kodi's happy face

Sean napped with the dogs while I shopped the fabulous shops of Carmel.  Everyone got presents - Sean from Tommy Bahama and the huskies from Diggidy Dog.  Our hotel, the Carmel Mission Inn, welcomed dogs and had an awesome undersea mural with blue lights that shone on it above the bed.  The huskies were welcome at our lunch stop for burgers, but not our seafood dinner.  Carmel loves its dogs.

Fire on the patio at Carmel Mission Inn

Saturday threatened rain, but we had a hearty breakfast at Em Le's Cafe, including their "secret" syrup, and headed down Highway 1 to Big Sur.  The trees were lovely, but the rain prevented us seeing much of the coast.

Too rainy

We made it as far as Coast Gallery, where I picked up a cool photo of otters for my new office, and then headed back to Carmel for some rainy day wine tasting.  First we picked up some baguette, olives, and cheeses at the Carmel Cheese Shop, including our favorite from the last trip: Piedmont.  Tastings at Wrath and Cima Collina left us with a 4-pack and case, respectively.  The rain appeared to be letting up, so we headed back to change into sneakers and walk the huskies on the trail by the mission, but it once again began to rain, so instead we had an impromptu cheese and wine late lunch in the hotel room. Late dinner at Rio Grill deliciously ended a great day on the coast.

Sunday dawned clear and sunny so we made a quick stop at Crepes of Brittany at Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey and then headed down Highway 1 to see the sights.  Saturday's storm meant high surf warnings and the waves were spectacular!

Sunny day at Big Sur

Our trusty book, Dog-friendly Hikes in Central California, pointed us to Pfeiffer Beach where we had a blast soaking in the ocean sights, sounds, and smells.

This is Sean's happy face

The waves threatened to soak the trio, but Ili stood her ground

Can you spot the husky in this photo?

So many sniffs to sniff!

Sandy paws meant we found beach "souvenirs" in the travel kennels for the next week

What a great way to celebrate the end of Ili's radiation treatment and the almost end of Kodi's chemotherapy.  It was a glorious weekend on the coast!

Kiki Raina Tahiti Fete

This weekend the 33rd annual Kiki Raina Tahiti Fete was held at the Merced County Fairgrounds.  Dancers and drummers came from all over California, other states, and even other nations, to compete and celebrate Polynesian culture and dance.  Our friend was able to score us some 3-day passes from UC Merced Ohana (a campus group that promotes Hawaiian culture).  The dancers were amazingly talented and their costumes, which most made themselves, were incredible.  We enjoyed some island food and pina colada Hawaiian shave ice and did a little shopping - coconut shell jewelry and a new sarong for wearing by the pool. 

Unfortunately, given the fact that I only had my phone camera and did not want to block anyone's view of the dancers, my pictures don't do the event justice.  You'll have to come to Merced next March and experience it for yourselves. 

A teenage contestant wows the crowd.

The headdresses were amazing.

Delicious island wonton noodle soup.

Pina colada Hawaiian shave ice.

The group numbers were amazing.

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!

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. 

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!

The Nutella, wild berry, and fresh mint pizza!

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!

Waiting for our wood-fired pizzas.  Sorry I cut you off, Andrew!