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After being in four weeks of some of the worst heat in my lifetime, I left for cooler Danville, Carmel, Napa, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and San Francisco, California. If it is still hot where you are, I highly recommend you visit one or all of them. They have cool pleasant weather, friendly people, the best hotel rates in years, and many areas have a small town feel with all the modern amenities we love. The first leg of my journey took me to the cool Bay Area and one of the neatest little old towns with great shopping and incredible food and wines: Danville, California. I first visited quiet, friendly town about six months ago and fell in love with the people, including its most famous resident, Captain Sully Sollenberger, who safely landed his US Airways jet in the Hudson River in mid-January without hardly a scratch on anyone. I met this gracious American hero and his lovely wife at the Annual Wheelchair Foundation Gala in February and they were just as down to earth as you saw on television, which is pretty typical of the people in Danville. It is mid July and it is either hot and or rainy back home. In Danville it is typically cool, sunny and very comfortable. As I walked down East Prospect and Hartz Avenue yesterday afternoon and evening, I saw unique and very charming clothes, shoe and fashion shops, sports stores, wine bars, art galleries, restaurants and cigar bars. After a delightful early dinner, I was headed down Hartz visiting stores and galleries. This Wednesday evening I found about 100 people dressed down in front of The Forward Motion sports store for a weekly 6:30 pm run or walk. Everyone there had been tracking their miles since June 1st and they were getting ready to eagerly add more. One guy was two miles short of 500 and his story was remarkable, which we will visit next week. Just another block away was where I spent most of my time that evening, at my favorite wine bar, The Vine. They have live acoustical music Wednesdays through Saturday and that night Dave Long was playing one popular song after another from the last 40 years. Our wine hosts that seemingly perfect night were Eric and Marisa. In this neck of the woods the first question the locals typically ask is "What do you want, red or white?" Eric guided me down the path of one smooth and buttery Chardonnay tasting after another. Then he treated me to some delightful Pinots and Cabernets. I do not drink that much so just having tastes of one wine after another was just perfect for me. And their tomato pizzeta (trendy smaller pizza) and mushroom pizzeta were as good as any I had ever had. At the end of the night I asked Eric for his favorite wineries in Napa and Sonoma so I could visit them this weekend. Obviously next week we will fill you in on his choices. I was so impressed with Eric's knowledge that I asked about his background. This inspiring 25 year old grew up in Yerba Buena in Southern California. He obtained a degree in horticulture at Cal Poly State in San Luis Obispo. Coincidentally I visited this beautiful 6,000-acre campus in January and found it nestled between the scenic foothills and beaches of California's Central Coast. Eric clearly knows the good wines because that is all he fed me all night. So I asked Eric to be our monthly wine writer from the Bay Area. His first story will be coming in about two weeks. Yes, this has been a great start to my visits to Northern California, Napa, Yosemite National Park, Lake Tahoe, Reno, Provo, Telluride, Aspen, Vail and St. Louis. I will be relaying to you more on these areas over the next month. Our next stops are gorgeous Napa Valley, even cooler San Francisco and picturesque Yosemite. Frank Dixon Thursday July 9, 2009 |
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