Day 33, Monday, July 18

After breakfast and breaking camp, Jeanette and I both concluded that it was time to flee the oppressive heat of Napa for the cooler temps of the coast. TJ and Suzy Liese had suggested a drive along the Russian River while I was staying with them and that sounded just about perfect to both Jeanette and me. The drive was beautiful, the temperature was completely agreeable, and our choice of roads accidentally led us to ride right in front of the Korbel Champagne estate. Here again, on a whim, we decided to stop in to see the facility. What an incredible difference from the Berringer winery! We happened to get there 30 mins before their free tour, during which time the woman at the info center was energetic, welcoming, and an incredible wealth of knowledge on the area. After giving us some back ground on the estate and its history, she suggested we go over for a free champagne tasting prior to the tour. (Note: FREE. The perfect price!) Both Jeanette and I were very pleased with the selection of champagnes available for tasting and here too, the girl pouring for us was cheerful and had a wealth of knowledge she was eager to share with us. She also turned out to be our tour guide. Jeanette and I were both exceedingly pleased with the tour and the tasting. Jeanette even bought a case of champagne to be shipped home and joined the Korbel Champagne club in which she’ll receive 3 bottles a month along with recipes, informative brochures, and a significant discount on both champagne and supplies from the Korbel catalog. I’d highly recommend an afternoon spent at Korbel to anyone who’s thinking about coming out to wine country. What a great time. Oh yeah, we had lunch at their deli there and the sandwiches that both of us had were amazingly tasty. Jeanette and I agreed that mine in particular, a thin sliced prime rib with caramelized onions and a some sort of dark sauce, was one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. After Korbel, we followed the river on the ocean where there were harbor seals and a single elephant seal basking on the sand at the mouth of the river. Heading back into San Francisco, we encountered ocean mist on the Golden Gate Bridge that was even thicker than when we’d been heading North. It was really cool and kind of spooky. We also chose to take the shoreline route around San Francisco, in order to avoid all the hills, which ran us by all of the piers and harbors on the North East side of the City. What a neat district that is. I don’t even want to imagine how expensive it must be to live there!