October 10 – 19

October rolled around and we planned a three week road trip that would take us to Oakland to celebrate Jessica’s milestone birthday (I won’t reveal what age that is), Kamp Angst, Bishop, Henderson, Meadview (to visit 90 plus year old Uncle Dick), Flagstaff, Sedona, and Tucson, giving us lots of opportunities to ride our bikes and visit places we’ve come to know and love. 

As we had a wine pick up scheduled at Andrew Murray in Los Olivos, we did what we’ve done in the past which is to schedule it for either our journey north to or south from Oakland.  This time we added in a night in Buellton which would give us a quick ride there before checking into our old favorite, Pea Soup Anderson’s Inn.  We left home mid-morning and the easy drive found us in the parking lot of the Inn around 11am. 

We got the bikes ready and then took off for a ride we’ve done a couple of times now, that is to head north out of Buellton until the road ends, cross over onto the 101 (very carefully) and then continue north to the offramp for Highway 154 where we make the turn onto Zaca Station Road for the bumpy ride (why does a county as seemingly well off and devoted to promoting tourism keep its roads in such crappy condition?) to Foxen Canyon. 

Here we made the right turn for the steep climb up the wall and descent into Los Olivos.  With headwinds present, we decided to climb up and over Ballard Canyon instead of returning further east and through Solvang which would take us eventually to Highway 246 just blocks away from Pea Soup.  When we arrived, we hit the Taco Bell for a quick light lunch and then continued on to the motel to check in and relax before we were to head out again to Andrew Murray Vineyards for our scheduled wine tasting and club pickup. 

They’ve built a nice outdoor setting for tasting and we spent about an hour enjoying the samples we received, a couple of which were in our allotment to take with us.  Finished, we drove back to Buellton for dinner at Industrial Eats, where we’d enjoyed a good meal with our cycle buddies during a multi-day stay here a couple of years ago.  We’d duplicate what we ordered the last time, that is a Shaved Fennel, Apple, Walnut, Parsley Salad and a Fennel Sausage, Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil Pizza.  Besides being delicious, another compelling appeal to dining here is how reasonable the prices are compared to other restaurants in the area. 

One rationale for spending one night in town was that it would allow us to leave for Oakland in the morning three hours closer and wine pick up accomplished, enabling us to miss rush hour traffic on the I-880, making for a win-win.  We had a pastry apiece from the complimentary breakfast at the Inn, and then, having packed up and ready to hit the road, we drove across the street for a big meal at another favorite, Ellen’s Danish Pancake House, where we had a couple of memorable breakfasts with our departed friend Tony, who we miss dearly to this day. 

Our last time here we ate outdoors in the makeshift Covid dining area like the ones that had popped up all over during the height of the pandemic, but it was gone and so seated inside we gave our order to the friendly waitress, the Danish style pancakes for Joanna and a Veggie Omelet for me.  Both portions were gigantic, far more food than either one of us could finish and although pricey, for those with a hearty appetite well worth the expense. 

Our early departure from Buellton worked as planned and we arrived at the kid’s house with enough time to relax a bit and catch up with our niece Kristen (Joanna’s sister Debi’s daughter) and her husband Brian.  They had arrived that day as well from North Carolina to for the birthday celebration.  We all went out for Thai food that evening, a nice experience that I didn’t document so won’t report on and returned home for a long evening of conversation. 

The next morning, I went out for a solo ride, one we’ve done before, to San Leandro and back.  A simple, flat, easy pedal that went smoothly until I was entering the outskirts of Fruitvale when my left lens shifted again, this time almost all the way off of the visual field.  At first, I was hoping that it was just some temporary aberration and stopped at a nearby Taco Bell for a quick lunch, all the while waiting for my vision to restore.  Alas, it would not be the case and so I returned to home for what would be a relatively quiet day there. 

The next morning Joanna and I set out for that new ride we explored during out last visit, that is to head down to Alameda and continue to explore the island.  I managed OK to ride with the occluded vision, but the realization that the condition was worsening started us thinking that we needed to return home and see my eye doctor sooner rather than later.  We finished our ride and after getting cleaned up, I called Dr. Schofield’s office and they informed me that he would be at his Palm Desert location the following week, so I made an appointment for the following one.  We concluded that this meant we could continue on to Oregon to Kamp Angst and then go home and as a result, cancel our plans for Arizona. 

I cleaned up and at the appropriate time, we all drove to downtown Oakland for a stop at one of our regular haunts, Kon Tiki.  I’ve posted about this place many times in the past so won’t go into any detail except to say we ate and drank well including sharing one of their famous Tiki Bowls.  With some busy days on the horizon, we finished up and returned home for quality time with our family from North Carolina, who we still manage to see once or twice a year.  We’ll continue with this journey in the next post. 

Links

Pea Soup Anderson’s Inn.  https://www.peasoupandersens.com/

Andrew Murray: https://www.andrewmurrayvineyards.com/

Industrial Eats: https://industrialeats.com/menu/

Ellen’s Danish Pancake House: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ellens-danish-pancake-house-buellton

Kon Tiki: https://www.thekon-tikioakland.com/