Blogs from Santa Rosa, California, United States, North America

I After a month of riding, and a previous week of viscous California coast with its intensely graded stretches, I arrived in Santa Rosa. I was to be a visitor at the TrueNorth Health Center. I had emailed the coordinator for visitors a month before and told her my situation, and she had informed me that Mondays were the best day to come as the Director, Dr. Goldhamer, would be giving a lecture. So, on Sunday night, I rolled into Santa Rosa, after getting slightly lost on the bike path between Sebastapol and Santa Rosa. I ended up sleeping in a community park Sunday night, but I was on time Monday morning. This was my first professional stop on the trip and I was extremely eager to see what they were doing at TrueNorth. We live ... read more

Deb's Day No reports of great roads today. I did a guided tour of 4 wineries with Platypus tours. They pick you up at your motel and cart you around. After 4 wineries with 5 samples at each one it seemed like a good idea. We went to smaller boutique wineries and not commercial ones. The settings were positively lush and edenistic with all the vines and flowers. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable of all aspects of history of the area and wine production. Because I was on a private tour ,I was able to go into areas not open to the public. I enjoyed myself thoroughly and had trouble figuring out how I was going to get my wine home. Hooray for UPS! We walked to a restaurant for a nice dinner with my ... read more

It was a lovely sunny cool day on the Coastal Highway, not a g and p day, hallelujah. There is a nice organic cafe called Queenie's Cafe. It is located in Elk,CA and the food is awesome. The coffee in California makes me itch it is so strong. I still think that is what makes the drivers so crazy here. They are constantly wired! Drink more wine for heavens sake... Then onto the seal beach vista point where we met a BMW F800 rider. He was having chain problems so we gave him the Santa Rosa dealer's number. When we stopped by to visit the dealership later, they were still there and we visited some more. He was impressed about the anonymous book for our riders organization that lists numbers of dealers and riders all over ... read more

Throughout the world there are many common things that bind us together as part of the human race on this planet. One is that almost everywhere, people answer the phone with “hello” no matter what language they speak. You can be on a plane sitting on the tarmac in India and the Burmese gent next to you takes a call and begins by saying “hello.” Another common aspect of everyday life is the posting of signs. They come in all forms, sizes and colors. Some are advertisements, some bumper stickers, and some are official government road signs or signs in parks and other areas. This is where the fun comes in if you have even the slightest sense of humor. We’ve endeavored to collect as many pictures of these signs in our travels so that ... read more

Spending Christmas and New Years with family was relaxing and just what the doctor ordered. It was an enjoyable time had by all, and my first holiday period back in Cali since I left over five years ago. I bought myself a new laptop and Santa brought me a new iPod Touch. Good times. We cooked, we ate, we ate, we cooked. I didn't exercise. I put on weight but I didn't care. I love the wholesome goodness my folks' know how to bring to the table. I feel fortunate I grew up in a family wth parents who knew (and still do..) how to cook and cook well. On a gloriously blue-skied day in January, my mom, my brother and I spent some time at "our" beach, Bodega Bay, somewhere I hadn't been in years. ... read more