Advertisement
Published: June 30th 2013
Today's destination is Sacramento, but first, we chose to take advantage of the good weather and ride around Lake Tahoe this morning. We left early with plans to have breakfast along the way in Incline Village. The lake is breathtakingly beautiful with each new corner offering changing vistas, none anything less than spectacular. I didn't expect to see so much development along the perimeter of the lake, so much so that there are small towns, restaurants, beaches, boat rentals and marinas filling in most of the waterfront land. It was an exhilarating technical ride, with tight steep switchbacks, no barriers on the cliffs, and curves and more curves. The highlight was having to stop on an empty corner while a mother bear and her young dark brown cub crossed the road in front of us. Hold on, don't go just yet, there's probably another one somewhere, and sure enough a few seconds later, a blonde sibling appeared out of the brush and ran across the road to join the family. So cool. Wildlife in their own environment. Sorry we intruded on you momentarily!
Breakfast at the Wildflower Cafe was good and large, we should have shared something. I think we
have said that before on this trip. Back to the hotel to pack up and get on the road for Sacramento, an easy two hour drive. It was extremely scenic yet again, and we rode some of the same route the wine tour had taken us on yesterday. Again, we continue to be amazed at how much more you can see on a bike. I'm glad we had an introduction to the route on the bus. More tight corners, hills, steep dropoffs, mountain vistas, then into wine country with mountainside vineyards, farmers markets, and heat. Getting into Fair Oaks was hectic and a real shock being back on interstates, even if briefly, and negotiating 6 lanes of mad traffic while determining where we had to go.
It might seem like a bit of a detour when you look at the map and the general direction we are heading, however this stop to Sacramento has been on our itinerary from day one in order to see my high school bff Jen. Jen and I met in Grade 12 at Oak Bay High way back in 1982. Secret's out! We haven't seen each other for about 27 years. What an amazing
reunion. I remembered my first impressions of Jen when we met in school: a cool, calm, collected and totally grounded free spirit. I don't think she's changed. Jen and her husband Wayde generously invited us to stay with them if we came through this way and I am so happy we took them up on their offer. The meeting with Wayde went something like this: a brief introduction with handshakes. A ten minute conversation about the trip so far and details on the bikes. Wayde excuses himself. Ten minutes later, Wayde reappears and casually asks me if I would mind if he worked on my bike. I say no, of course not, and we all follow Wayde back outside where he already has the bike on the hoist with welding tools at the ready. OMG. Unbeknownst to us prior to this meeting, Wayde's trade is welding/metalwork (and he's brilliant I might add), and he is also an avid offroad biker. As Ian and I stood in the driveway gobsmacked, Wayde took no more than fifteen minutes to reweld the engine guard, remove the kickstand, shorten the kickstand, re-weld the kickstand, paint and reinstall the kickstand, remove the bike from the
hoist, park the bike. Then we're back inside to air conditioned comfort and are asked beer anyone? Unbelievable. I still can't quite get my head around it.
This is how friendships for life are forged. And therein the stage was set for a great relaxing laid back visit with two people who would do anything for you. We opted for dinner out at Scotts Seafood instead of a BBQ by their pool due to the unbearable heat (high 90s) and the humidity. A great meal with great company, followed by more stories into the evening.
Today was more than I could have expected. I didn't know how the reunion would play out especially after so many years, but today was easy, rewarding, and so worth the small detour to rekindle a special friendship. Love you Jen x.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.057s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 14; qc: 31; dbt: 0.0267s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
JOAN MUMBY
non-member comment
Hooray,you made it back to the Pacific states! , Now you are only two days journey from home, but I expect you will \\\'Dilly dally on the way...\\\' Do you know that song? How wonderful to meet up with friends that you haven't seen for 27 years and to be greeted like VIPs. I am so happy for you. love and hugs, Mum.xxx