Category Archives: Travel California

A Bodega treasure–Terrapin Creek Cafe

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terrapin-creek-cafe-bodega-bayI had just checked in to the Bodega Bay Inn (that’s another story for another time) and had only a little over an hour to get some dinner before I settled in to watch the final race in the Indy Series. I thought I would be relegated to a bag of Fritos and bean dip  from a convenience store, but, taking a chance, I walked across the parking lot to an unassuming blue clapboard building that housed the Terrapin Creek Cafe. The host and owner said they were fully booked but if I could be in and out in an hour that he could seat me. Perfect!

terrapin_creek_interiorThe interior glowed with the casual elegance and colors of southern France and I chose a table with a view of the small, open, and quietly streamlined kitchen. My efficient and knowledgeable fifty-something (my apologies if you were much younger!) waiter was warmly attentive. Such a blessing when one is dining solo. The menu offered a tempting array of local and international cuisine at reasonable prices.

beet-salad-very-good

I started with the roasted beet and mixed green salad, made crunchy and delicious with chopped whole unsalted almonds, instead of the usual slivered variety. A glass of sauvignon blanc added a refreshing touch.

 

duck anotherAnd then the entree of Liberty Farms Duck Breast served with Black Forbidden Rice, English Peas, Roasted Baby Carrots, Spinach, and Duck Jus. I am one of those Duckophiles that eats as much duck as humanly possible on my trips to France (eleven trips in the past 13 years) and I can say without hesitation that this duck surpassed any that I’ve eaten either in Paris or in Dordogne, the duck capital of France. The breast was tender and moist, cooked to perfection, with a crispy, salty strip of skin on each slice. The Black Forbidden rice with its delightful crunchiness, dotted with tender scallions, carrots, and spinach, and drenched in just the right amount of duck jus was an incredible accompaniment.

I had just enough time to squeeze in a delicious dessert of almond cake topped with a berry compote and lemon creme before heading back to my room.

terrapin ownersThe owners state on their website that they “are expanding the notion of comfort food to include dining that is delicious, affordable, and responsible.” I must add one word, in French. SUPERBE!

 

Shake, rattle…and roar!

Gallery

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This year’s Go-Pro Sonoma Indy drivers, staying in local Napa hotels, got quite the wake-up call on race day this past Sunday. At 3:20 a.m. they were jolted out of their beds by the 6.0 earthquake, some grabbing towels to … Continue reading →

ZOOM! ZOOM!

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2014-08-17 08.55.43

The Maserati Alfieri Concept car in the early morning fog

A great time at the 2014 Rolex Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca. Drove down from the Bay Area at the crack of dawn to get a good parking space. I was delayed by a big spill of tomatoes on the freeway but because the track was fogged in still arrived in time for the first race run. Found a very wet seat in my favorite stands by Turn 4. By 10 am the seats and the track had dried out. Enjoyed taking a little Track Taxi (run by Veterans to raise funds for Wounded Vets) up to top of the track where you can see a view of the entire track off one side of the hill and see the race cars zoom through the corkscrew turn on the other. The Mark this year was Maserati and it was great to see both the classic versions and this stunning new Alfieri Concept.

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After the race maintenance

Under heavy fog Group 3B Can-Am comes out to play including Craig Bennett in his 1974 Shadow DN4 (scroll down through the photos on this Sports Car Digest article). On the left is a photo I took after the race with the chassis exposed for some repair work. I’d also seen this car up at Sonoma last spring. Great to watch it pull away from the rest of field here at Laguna Seca.

So much fun watching classic race cars zoom through the corkscrew at the top of the hill on a pace lap.

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My friends weren’t able to make it, but never fear, I met a really great guy. Big and fluffy! And hel’ll never give me any back talk!

 

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Look this one up to see the sponsor!!

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My favorite gull-wing classic

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Read all about this Alfa in the photo below

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Beef brisket enchiladas. The best in Mex California cuisine

2014-08-17 15.27.44I hit the road in the early afternoon in order to stop at my favorite restaurant in Willow Glen.

 

 

But look what I missed by leaving early!  Right in front of the stands where I had been sitting. A wheel flying into the stands.

 

 

Sam’s Anchor Cafe ~ Tiburon ~ 1963 and 51 years later

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Sams 1963

Sam’s Anchor Cafe in Tiburon in 1963

2014-03-07 14.05.12A typical Sunday morning at Sam’s Anchor Cafe in Tiburon, CA in 1963 was marked by hard drinking by rowdy college and twenty-something crowd.

In 2014 on a Sunday, you find families filling the deck and enjoying the great view across San Francisco Bay to the City.

 

Mary Lou 1963

1963. My best friend from childhood. A flock of empty Ramos Fizz glasses (hey…don’t the raw eggs in them count as breakfast!)

Karen 1963

This photo was taken in La Jolla but that’s me in 1963.

We were best friends from the 4th grade on and in 1963 roommates in an off-campus apartment at UC Berkeley. Every Sunday morning we headed off to Sam’s with a couple of friends in the back seat of my Morris Minor and downed more Ramos fizzes than was prudent.

Amazing that we survived. Must have had more than one guardian angel looking over us. No one gave a thought to driving under the influence. Figured no harm could come our way if we were back on the road by one p.m. What can I say? We were both nineteen and stupid. All our friends drank with the help of the ubiquitous fake ID’s available on campus.

2014-03-07 14.04.23So here we are in March of 2014. Alive, well, and still best friends. I went on to a Ph.D., a 40-year career as a therapist, a union leader, the mother of two, grandmother of four, and, of course an author. My BBF went on to a fabulous career in catering, head of special events at the San Diego Convention center, a leadership position in the National Association for Catering and Events (NACE), and also a mother of two and grandmother of two. We turned into church-going, upstanding members of the community. This is a reverse cautionary tale for mothers who are worried what their college-aged children are up to, that they’ll never amount to anything! Of course, we both came to terms later in life with the risks we took around alcohol and we both have experienced the devastating effects of addiction within our own families. So certainly nothing to be flip about! Thank God for the gift of recovery.

 

Bodie ~ Best ghost town in California

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P1020193Bodie is a ghost town in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States, about 75 miles southeast of Lake Tahoe. As a bustling gold mining center, Bodie had all the amenities, including a Wells Fargo Bank, four volunteer fire companies, a brass band, a railroad, miners’ and mechanics’ unions, several daily newspapers, and a jail. At its peak, 65 saloons lined Main Street. Murders, shootouts, barroom brawls, and stagecoach holdups were regular occurrences.

P1020210As with other remote mining towns, Bodie had a popular, though clandestinely important, red light district on the north end of town. From this is told the unsubstantiated story of Rosa May, a prostitute who, in the style of Florence Nightingale, came to the aid of the town menfolk when a serious epidemic struck the town at the height of its boom. She is credited with giving life-saving care to many, but was buried outside the cemetery fence.

P1020219The first label of Bodie as a “ghost town” was in 1915.In a time when auto travel was on a rise, many were adventuring into Bodie via automobiles. By 1920, Bodie’s population was recorded by the US Federal Census at a total of 120 people. Despite the decline, Bodie had permanent residents through most of the 20th century, even after a fire ravaged much of the downtown business district in 1932.

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Bodie is now an authentic Wild West ghost town. The town was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961, and in 1962 it became Bodie State Historic Park. A total of 170 buildings remained. Bodie has been named California’s official state gold rush ghost town.

P1020212I even found two of my favorite feathered friends lounging in the bicycle basket of the Bodie ranger.

 

 

And I was delighted to see a shepherd and his sheep and sheepdog on the way to this remote corner of California history. Photos are my own. Text thanks to Wikipedia on Bodie

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