Enjoying a not too shabby picnic at the Rochioli Winery. ©Kstokes2010.

Ah, California Wine, so young as far as the history of wine making is concerned but so mature in it’s quality and reputation. Living on the coast we are so lucky to be close to wine country. We had our Spring allocation of the excellent  Williams Selyem wines to collect from the Russian River region so we decided to make a day of it, have a picnic and take in a few other wineries. Travelling with our good friends Richard and Nancy we endure a 7.30am start in order to hit the busy Farmer’s Market on the way out of San Francisco and acquire some fresh organic produce for lunch (oh, and a couple of tasty breakfast sandwiches). The wine pick up at Williams Selyem was well organized and painless, considering the amount of people turning up on the day. This wine is only available [Read more →]

I took these shots on Winterton Beach in Norfolk, England last week, even though they are 6000 miles from California they feel strangely familiar. To my mind a spell is cast wherever sea or ocean meets land.

Sorry for the radio silence over the past two weeks but I have been in the UK visiting my family. I love to go back to London, still one of my favorite cities, and I love the English countryside. I miss my family terribly and it was great to see my Mother and surprise on her 70th birthday, and to see my sister who shares her birthday with Mum. After leaving a cold grey rainy London and returning home to a sunny warm California day, I must say that I did leave my heart in San Francisco.

Jaws in full effect, Maui, Hawaii.

My good friend Hal sent me this picture of Jaws, taken the day before yesterday. It’s insane, regular 30ft swells are hitting the Islands, we are next!

Growing up in England I am used to snow at Christmas time. I’m in San Diego at the moment and it’s 65 degrees and sunny. I sorta miss the snow, oh well pass the sunblock.

This long list is the CHP Traffic Incident Log from this morning through lunchtime starting with the Devil’s Slide fatality early in the morning over 70 collisions, and this is just in the Bay Area. Shocking…

Golden Gate Communications Center No Time Type Location Area 2379 2:02PM Traffic Collision – Ambulance Responding SB SR29 JSO IMOLA AV W Napa 2378 2:02PM Traffic Collision – No Details NB US101 JSO CAPITOL EXWY San Jose 2377 2:02PM Traffic Hazard – Debris/Objects SB I280 JSO CITY COLLEGE PARKING LOT San Francisco 2376 2:01PM Traffic Hazard ARKANSAS ST AT MADERA ST Golden Gate Communications Center 2374 2:01PM Traffic Collision – No Details WB I80 JWO CARQUINEZ TOLL PZ Solano 2373 2:00PM Traffic Collision – No Details NB I280 JNO NB I880 San Jose 2369 1:59PM Traffic Collision – Property Damage EB I580 JWO RICHMOND BLVD Oakland 2368 1:59PM Traffic Collision – Ambulance Responding EB I580 JEO TOLL PZ Oakland 2366 1:59PM Traffic Collision – Property Damage NB E WASHINGTON ST ONR TO SB US101 Santa Rosa 2365 1:59PM Traffic Collision – Property [Read more →]

So the predicted storm hits us, it rains hard and the wind blows. All hell breaks loose, sadly a person dies and people are trapped in cars in a nasty head on collision on the slide, this road has claimed so many lives. To add to the misery our power has been out for hours, I’m stuck at home gridlocked in with no power, only a few bars on my trusty iPhone to communicate to the outside world.

Explorer – Just Outside San Francisco, a Wild Coastline – NYTimes.com.

Looks like we made it in to the travel section of the New York Times.

Recent graffiti at Montara Beach parking lot

I don’t like graffiti. But… I found this sort of amusing and misguided all at the same time, the person(s) who spray painted this concrete barrier is obviously referring to the recent accident where 24-year-old Jesse Garcia drove over the edge of the slide. They may be friend or family or just a citizen with an opinion (and no sense of civil pride). From what I have read this would not have stopped the guy going over the edge anyway, he apparently was speeding in dense fog. Next time please try writing to Cal Trans with your suggestions rather than make an ugly piece of concrete even uglier. But hey, don’t stop caring.

This is one lucky guy! As I drove to work this morning I saw the twisted skid marks and the impact site on the old stone barrier. Anyone who knows this road must wonder what was going through his head as he plummeted 150ft toward the rocks and certain death (it’s around 300ft high there), must have needed to change his shorts, that’s for sure. Lesson learned: Devil’s Slide+Fog+speed=TROUBLE.

Read the full story in the SF Chronicle

Moab is a very cool town, 4×4 nuts, mountain bikers, rafters, climbers and hikers flock to is place to enjoy the seemingly endless red rock canyons and slickrock trails. The girls unfortunately had a double tire blowout in Arches, that was fun. [Read more →]

Continuing around the rim we are in awe at the views, the vistas stretch to the horizion, towering peaks and mesas, deep canyons and impossibly balanced rocks the size of apartment blocks. Heading for Murphys camp the trail hugs the edge of the rim, often teatering on the edge [Read more →]

My Deb and Sash picked up their rental Jeep, we transfered gear from my Toyota and we hit the trail. I decided to enter the park via The Shafer Trail then acsend the steep switch backs to the visitor center to pick up our backcountry permit. First night camp [Read more →]

Good bye Las Vegas, one night is enough for me. The over indulgence and excess is just too much. It’s another 9 hour drive to Moab through some amazing canyons and desert vistas. We pass several more burning hills, the has filled the sky and stays with us for hundreds of miles

We started our adventure at first light. Our truck is fully loaded with food, water and camping gear for 4 people. The journey to Las Vegas is fairly uneventful, the quickest route there, Interstate 5, is probably the most boring road in America. The air is heavy [Read more →]

One more day, then my sister arrives from the U.K. Three more days and four of us will be heading out on the 1000 mile trip to Moab, Utah via Las Vegas for two weeks of glorious desert off-roading and back country camping. We will be exploring Las Vegas, Canyonlands National Park, Moab, Arches National Park, Death Vally, Inyo National Forest, Mono Lake and Yosemite Valley. The truck is ready, all the gear is [Read more →]