Cycling the vineyards

I decided to use the campground's showers instead of the one we have for a change. When I walked out of the shower, Mike was standing at the sink. He asked what I was doing in the Men's showers. I did some quick thinking and told him "now that there are new laws I can use which ever restrooms I please." He didn't buy it.

We are loving riding these country roads. We drove to Geyserville  to check out their roads on a Saturday and there were plenty of cyclists to be found. Two vans full of Backroads Cycle Tours pulled up as we left Starbucks.

The shaded roads along the vineyards were great since things were heating up after a couple of rainy days. I enjoy when there are clouds and sprinkles while riding. But the sunshine felt good after the morning fog lifted.

Sonoma's art along the roads. This one is called cartwheels, a grocery cart filled with bike rims?

 

I have to make myself pay attention to the road for obstacles. It is too easy to get distracted out here. 

This old store from the 1880s is one of the few delis on the country roads and Saturday there were many cyclists stopping for a pit stop and snacks. A small sandwich is $13. They kept filling the counter with them.

There is a huge amount of baby grapes. Looks like it will be a fruitful harvest.

We stopped at a couple of wineries but they were serving Zins which are not a favorite of ours. We will have to check and see what is offered next time we stop. There are so many wineries, it can be overwhelming.

Several wineries have made caves in the side of their hills.

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 It has been so nice to wake up in the morning and walk along the Russian River before the kids get out on their inner tubes and float. Actually, watching them is pretty good too.



 

Friday nights in Cloverdale's plaza has a farmer's market with food vendors and a band. The band was from San Francisco and quite good. There was an eclectic group of fun local people that many looked that they have moved here after the 60s in San Francisco. The towns here have had a nice small town feel.

It has been such a good week here in the Russian River and Alexander Valleys. We are excited to see what is next down the road.

The Bay Shore Bikeway and Silver Strand

The traffic in So California can make anyone think twice about going anywhere in an auto but I had one more bike ride I wanted to do before leaving.  We got out the door by 7am to catch the 7:16 Coaster to San Diego which is 2 miles from our home. Once there, we caught the ferry to Coronado Island (actually a peninsula) before starting that ride. By the end of the day, it ended up being 33 miles when we arrived home.

 

After a wrong turn, we made it to the Embarcadero ferry ticket office and paid our $4.75 each as the ferry was returning from Coronado Island for the 9am departure.

There were only 5 of us on the quiet trip over.

We appreciated the marine layer at the start on our ride since we were supposed to get record temps once the sun came out.

The Coronado Bridge

That was a quick 15 minute ride across the bay.

The 15-minute ride across the San Diego Bay to the Coronado Ferry Landing, a waterfront marketplace full of over 25 unique shops and restaurants. The coffee smelled great but we had a mission to get on.

A quick ride by the Hotel Del Coronado which was the influence for the "Emerald City" in "The Wizard of Oz". We were finally on our way.

 

What a great smooth and newly paved bike path that leads to Chula Vista, 7.5 miles north of the Mexico border.  

Silver Strand, or simply The Strand, is a low, narrow, sandy isthmus 7 miles long  that connects Coronado Island with Imperial Beach.

Silver Strand State Beach, which encompasses both the San Diego Bay and Pacific Ocean sides of the strand, is a little farther off the beaten path of the highly popular beaches offering more solitude for those who wish to avoid beach crowds. The ocean side of the strand features 2.5 miles of coastline trimmed with silver shells (thus named Silver Strand).

Coronado is the "birthplace of Naval Aviation" and headquarters of the Navy Seals. As we rode along the Bayshore Bike Path, several Seals candidates were seen carrying their fins to the beach.

On the south end of the Silver Strand is the South Bay Refuge. Through a grant from the California Coastal Conservancy, neighbors, birdwatchers, and wildlife enthusiasts have a new walking trail to enjoy the beautiful views of the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

 One of the oldest businesses is the salt mines in the south bay in Chula Vista  At one time there were 32 salt ponds. The plant is a neighbor to the South San Diego Bay Wildlife National Refuge. The wildlife refuge is home to several endangered birds which live and feed in the salt pond.

 

 The refuge trail runs parallel with the Bayshore Bikeway has six interpretive panels with information related to migratory birds, salt marsh restoration, and history of South Bay Salt Works. With assistance from volunteers, Refuge staff have already installed over 1,000 salt marsh plants between the new trail and San Diego Bay



Le Tour de Bayshore Bikeway sculpture in Chula Vista 

The "Wall" between Imperial Beach and Tijuana.

 

We passed Petco Field, home of the Padres as we were attempting to avoid the traffic. The ride counterclockwise was on pleasant bikeways until we reached National City and our final 5 miles. Then I felt it was every man for himself in the traffic.

If we rode this again, it would be an out and back from Coronado Island to Chula Vista or the border and avoid the crazy city traffic.

 

My next to last shift as a critical care nurse I hear someone crying as a family member is not going to see another sunrise. A few minutes later, another person is rolled into our unit in very critical condition. Several staff hurry over to help the assigned nurse to move him over to the bed from the cart and hook him up to monitors. After people start to shuffle out of the room to return to their patients, I go in to give a hand as she continues to stabilize him. I act as a runner so she can focus on what she needs to do. She works quickly with a lot of knowledge and what to do next while giving support to the family who feel confused and anxious.  I give shift report to the nightshift RN that just finished orientation to ICU. That stretches the shift to almost 13 hours. I return home and sit by the fire listening to the waves and wonder how I ended up here. I am glad I had this life but really ready to move on as someone else takes over.