Last updated on January 17th, 2016 at 03:18 pm
Hello, it’s me, Amanda. You may know me as Jeff’s better half, or Mrs. Jeffsetter.
Jeff told me I am responsible for writing a monthly recap of our adventures (Note from Jeff: She volunteered), so here it goes.
We had a packed month of May, most of it spent in Northern California. It was my last month of employment, but we still managed to fit a lot in.
Mt. Tamalpais aka “Mt Tam” you may have heard of the cheese (easy hike)
A couple of avid hiking/biking friends asked us to hike with them. I demanded it be an easy hike, like down the street to a wine bar (which in fairness really could be a hike in SF).
As a compromise, we decided on the top of Mt. Tam in Marin County. This hike is super easy, since most of the elevation climb is done from the comfort of your car. The breathtaking view from the East Peak is only a half a mile hike with a minimal elevation climb of 230 feet.
Another trail loops around the East Peak which is about a mile long and flat. Both trails are easy walks and take a couple of hours to complete depending on how many pictures Mr. Jeffsetter takes….
Be sure to take a break at the Gravity Railroad Museum, provided by the Friends of Mt Tam, which provides an interesting perspective on the history of the area. For the more in shape readers, you can do a hike from the base up to the top. Note, the road to the top is windy, so be prepared.
Views are spectacular even with fog, as seen in this panorama:
Graduation Weekend in Radford, VA
I (leaving Jeff behind to work in MN) traveled back to Virginia for my cousin’s graduation from Radford University. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Cume laude in 3 years, whoop whoop!!
Along with my brother, we hit up a local establishment in Blacksburg (home of the Virginia Tech Hokies) called Bull and Bones.
If you are ever in that neck of the woods, stop in for a beer and make sure you say hi to Robbie. He’s the best bartender/comedian ever!!
They also brew some good beers on site. The bar has an ice strip to keep your beer cold while you sit to catch up with old friends and make new ones.
Minneapolis for Jeff
Jeff was teaching 9 of 10 business days in Minneapolis over the course of two weeks. According to Jeff, it was very stressful. He’s a wimp.
Here is a photo he asked me to post.
Aside from teaching, he visited family and spent time with his adorable nephews (6 months and 2 years). He also saw his favorite band, Dragonforce, and took this video.
Weekend in Wine Country (or Beer Country)
Friends from Minnesota came to visit us for Memorial weekend. We all headed north to Wine Country (which turned into more of beer country) with our base in Petaluma, CA at the Hotel Petaluma. Our action packed Memorial weekend covered the following stops:
Dinner at the Jeffsetter’s
Along with travel cooking is one of our passions. I am hoping to take cooking classes on our travels to learn local cuisine and techniques.
For our guests, I made Pork Tenderloin with Sour Orange Sauce and Apple, Manchengo, Chive Salad followed by Card’s Against Humanity – If you would like the recipes comment, and I will post them as I do not want to stray from this being a travel blog. Not convinced, here is a lame teaser that seems to be the new trend on the Internets…
“I made this pork tenderloin, and you won’t believe where I found the recipe!”
Which actually, you probably would not believe it (the recipe is not a link otherwise, I would have just added it).
Also in true southern tradition, I made ham biscuits because you can’t have a party without ham biscuits.
Probably to many true Southerners’ dismay, I “Frisco’d” them up by making cheesy garlic biscuits with copa/Iberico jamon and hot pepper jelly in my efforts to recreate the Farmstead Mini la quercia ham sandwiches with pepper jelly.
And yes, I used “Frisco’d” much to the dismay of all San Franciscans.
Russian River Brewing Company (RRBC)
Home of the Pliny’s (Younger and Elder) among other highly sought after beers. Our friend, who is a home brewer, requested a stop here to check off some brews from his bucket list.
If any of you are beer aficionados, RRBC, is completely worth a stop and is probably already on your list. Right now the RRBC has three sours or Flemish red style beers available.
I love sours and Flemish reds (e.g., Rodenbach). “I think sours will be the new IPA in a few years,” said Amanda two years ago. Let’s all help turn this prediction to fact by drinking more delicious sours.
Francis Ford Coppola Winery
Fabulous pool and movie memorabilia. I suggest having a mojito and sitting by the pool (yes, there is a full bar and restaurant). The wines are fine. We did the reserve tasting – not worth it in our opinion. The grounds are still worth a stop.
Trentadue Winery
Relaxing after Coppola and low key with reasonably priced wines. This is where the breakfast wine mentioned in the Hotel Petaluma reviewwas purchased.
Central Market
One word – YUMMY!
Della Fattoria Downtown Café
Twice!!! If you eat breakfast in Petaluma, do it here. Get the croque madame. We also bought bread for lunch and home.
Marin French Cheese Company
Quarks and a truffle triple cream for the bread from Della to have with our Oyster brunch/lunch.
This cheese is sooo good. I am not sure how to effectively describe the creamy goodness from the happy cows of California.
Cowgirl Creamery (mongers of the Mt Tam triple cream cheese), one of my favorites, is close by as well. Marin was on the way to our destination, so that is why we chose to stop there.
You can also picnic at Marin French Cheese Company. Their store has a small deli, accruements, wine and other beverages along with the obvious, CHEESE.
Tomales Bay Oyster Company
We went here twice and shucked 50 Kumamoto oysters each time, all by ourselves. This is one of our favorite places to take visitors. Seriously, oysters straight out of the bay that you see right in front of you.
Fair warning, you have to bring all your own supplies they have limited items for purchases (OYSTERS/lemons/limes/hot sauce/charcoal/ice). There may be a soda machine, but no alcohol is sold on site. This means you should pack the following:
Plates, napkins, towels (that will be gross when you are done,), beverages, lemons, hot sauce, mingonette sauce.
Also, don’t forget napkins, horseradish, any side dishes (we like cheese and bread or avocado salad), food for the non-oyster eaters.
Did I mention towels, cooler for ice to keep the oysters fresh, a knife, salt and pepper, tongs for the grill, onion (to clean the grill), and of course napkins and towels.
Forget something? It’s pretty easy to shmooze with picnic neighbors, or use leftover coals than to buy and carry charcoal otherwise.
Believe me, even if you bring everything on this list you will still look like a rookie your first time. People go all out!
Corn on the cob, chicken, dry ice, tubs of marinated fajita meat, 100 sugar cones for ice cream. But the great thing about TBOC is that even though you are a rookie everyone is happy, friendly and willing help you.
How could you not be happy, you are on a beach at a picnic eating oysters straight out of the bay!!! Clearly, this one of our FAVORITE THINGS!!!!!
Also, you will want to arrive early, if you want a table and a charcoal grill ($5 fee). Grassy areas and the beach is available, if you want to throw down a blanket (or camping chairs) and chow down.
Oyster shucking knives are available to borrow ($10 deposit, which is refunded upon return of the knives) or purchase.
Note, there is a fancier place up the road if you don’t want to do your own shucking, but I have never been.
Lagunitas Brewing Company
I may have had a hangry moment upon arrival to the brewery, but that was subdued with the pulled pork nachos and High West Stout. Again, if you like beer this is worth a stop. We have not done the brewery tour, but the backyard patio with live music, people watching, and cold beer is definitely worth checking out.
Buffalo Billiards
Ping pong, beer, air hockey and shuffle puck. Oh, there are also pool tables.
The Big Easy
Ok – this may have been the icing on the cake, cherry on top, best end to a great weekend with friends. After the Jeffsetters were alienated in shuffle puck, the group decided that we should walk back towards the hotel and have a night cap.
As we were wobbling down the street, we came a bar that sounded like it had live music. “Oh this must be the speakeasy, I saw that there was one in this area,” said someone. “Uh, it looks like a private party,” said another.
“Well obviously, its a speakeasy. That’s how they are supposed to look,” said someone else.
“Let’s go in, worst case they ask us to leave.”
We enter…
“Uh, this looks like a high school band concert.”
Yes that’s right, we crashed the Petaluma High School Jazz Band Concert. The concert was just wrapping up, but several of the high school seniors stayed and played with the “adult” band.
It was amazing!
The bartender thought our friend was in the band, and seemed really into him (so he said). He came back with a carafe of wine, so it all sounded plausible.
After an hour or so, we decided that it was time to head back to the hotel. Talking about how great the ambiance was, we tried to see the name of the bar as we walked out.
Just at that moment, we saw the Big Easy Calendar of Events. The calendar stated the bar was closed on this day for a private event. Oops!
So yes, we can say that we successfully crashed a high school band concert.
Creepy or amazing?
We are sticking with amazing.
Marin Headlands Black Sands Beach
Short hike down to the black sand beach at the headlands. When we arrived, we found that hundreds of jelly fish had committed suicide on the beach. We of course did not know that the “cool” purple things were jelly. Thankfully, someone in the group had a magic box and something called “googles.” And now we know……
Bahn Mi’s from the Saigon Sandwich in the Tenderloin
The walk is gross, but the sandwiches are worth it!! Although, I still want to know the difference between “pork” and “fancy pork.” Someday.
Overall, an EPIC time with great friends, delicious food, beer/wine and lots of laughs.
Point Arena Lighthouse
A retirement trip for Amanda coastline walk, sea otters/seals and the tallest lighthouse on the West Coast, AND sunshine (finally). What more could we ask for?!
Oh a stay at the Heritage House Inn and two more days of relaxation. More on that in our June recap.