Tuesday, September 18, 2012

There's Gold In Them Thar Hills

Tuesday Sept 18, 2012 Carmel Valley to King City

I didn't ride today, bottom line...it's my bottom. Nothing more complicated than that.  I probably won't ride tomorrow either so that I can rest my aching tush for the final 5 day push into L.A.

The scenery today from the van was quite stunning.  It started out a little cloudy but the sun came out by 9am.  Every day I wake up expecting the scenery from the day before to be unbeatable and every day the scenery is more spectacular and varied than the day before.  Today was no different. We climbed (me in the van, Mark on his bike) for the first 18 miles or so. The road was almost entirely devoid of cars as we snaked through and up a river valley and then over a mountain whose elevation rose to 2155 feet.  Once we reached the top, the views were really special.


Our friend Gary at the top of the climb.  Gorgeous scenery.
Mark overlooking a gorge.



The contrast of the green trees and vegetation and the golden hills was really beautiful, and utterly different than the coastal vistas, legendary golf courses and $20+ million homes we saw just yesterday afternoon, a mere 30 miles behind us. California is so diverse it's staggering to the eye.  After we descended down the other side of the mountain, we were in a valley with rich farmland on either side of the road.  We even passed by some more wineries and vineyards. Mark stopped and ate some of the grapes which he said were really sweet.  We could smell the onions growing in the fields and saw leaf lettuce, broccoli, and some garlic growing.

I forgot to mention that after about 15 miles of riding this morning, Mark says he saw Neil Young walking by the side of the road.  He wasn't alone in thinking this, as one of the other riders, Howard, also believes that it was Neil Young he said hello to when he was "Down by the River".  Unfortunately we have no video evidence of this encounter, but rumour is that he does live around here.

Today we had time to do laundry in a laundromat close to the hotel (I am fairly sure I will not miss walking a half a mile lugging a suitcase full of laundry to a laundromat after this ride is over) and even had a few minutes to rest.  Since I'm not doing this blog after dinner when I'm exhausted, I wanted to take a moment to thank some people who I know are following us and posting comments on Facebook or here on this blog.  I'm sure I'll forget someone so if that's you, please don't take offence.  Thanks to; Ellen Newell Call (ABB 2010), Vance and Susan, Dean, Esther, Jo-Ann and Alan, Esther and Allan, Erin and Carrie, Hessie, Margot, my mother in law (the Facebook Queen), my mother and Gordie, Lyle and Cynthia, Rob Nadler (no, not a cousin of mine), Wendy Rosenfield, Ira Pamnani, Stephanie, Joanie, Jeff Citron, The Lipson Family, Sharon Perlmutter, Julie, Lynn, Shep, Rhonda and Mark, Arlene, Rosanne, Caurie, Amy, Maura, Lisa, Avra, Gina, Dina, Corinne, Shawna, Linda, Cindy, Mark, Paula, Jordan, Heni, Shawna, Lara, Peter, Audrey, Janet, Suzy, Debbie, Francine, Marty, Nanci, Jodi, Karen K, Barb, Susan, Marilyn, Dee, Pat, Jill, Karen, Janna, Angelina, Ian, Sonia, Jess and of course our three wonderful, epically disinterested children, Adam, Lauren and Samantha.

Wow, big list, we are very lucky and blessed to have you all in our lives.  If I missed someone, I'm sorry, but omitting you from this list in no way makes us any less lucky or blessed. More updates to come, starting tomorrow!







4 comments:

  1. Hi Dutchie, sorry about the bum... FYI- it itches as it starts to heal :)
    We miss everyone. Be safe and have fun!

    Barb

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  2. Hang in there, LA is coming! And when its over, you can come home and do SFA, well, at least for a day or two, until you get restless.

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  3. I am so proud of you Susan, most people could not get as far as you have gotten, so it is not perfect, I hope your bum heals and you can back at it. Still rooting for you!
    Thanks for your beautiful blog and we are so honoured to be mentioned!
    Love, Jo-Ann and Alan

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  4. Thanks for the shout out. Imhave an idea......have Mark massage and kiss your boo boo, and maybe it will get all better. It works with my grandkids.

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