Mill Valley Wine & Gourmet Food Tasting

Last weekend we went to the Mill Valley Wine & Gourmet Food Tasting.  The weather was perfect, so what could be better than drinking a little wine in the sun?  There were over 70 wineries, and several local restaurants cheffing up some quality snacks.  Tyler Florence was also there and he was grilling up a fantastic strawberry sandwich with some Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam cheese (pictured above).  Deelish!

P. getting after some pasta while trying to determine who had the best Rosé.

Trace and Devon classic self portrait

Buttonwood Winery.  I was really more impressed with the presentation than the wine.

Rob and Devon are always up for a good time.

As I was waiting in line for my aforementioned grilled strawberry cheese sandwich, there was a girl behind me that was disappointed she forgot her camera.  I, having mine with me, turned around and offered to take a picture of her and her husband.  To which she replied, "oh, I don't care about taking a picture with my husband, I want my picture with Tyler."  So, of course I couldn't resist jumping in the picture with her.  I e-mailed her a copy, and I am sure I am sitting on her mantel.    

Lydia and the picture with her husband she could care less about.  

Kodak moment with Tyler Florence

Personally, I am a bigger fan of Bobby Flay, so of course I had to bust Tyler's chops for being too hard on the contestants of The Next Food Network Star, but that's another story.  

I'd rather have my picture taken with this guy any day!

Live jazz band

Is it hot in here, or is it the Mill Valley Fire Department??

Good times were had by all.  See you next year!

A visit from Markus and Charlie

Over the weekend our friends Markus and Charlie came up north from Encinitas for a visit to the City by the Bay.  They haven't been up north for about 5 years, so it was long overdue!  It was so great to see them, and I hope we can do it again soon!

First stop, Sushi Ran:  

This was a magical roll that involved Copper River Salmon, spicy crab, some fancy, dried Japanese pepper and some other fantastic accoutrements that we were told would probably never be duplicated.  We were sure to chew slowly and enjoyed every minute of it.  (Of course in my attempt at being discreet, the poor quality photo, that clearly doesn't do it justice was taken with my camera phone.)

Walking back after dinner, Peter snapped a few less than desirable shots, but they make me laugh, as does he.  (Nice focus Herb Ritts.)

Always time to stop for the classic self portrait.

If you can get past Markus' face, check out the fog rolling in over the hill

Finally, one for the mantel

Then a few friends stopped by for a mini soiree at Chez Nielsen.  It was such a beautiful day, we couldn't resist a few cocktails outside on the deck.  

Rob telling some story....

And Steve and Devon not really buying it....

Jen and Charlie

The Fenirattys

Hope to see you guys soon!  Until next time.....

Action Shots from Thunderhill

Here are some pics that were taken at my last track day at Thunderhill Raceway. Those of you with a keen eye will notice my track wheels with super-sticky race-tires. Good times, good times.

Midsommar in Russian River

After we cleared our heads from the shenanigans at the Cruising Club, the festivities continued through the weekend at the Sundancing River Lodge in Russian River.  We had an absolute blast, with perfect weather, great food, and fantastic people.  

Entrance to the Sundancing River Lodge

After we got settled, the next day we were off for some wine tasting. Peter actually stayed behind to prepare for our Midsommar feast.  

First stop:  Chausseur Winery

Dev, Lauren, and Molly enjoying the barrel tasting

The birthday boy (I don't think I have ever seen him happier)

Cooper came along for the journey

Bill Hunter, the winemaker.  

He does not mess around when it comes to Pinot noir and Chardonnay.

Lauren and Stas

Kelly and Amy

Amy and Martha (I think they learned these model-like poses at Mizzou)

Then we were off to our next stop:  Merry Edwards

Taking a peek at the vineyard.  Amazing Sauvignon blanc!

One final stop at Iron Horse, where the sparkling wine is fair, at best, but the views cannot be beat. 

Kelly, Molly and Lauren working their gams

The group sans Peter (still slaving away on the sås)

Kelly and her Dad, Rex

Lauren taking it in

Hunger was setting in, so a stop at Ace-in-the-Hole for some oysters and cider was a must.

And finally, the Midsommar feast......

Everyone was so great, embracing the traditional Swedish food, complete with Aquavit and blomkrans.  Devon actually brought floral wire and we even went out picking flowers.  

Molly and Lauren diving into the Aquavit, while sporting their blomkrans

Dev loves her some meatballs!

Rob getting after some herring

Skål!

P and T

Peter with the ladies

The morning after

The next day we made a stop at the Pink Elephant for a little hair of the dog....

Then off to the Village Inn for some live music, and fun in the sun

These are the faces of people enjoying a Sucka-free Sunday

Walking back to the kayaks.....

....after a brief mishap in a thornbush

Many thanks to Devon and Rob for planning the weekend!  We can't wait to do it again soon! Until next time.....Cheers!

Neck Scarves Optional

We had the great pleasure of attending the Kelly and Rob 30/40 birthday extravaganza at the Sausalito Cruising Club. As you can see from the invitation, the dappest duds were required from the 60s and 70s, and we were not going to disappoint. 

I found a vintage one-piece 100% polyester number in this ravishing baby blue color from Poochie's Closet.  My vision was Farrah Fawcett, but somehow ended up looking like a cross between 70s Barbie and Carol Brady.  And can we talk about Peter??  He brought the house down with these digs.  White platform shoes not pictured.

Hall and Oates

Devon pictured with the man of the hour (or should I say by the hour?)

The Bohn boys made a visit.  Chris said he has had the shirt he was wearing since the 70s.           I wouldn't doubt it.  

Classic 70s gaze looking off in the distance

Glamour shot.  Making an attempt to channel ABBA.

Dru and Pam.  Awwww....suitable for framing.

Classic

The birthday girl

T. and Kell spanning 2 decades and celebrating in style.

Welcome to the Cruising Club.

Frank Zappa sighting.  Strictly Commercial.

Show me your best 60s coy, girls.

View from the deck of the Cruising Club

Zoinks!

There are no words

Olan Mills, anyone?

Groovy

A moment with the Birthday Boy

Again, no words.

Party Favors

That's for you, Hollywood!

Happy Birthday Sauce!

Birthday greetings going out to my pal Sauce!  Here's to manis and pedis and a big glass of champagne!  Cheers!

Sunshine Daydream.....

Last weekend we were running around town on a beautiful 70 degree day in San Francisco, and we thought we would just do a quick "pop-in" around the Haight to put the final touches on our outfits for an upcoming soiree.  Turns out it was the Haight Ashbury Street Fair.  I could see Peter's white knuckles gripping the steering wheel as we were struggling to find a place to park, and the thought of spending his Sunday with all of the hippies in the entire Bay Area that would be in full force was not exactly his first choice, but we ended up finding a spot, and we were happy to be out in the city on such an amazingly beautiful day.  We did also put the finishing touches on our digs for the party, and I am going to have to be sure the camera is fully charged! Stay tuned.... 

 (also to note, I was caught without my camera on this excursion, so I attempted to capture the essence of the day via camera phone.  The quality of the photos is not reflective of the quality of the day o' fun that was had.)

Looking for a parking spot

St. Ignatius Church at USF

Massive amounts of said hippies running around Haight Street

Lots of hippies need lots of BBQ

This keyboardist scored the highly coveted spot by the facilities.

After a walk among the masses, we decided to forgo the street fair edibles and stop for lunch at DeLessio Market and Bakery.

This place was fantastic, and had homemade cakes that were as big as your head!

I really wanted to pull a chair up to the cheese counter

And then I would like to move my chair over to the dessert

Happy Monkey

Happy Frog

We then made a stop over to Crissy Field for a coffee at the Warming Hut and some time on the beach.

A very Sucka-free Sunday indeed!  Let's hope this weather keeps fighting through that San Francisco summer fog!  Until next time.....

Happy Birthday mamma !!!

Hope you had a wonderful birthday. We'll have to celebrate with a glass or two of Champagne when I make it back home to the motherland in a few weeks.

Greetings from Seattle

I am back in the Pacific Northwest for a little golf, a little work, and a lot of food! (Yes, actually in that order.) The weather has been fantastic at 75 degrees and sunny and I have been sworn to secrecy by the locals. I am told to stick to the story that it is always gloomy and raining here. I love eating my way through this city, but I always seem to leave my heart in San Francisco. See you at the airport....

Trackday at Thunderhill

So I've been a little complacent with recording my trackdays over the past few months but this time I made the effort to remember the camera and took the time to mount it. 

In this video I was following a Porsche 911 (996) Turbo with a tuned 500hp engine and did a pretty good job keeping up despite the fact that my Volvo weighs about 500 pounds more. Not bad if I may say so myself :)

Magnum PI vs Han Solo PI

If you are Magnum PI fan and a lover of the original Star Wars then you should get a massive kick in the pants from this "Han Solo PI" intro. Absolutely brilliant!!

Happy Birthday Kev!

Birthday greetings going out to our pal McGrath!  This pic was from a river adventure we took down Westwater Canyon back in the day.  As you can see, Kevin always loves a good photo op. He has given me this look plenty of times throughout the years, and at times, it has been accompanied by a colorful phrase or two.  Hope you have a good one Kev!  We will be sure to have a G and T on your behalf! Cheers!