Stories from the Road: June 16

Stories from the road

June 16, 2016

Old Croker Inn

Cloverdale, Ca.

Coppola's Winery

They call our place a B&B, but it feels more like a little ranch to me. Before breakfast this morning I saw a small herd of deer wandering around. Breakfast was not my favorite. It was too “cute”. It started with a warm pear and moved onto a poached egg on corn bread. I am thinking bacon, eggs over easy, hash browns, and whole-wheat toast. I guess the B& B’s need to distinguish themselves from Denny’s, so they go “cute country” on you. Soon we will go to Healdsburg and the wine trail, though I am drinking water today.

local

Francis Ford Coppola’s winery was fantastic. The man is a visionary and marketing genius. The winery is a beautiful set of buildings with multiple wine tasting rooms, restaurants, and gift shops interspersed among exhibits of his movies and their awards. It is a gourmet museum. There was a large swimming pool with cabanas for day use, a child’s playground, and bocce ball courts. Everything was clean, neat, and tidy. The staff was engaging and helpful.  A group of bikers from Vermont Bike Tours arrived, and having been on several VBT bike trips, we talked with them about our mutual trips.

Jack and Jeannine

It was then onto Healdsburg for touring and lunch. Vic Fazao had suggested we look up the Haggertys, mutual friends from San Diego, now living in Santa Rosa. I told him I didn’t think we would have time meet with Jack and Jeannine. As we were walking down the street, a man stopped me, and it was jack! He and Jeannine had driven to Healdsburg for lunch, and we joined them for the best hamburger in Sonoma County. The Haggertys love golf, so we had plenty to talk about.

We watched the game last night and will drive to San Francisco this morning. It is raining out now, and I haven’t seen any deer yet.

Have a good day.

David DiCicco