It's Spring in Wine Country

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AdminJeff
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It's Spring in Wine Country

Post by AdminJeff » Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:09 am

Well, the taxes we pay in CA have been paying off just a little bit the last few days... The weather is simply stunning.
Brad and Anette Lusk came to stay for a few days (you should see what Brad did to my retaining wall with his 5th wheel on his way in to my house. I didn't know wood could splinter like that) and yesterday we did an impromptu tour of Alexander Valley. About 15-20 years ago I made wine by doing a 2nd pick of the grapes at Silver Oak Vineyards. Their picking crews pick first, then I wait a month or more for all the leftovers to fully ripen and then I bring a crew of 25 migrant workers in to pick after that. It takes 2-3 days but I picked all 300 acres. The last year I did this was 2006 and we got about 10 barrels of wine which is 250 cases. When we stopped for lunch, we would all drive all the way to the back of the vineyard and climb a steep dirt road, and you ended up at Pinnacle Point, high above most of the vineyards. Before we tried this and not knowing if the roads were even still there, I stopped and asked Brad if he was up for an adventure. Duh, dumb question. So, we turned at the famous water tower drove past the olive trees and we traced the winding roads through the vineyards and all the way to the top.
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It was steeper than I recalled from 15 years ago. But the T in low Ruckstell is now used to the hill up to my house and made it up this one, no problem. It's pretty surprising just how much traction on dirt roads these cars with skinny tires actually have.

The view of the entire Alexander Valley is simply stunning.
Silver Oak Pinnicle Point.png
Silver Oak Pinnicle Point2.png
If I still live here when the Golden Gate tour is going on, perhaps I'll show some adventurous folks the secret road that leads up here.

Today we're headed to Petaluma to see Steve and Jeannie Nelson then out Bodega Hwy to Sebastopol for lunch and then back to Santa Rosa. It's supposed to be 77 degrees today. I will miss this area.
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AdminJeff

EDIT: Ok, I could NOT let this post go and not take pics of my new retaining wall. "Brad, next time let your wife drive in my driveway"!!
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AndyClary
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Re: It's Spring in Wine Country

Post by AndyClary » Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:34 am

The last couple of days the wind had tempered the sun but today looks to be super nice. Enjoy your drive , South Sonoma and northern Marin counties are springs best drives.

Andy


Wayne Sheldon
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Re: It's Spring in Wine Country

Post by Wayne Sheldon » Tue Mar 03, 2020 6:24 pm

What did I miss? What did you mean by "If I still live here when the Golden Gate tour is going on", and " I will miss this area." ?

Looks like a wonderful place to drive! I have been on several great tours in that general area.

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AdminJeff
Posts: 986
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Re: It's Spring in Wine Country

Post by AdminJeff » Tue Mar 03, 2020 7:37 pm

wayne sheldon wrote:
Tue Mar 03, 2020 6:24 pm
What did I miss? What did you mean by "If I still live here when the Golden Gate tour is going on", and " I will miss this area." ?
Looks like a wonderful place to drive! I have been on several great tours in that general area.
I'm tired of giving Nancy Pelosi and Commifirnia my hard earned $$ so My wife and I are packing it up after 45 yrs and headed to Nevada. Land of zero taxes. Well be gone by June, so I'm enjoying it while I can. I'll be back to visit only.

Jeff
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Wayne Sheldon
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Re: It's Spring in Wine Country

Post by Wayne Sheldon » Tue Mar 03, 2020 8:46 pm

You are a smart man my friend! I would have done so already, but unfortunately-------. Well It is a long story full of details certain people do not want discussed. Maybe if I see you at the Auburn swap meet in a few months I can tell you about it. I was born in Nevada, and have wanted to spend the rest of my years there or Idaho/Montana for a long time.
Where about are you going? Found a place yet? (Careful, I may need to impose upon you in a couple more years!)
Proudly NOT a native Califunnyan.

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AdminJeff
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Re: It's Spring in Wine Country

Post by AdminJeff » Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:26 pm

Caldwell looks good. Idaho wine country. Spent a week there last wk and the wife and I fell in love with it.

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Scott_Conger
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Re: It's Spring in Wine Country

Post by Scott_Conger » Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:57 pm

These sorts of places can be studied using something like this: http://www.city-data.com/city/Caldwell-Idaho.html

You might wish to visit there in Jan/Feb to see if the weather is to your liking. My wife and I visited our adopted state at all sorts of "bad" times of the year to ensure we weren't making a mistake.
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Re: It's Spring in Wine Country

Post by Sarikatime » Wed Mar 04, 2020 9:14 am

JEFF, check out Prescott Arizona for a beautiful destination. It is up in the mountains at 5500 feet in the mountains with beautiful forests and a mild four seasons. We get snow several times in the winter but it usually melts by noon or the next day, 80 to 85 maximum in the summer and all the shopping outlets of the large city’s. Since half the population is retired there is a lot of doctors and first class hospitals available in case of need. The prices of homes are reasonable and lots of people with antique cars and the old car/hot rod hobby. Frank

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Topic author
AdminJeff
Posts: 986
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:32 pm
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Re: It's Spring in Wine Country

Post by AdminJeff » Wed Mar 04, 2020 10:00 am

Sarikatime wrote:
Wed Mar 04, 2020 9:14 am
JEFF, check out Prescott Arizona for a beautiful destination. It is up in the mountains at 5500 feet in the mountains with beautiful forests and a mild four seasons. We get snow several times in the winter but it usually melts by noon or the next day, 80 to 85 maximum in the summer and all the shopping outlets of the large city’s. Since half the population is retired there is a lot of doctors and first class hospitals available in case of need. The prices of homes are reasonable and lots of people with antique cars and the old car/hot rod hobby. Frank
We drove through Prescott when we did the Sierra Vista tour. We liked it but we have a plan and we're working our plan. We're headed to NV to establish residency (6 mos and a day), sell the company, pay zero state income taxes, then retire in Caldwell ID, basically Idaho's burgeoning wine country. We're in the wine biz now, so plenty there to keep us both busy. And a climate we both like. It's a process and I'm sure there will be bumps along the way, but you gotta have a vision and plan of where you're going in life or you'll never get there.

Jeff
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Topic author
AdminJeff
Posts: 986
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:32 pm
First Name: Jeff
Last Name: Stevenson
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1921 Touring
Location: Wilder Idaho
MTFCA Number: 50006
Board Member Since: 2017

Re: It's Spring in Wine Country

Post by AdminJeff » Wed Mar 04, 2020 10:08 am

Scott_Conger wrote:
Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:57 pm
These sorts of places can be studied using something like this: http://www.city-data.com/city/Caldwell-Idaho.html
You might wish to visit there in Jan/Feb to see if the weather is to your liking. My wife and I visited our adopted state at all sorts of "bad" times of the year to ensure we weren't making a mistake.
I couldn't agree more. We just got back last Sat from spending 2+ weeks there. The engineer in me wrote an app and I've been graphing temps compared to where we live now for several years.
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Greenshot 2020-03-04 07.10.45.png
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It's consistently an Avg of 10-15 degrees cooler in the winter, and summers that aren't nearly as hot. If great wine can be made in an area, then that's a very good indication of climate. Think sonoma county, spain, italy, Bordeaux, Argentina. All regions that grow amazing grapes. Caldwell is a subset of those places. Sure it might freeze a week here or there in the winter, but I'm not going to be a farmer!!! See the other thread where members here share how to heat their shops in the winter!
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Scott_Conger
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Re: It's Spring in Wine Country

Post by Scott_Conger » Wed Mar 04, 2020 2:58 pm

OK

you are doing what I did.

we also subscribed to two nearby towns' newspapers for about 3 years to get a feel for what makes the place "tick". You could definitely see a "drift" in attitudes over those 3 years as new folks were obviously moving in...escaping something they didn't like, and then trying to chane their new "paradise" to exactly what they left.

Those newspapers didn't exactly overwhelm our mail lady as the newspapers were a bi-weekly, but we DID become more chummy with her as she grew up where we were heading and some days she'd stick to our doorstep like paint, chattering about how she missed the place.

Having visited your future digs, I rather suspect where you're headed to is significantly populated with transplants. Our area not so much, but in any event, my suggestion when you leave CA, is to LEAVE it there. It's a concept that unfortunately not too many folks grasp. When we left our home state, we LEFT the pathologies behind and it has helped us blend in and assimilate much more easily.

Best of luck to you.
Scott Conger

Tyranny under the guise of law is still Tyranny

NH Full Flow Float Valves
Obsolete carburetor parts manufactured

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Topic author
AdminJeff
Posts: 986
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:32 pm
First Name: Jeff
Last Name: Stevenson
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1921 Touring
Location: Wilder Idaho
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Re: It's Spring in Wine Country

Post by AdminJeff » Wed Mar 04, 2020 5:28 pm

Speaking of “leaving it there”

Another reason for NV first is we’ll be moving to ID as Nevada transplants with Nevada license plates, not CA. Not that I’ve thought thru this Or anything....

Jeff
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1921 Model T Touring, 1930 Model A Roadster
Voltage Regulators, Starter & Generator Repair
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