Tea tasting

While in Chinatown do as the Chinese do.

We drank tea and tasted tea at the Vital Tea Leaf.

 This young man was a real pro at tea making and marketing.  I bought Jasmine Pearl.  Real fine!

Where little cable cars

 in San Francisco, California

Welcome to Chinatown, San Francisco

Over the next few days I'll show you Chinatown.  We had not originally planned to go there but we were in the vicinity and well, you know.

Effective merchandizing.

Best Dumplings Around

When in San Francisco you need to check out Shanghai Dumpling King for the best dumplings ever. The green beans are spectacular too.  It's really pretty much a hole in the wall but there was a line so the guy took our order while we were on the street so that when we were seated they brought the food right to us.  Low on ambiance but high on flavor.

 It's on Balboa and 34th Avenue...

Must do take out too..

Golden Gate Bridge on a Sunny Day

One day everyone had to work so I was let loose down along the Embarcadero.  I decided to go for a Bay cruise because it was such a beautiful day.  I had originally wanted to go to Alcatraz FOR A TOUR, but they were all sold out so I took the general tour.  Which turned out to be the best one for me.

Golden Gate Bridge on a Foggy Day

San Francisco, California

Domaine Carneros Winery Napa

Back out to California with a visit to Domaine Carneros Winery.  Very elegant, very expensive.  It was begun by the Taittinger family of Champagne, France.  It was toward the end of the day but when it is in the height of the day the porch has all of the umbrellas open.

You may have heard of the earthquake that rocked the Napa Valley area yesterday.  My son works in Napa for JF Hillibrand, exporters of wine.  His office had some damage and said that the entire area up there had some major damage.  Many of the wineries were hit as well.

Catches from the Sea

Nausett Beach, Orleans, MA.

Friday at the Feeder Interlude

I know, not quite the feeder that you have come to expect from such a highly regarded Friday at the Feeder meme.  (-8

But this guy was really enjoying the heck out of the crab on the beach at Point Reyes in California.  All of those little flies around the perimeter are just waiting their turn when the seagull is finished.

Buena Vista Winery

 Our second winery stop was to Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma.  They go back as far as 1857 in their wine making and has the real flavor of the Old West.

Along the road leading up to the winery were these figures in the distance...distant figures from the past welcoming you to wine country.

Of course if it's Biblical YOU CAN'T GO WRONG.

Our host during our tasting.

Road Trip to Wine Country

You might think this is how we saw the sign after tastings at FOUR wineries but no.  My son was driving and by the time I got the camera out, the cap off and positioned we were almost past the sign.

Our first stop was Benziger Family Winery in Sonoma.  It was at this winery that we actually took the tour.  Beautiful country! They use Biodynamic, Organic and sustainable farming methods which was very interesting to hear about.

We stopped for a tasting along the way because we were so, so parched.

Red, or White?  We even got to pick a grape or two right off of the vine to taste.

In the caves!

Point Reyes

 It was a cool and overcast day at Point Reyes in Marin County.  The fog never did quite lift.

 Color enhanced photo!

Carrie shooting something on the rocks.

Shipwrecked!

On the way to Point Reyes in Marin County California there is a ship that was beached many years ago.  I don't know the history of it, a quick search didn't net much except to say that there have been many shipwrecks on this point of the California coast.  This one is around Inverness.  It was a grey day.

Enid Haupt Conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden

Water lilies

Beauty

Maybe I shall paint this after I finish three other paintings.

This is my favorite

Lily Pond at the New York Botanical Garden