Thunder Hill

I experienced my first "track day" as my husband would say. We took Friday off and went up to Willows, CA to a track called Thunder Hill. It's in the middle of no where and it took us 2.5 hours just to get there. The only things that I saw there were, gas stations, fast food restaurants, motels and of course a Walmart.

The day started at 7am, when we got up. We got ready in the hotel/motel and headed over to the track, but not before I got my starbuck..hehe. The place was pretty bare as expected since it is a track. There was one overhang for about 30 cars to park underneath and just as we got there, it was filled up. Luckily a friend of ours had an extra E-Z up canopy that we were able to borrow, otherwise we would have been roasting in the sun.
As I watched all the participants there I was surprised to see how much stuff they brought for one day of driving. Folks has coolers, lawn chairs, car tires, tools, jacks, etc. You name it they brought it. It was kind of interesting.

From aobut 8-8:30 am, the organizers gave the participants a lecture of the events of the day and the rules of the track. At about 8:30 the first group started heading out to the track. The folks were seperated in 3 groups, beginners, imtermiates and advanced. They had instructors there to ride along with all the beginners and intermiediate folks if they wanted it. So pretty much there 3 groups took turns going out on the track from 8:30 until noon, which was LUNCH TIME. My favorite time, since I didn't drive. In the afternoon, it was more driving. This went on until 5pm.

Since I was not driving, my day pretty much went like this....listened to my iPod shuffle, read my magazine, talked to my husband and friends when ever they were not out on the track, talk to other friends that were there, walking to the bathroom (it was hot, so we had to kepp hydrated) and taking pictures. Even though it was a long day, 9 hours, it went my much faster than I thought and I must say, it was kind of fun.

During the day, as I watched folks go out onto the track I was a bit curious, so I asked an instructor for a ride. Bad idea. This guy, didn't ease my in as I would expect him to. Instead, he went out hard, as fast as he could, passing about 15 people. It was almost as if he was trying to show off. By the end of the ride, I felt sick and it took me 30 minutes just to recover. I think there was no need for him to push it so hard especially since it was my first time . I had racing seatbelts on and still I felt like I was being jerked around. Never once was I scared, but I just think that my stomach couldn't take it.

The Ultimate Food Experience

After weeks and weeks of calling the French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, CA, I finally got through at 10am on 6/19 for reservations on 8/19. You have no idea how hard it was to get through. Their phone lines are always busy. One time I got through and the guy told me that all reservations for the day two months out is always all booked up within 20 minutes of each day. It's crazy. Thank goodness for redail! My advice is to start calling at 9:55am on the day two months before you want to go. For higher chances, I would get someone else to call at the same time.

When they day finally came, it almost seemed unreal. My husband and I spent two months talking about how great the food must be. I've imagine in my mind what the restaurant was like many times. The restaurant was a cute little old building that used to be a frech laundry. Across the streat was a small open area that was the French Laundry garden. This was where they planted their herbs and small vegetables. It was cute. When we went into the restaurant, the place was smaller than I expected. We went upstairs and got seated in a small room that fit about 4 tables.

I think we both hyped it up so much that our overall experince missed the "wow" factor. Not that it the food or experience was bad, but I think we just expected the to be wowed every step of the night. The food was still great and Thomas Keller's ability to combine the oddest foods together and make it taste great, was just amazing. We also expected the experience to be glamorous and romantic, but the rooms were small (so it was kind of loud)and surprisingly, folks that were eating there were not as dressed up as we were. Some women just wore capris and a shirt and men are required to wear a jacket, but ties are optional. I think my husband was the only one with a tie. When I pay $210 for my meal, which is alot, I guess I expected the diners to be more dressed up and the place to feel more romantic, intimate and overall just more shi shi. At least this was how I imagine the place to be in my head. The waiters were all very polite and nice. But for some reason they all spoke so softly. At times it was hard to hear them.

Even though the the hecf's tasting menu says it's a nine course meal, it was way more than 9 courses. Each course came out in a gigantic plate, but the amount of food was about the size of half a fist or smaller. Seems like so little food, but by the end of the night, we were stuffed. Dessert alone was about 4 courses. They made their own fudges and truffles, which were delicous. The papillions were excellent. I wanted to stuff some in my purse to take home. To top it off, they sent us home with some shortbread they made in the kitchen. What a nice treat.

I think my favorite dish of the night was the first course which was called Oysters and Pearls. I have no idea how Thomas Keller even thinks up these ocmbinations. It was pretty much tapioca with two oyster and a spoonful of cavier on top. When you taste each individual piece, the tapioca was tasteless, the cavier was too salty and the oysters, well they tasted like oysters. But when you combined all three of the ingredients, it was amazing. I think this was the dish that gave me that "wow" I was looking for. I'm going to have to try to recreate this one at home.

Overall I would say the good was excellent. Keller is a genius when it comes to creating different dishes. I just think that I would be best for newbies to go with out any expectations, especially those of you who have dined at other top notch restaurants.

My First Ride

This past weekend I rode my first registered bike ride up in Marin. It was the 2006 Marin Century & Mt. Tam Double Ride. Honestly I was really nervous before the ride since I had never rode more than 10-12 miles on flat roads. I was signed up for the 30 mile ride, which has a hill to climb. Here was the discription:

The Marin Half Metric Century route begins on flat to rolling terrain before you are greeted with your first challenge of the day, a 1.5 mile and 430 foot climb to the Big Rock summit of Lucas Valley. This is followed by a thrilling descent through the redwoods into the ranches and grasslands of West Marin. The route then winds north through relatively flat terrain past the small town of Nicasio. Just past Nicasio Square is the 1^st Rest Stop at the Nicasio School (opposite side of the road) at mile 12.

The route ten continues alongside Nicasio Reservoir to the junction of the Pt. Reyes – Petaluma Rd. at mile 15 where the course turns around and backtracks to the finish. Of course, you are welcome to stop again at the Nicasio School Rest Stop before you begin your climb back up Lucas Valley Rd. to Big Rock.

Needless to say after reading this, I didn't know if I could make it up the 1.5 mile climb. When we finally reached the climb, I had to stop three times to take a breather. Thank goodness my friend Megan was there with me as my motivator. Without her, I think I might have just turned around and went home. During my last stop up the climb, I really thought I was going to hurl. But after resting for about a minute, I was able to continue on.

Overall, it was definitely an interesting experience. There are over 200 riders there, all in very good shape. Kind of inspiring. We were there with 4 friends, some of which who were pretty hard core riders and now my husband is inspired to head out for more riding. I think I'll join him only on the easier rides. :)