Lake Tahoe and Yosemite

5th September

All good things should be extended, so we have extended our trip!

We had to skip this Friday afternoon's activities because our friends See Hack and Han are taking us to Lake Tahoe.  So we were the last to leave Meadowood.  Lake Tahoe is a 4 hour drive from Napa Valley.  

The lake is a beautiful thing as we can see here.  The lake straddles Nevada and California.  

The elevation for the next two days is going to be around 9,000 American feet or over 4,000 metric metres.  Luckily it was a warm September, no ice or snow up here.

We stayed on the Nevada side.  Casinos are a mixed blessing to the area, I just want to remember Lake Tahoe differently, so no pics of them.

Dinner was at the Chart House Seafood restaurant.  I had the Spicy Ahi Tuna ( Yellow Fin) with wasabi mash and a Ichthyosaur IPA made in Sparks City, near Reno.  Locals say "give me an icky".

The Icky is the state fossil.

6th September

The next morning we made our way to the North side of Lake Tahoe.

Then we drove alongside the Sierra Nevada mountain range through DEATH VALLEY - muah haha.  Sierra Nevada means snowy range, but perhaps not this time of the year.  Marcus and I drove through the Spain version in Andalucia on our way to Granada in 2012.

We went past Lake Mono, which doesn't drain into a river or stream.  The water just evaporates leaving all the dissolved minerals behind.  So it became heavily salted and alkali fortified.  If you fell in, you would not drown and come out very clean too.

Lake Mono is at the west entry to Yosemite National Park.  Our first stop in Yosemite was for a cheese burger in a grill cafe - only in America!

Yosemite is full of pretty meadows, and rippling streams.

Rock climbers.

Then we drove towards Yosemite Valley and Glacier Point where all the key granite landmarks were awesome and appropriately admired.

They give the granite peaks names such a El Capitan, 3 Sisters and Half Dome.  You guys can take a guess.

We'd been travelling for 14 hours and about 800 km from Lake Tahoe to Yosemite and back to Fremont.  A quick Thai dinner at Merced, before we finally arrived at See Hack and Han's place in Fremont.

Napa Valley

3rd September

Apart from a hosted dinner, we had a free day to do what we wished.  Some went outlet mall shopping, others to Fishermans Wharf or shopping around Union Square.

We were invited to a band try-out at Spotify that afternoon.  They are based on Market Street, in the Tenderloin area.  After a couple drinks on the rooftop, we left, the music was too loud, although we appreciated the invite to hang out with the young folks there.

Jo hosted the dinner that night at the Town Hall restaurant.  The food was American and very good.  The menus had our names printed on it.

After that we ended up in the The View Lounge at the Marriot.  More beverages were consumed, but I left a bit earlier at half past midnight.

4th September

Today we took a 1.30 hour drive to Napa Valley for some wine tasting at Raymond wine and V.Sattui vineyards.  

The Raymond tasting was interesting and the quantities generous, they offered us wine in the various raw stages of fermentation.   

And I learned that you can talk about Carbenet Sauvignon for hours (or listen for hours depending on your POV).

The venue in both places were very scenic and the weather was sunny.  We were also very happy at V. Sattui where lunch was served to a famished bus load of slighty morning drunk people.

We wasted a bit of time at St. Helena township when most of us wanted a nanny nap at our hotel.    Still I found a Nazi VW beetle with a radial engine to shoot. 

Accomodation that night was at the expansive golf, tennis and croquet resort Meadowood, St Helena. The resort is spread over 250 acres.

The gala dinner was at the Castello di Amorosa.  A vineyard with a 141,000 sq feet castle which took 15 years to plan and another 15 years to build. It was opened in 2007.

We were warmly welcomed by these distinguished-looking gentlemen.  

And the management team recognised the Achievers on stage.

There was a fire-eating and juggling performance.  

The dashing Italian man from the cruise was again spotted in the crowd, this time with an alluring lady in a red dress.  So alluring, she made everything around her colourless.

Dinner was in the basement where some of the Government team sat together.  

The high standards so far were again maintained - good food, wine, company and venue.

The after-party was at the Cantina in St. Helena.  Wisdom prevailed in my case, and we retired back to our chalet, to give the various internal organs some recovery time.

A 36 Hour Monday

So this is my first Super Achiever trip with Spark Digital, travelling with Wang Theng and about 70 of my collegues.

1st September

We arrived in San Francisco at noon on Monday having already gone through 24 hours of NZ Monday. If I included the next 12 hours of San Franciscan Monday, it will be a 36 hour Monday.

Update:  It appears my time zone differential equation is slightly off.  The actual addition should be 19 hours making it a 43 hour Monday.  Thank you Simon Gilliespie.

Most of us were slightly haggard from the fight because it was cold on the plane and turbulence for some of the flight.  With tail winds up to 200km/h we were early into SFO.  There were no queues at immigration plus the absence of traffic due to Labor Monday, we were at the Palace Hotel by 1.30pm.  

This took the Events Team and hotel staff by surprise, because some of the rooms were not ready.  It took most of the afternoon, for some, to get room sorted and bags brought to the right place.

First event was a cruise and dinner around the Bay.  We were taken there by a faux SF cable car which was really a bus underneath.

We had a band, Ravioli dinner and drinks on the boat.  The twilight scene was very nice, and I managed to catch a few patriotic shots of the American flag backlit by the setting sun.

I also spotted this handsome Italian man on the boat.

After this we were returned to the hotel.  While some retired, the hardier ones took positions in the Pied Piper Bar at the hotel to really finish off the evening and themselves.  There are some amazing paintings in this bar, and the price of drinks there is a small price for admission.

2nd September

Wang Theng and I booked for the Foodie Tour today.  A nice young lady Corrinne from Avital Tours was our guide, and she specialises in the Mission District Food Tour.

It was a small group and there was Jo, Richard, Daryl, Oona, Ian and us.

We learned about the San Francisco history and food scene while meeting the restaurant owners, chefs, industry experts and of course, eating our way through the neighborhood! 

We walk around the Mission District and stopped by these shops to sample their specialities.

Craftsman & Wolves: The Rebel Within - a bacon and tomato muffin with a soft boiled egg inside.

Bi Rite Market: Dry Creek peach, Somerset peach

Gracias Madre: Quesadilla de Camote paired with house made Sangria

Mission Cheese: Altbier from Hanger 24, paired with Classico goat gouda from Tumalo Farms (OR) and Pleasant Ridge Reserve from Uplands Cheese (WI).   I ate the cheese and drank the beer before I remembered to take a photo.  So the warm glow of the light bulb is all I can show for this stop.

Dandelion Chocolate: Single Origin brownie flight L-R Equador, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar.  They flavour their chocolate by using cocoa varieties and roasting techniques rather than additives.  So sugar and cocoa are the only ingredients.  All the tasting by employees makes it necessary for them to have a really good dental plan, and cardiologist.

The other features of this tour were the Mission Dolores church;

and some fabulous murals, especially in this lane between Valencia and Mission;

and at the Womens Centre.   

Later that evening we joined the Hartendorps for a craft beer session at Mikkeller Bar on Mason.

We could not decide where to eat, so it was off to Annabelle's on 4th Street, my standby restaurant when indecision strikes.

Then it was coffee and dessert (for some) at the The View Lounge at Marriotts across the street from Annabelle's.