Places I have visited, I have a lot more to see!

visited 31 states (62%)
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visited 21 countries (9.33%)


Thanks to this site for the maps

Wine Country

Heidelberg is in the Sonoma region. Nestled in a valley formed by the Russian River, the area is famous for their grape farms and wineries. Our hotel was called the H2 which was odd for me as my SHDR project uses the name H2 for the to-be named value hotel. H2 in Heidelberg was a very modern European style hotel run by very young people. The downstairs is a very chic restaurant and bar with the reception desk nestled into the bar. The rooms were very nice and Sally was in heaven. H2 was part of the tour package I chose. We awoke and went down for breakfast to be greeted by a trove of other cyclists all clothed in spandex. We wondered which group we would be riding with but with one gesture from the leader the group got up and left us alone in the restaurant. We realized they were not with the same tour group as us.

We made our way to Wine Country Bikes and met up with Jay our tour guide and one of the owners. It is now Tuesday their slowest day and we were told the couple that we were supposed to ride with canceled their reservation so we were going to have a private tour. Sally quickly told Jay all about our cycling abilities and he planned a route accordingly. We opted for the hybrid tandem since Jay was also on a hybrid. The ride out of the city was short and once into the valley Jay’s knowledge of grape growing, harvesting and wine making was very evident. He was a treasure for two wine novices. At each winery the staff or owners called out to him by his name. He engaged the staff asking about the harvest and was able to speak their language of grapes. At Bella, our favorite winery, they were sorting and washing their harvest of Zinfandel grapes. Jay was able to get the winemaker to agree for us to come into their area and sample some of the grapes. Remember the commercial where candy explodes in your mouth with flavor; this is what it was like as we bit into these perfectly ripened grapes. The grape eating was an experience in itself. We joined Bella’s club and then moved on stopping and sampling different wines.

At our least favorite winery we met a fun couple that was on our same schedule but they were driving. The husband swam from Alcatraz Island to the SF bay in an annual ritual on the day we were visiting the rock. While we were visiting with this couple Jay laid out an incredible spread of food for our lunch. Jay packs local goat cheese and crackers for the tastings but a driver brought out our lunch. The Granville grocery store made our lunch and it was delicious. As a final treat Jay had strawberries and chocolate paired with a nice red wine. Full as a tic as Sally would say; we pushed on past Raymond Burr’s winery and across town to Seghassio a nice Italian family winery. After joining their club and buying a couple of special reserve bottles our toured ended back in town. At the bike shop we were surprised to learn our package included a $150 credit at a hoity-toity restaurant in town. I went to look for a button down shirt at a local men’s clothier to find the cheapest shirt at $160. I threw on my already worn button down and off to a very nice dinner paired with a Russian River valley Pinot. Back at the hotel The iphone app still showed my phone had not left the rental office but with only 3% battery life my ability to track it was coming to an end. Day two of our biking adventure found just Sally and I on the hybrid tandem. Road construction blocked the normal pass to the other side of the valley so we took a scenic way which was perfect fast paced cycling for us. Believe it or not we were wined out and were out for detoxing ride but as we passed Moshi winery we remembered Jay saying this winery was in his top 3 in the area. Moshi was as Jay described. The pourer inside the winery, while new to the area, was very knowledgeable. An Apprentice winemaker from another winery came by and it was fascinating to hear them compare notes. Sally discovered to like “horse blanket” wines which are wines with Brettanomyces. She made friends with a couple from the Denver area that had biked out to the coast and back. At Moshi we hekd our ground and bought just a few bottles knowing that we went overboard the day before. During prohibition this area changed to tobacco growing and this side of the river was noted for their large tobacco drying barns that were now wineries. Very cool place for a bike ride. We showered at the bike store, cleaned up and then started the drive back to SF airport. We were finally were able to reach a lost and found agent who acknowledged having my phone. He explained what I needed to do to pick it up which was very easy during the rental car return. In hindsight my fear of an over inflated price for the wine tour was discredited. After experiencing how great it was and adding up all the perks we think we under paid for the experience. This was one of the best husband and wife trips we could have taken!

Redwood Forest

Ferndale was very quaint historic town with a lot of antique and artistry shopping. We found Mom a birthday present and shipped it from the little post office. We were to travel another 90 miles north to the Redwood forest but the locals told us to return how we came and follow the “Avenues of the Giants” a scenic rode that goes through massive Redwood stands. The drive was spectacular. We were in awe with each stand of trees we encountered. We would stop and take pictures and drive to the next grove until the sun was getting low in the sky. We pulled off the avenue and onto Hwy 111 to Heidelberg for our wine tour.

Wine Country via San Francisco

Sally has had a dream for years to visit “Wine Country” She did not know where or what region just somewhere near Sonoma. I did some research and found Wine Country Bikes in Healdsburg, CA specializing in tours via a bicycle. There were many options and knowing how important this was I chose a two day package with the 1st day guided and the second day on our own. I wanted to try a tandem so we paid the up-charge for the road bike tandem for both days. This was the focal point of our trip but the other sites we visited were just as memorable.

Day one had us flying into SF in time to watch the sunset from the plane for what seemed like an hour. We seemingly chased the sun across the Western US. We took the Bart train downtown to almost the last stop. It was a non-eventful ride where we got out was a little far from our hotel so we hiked a few blocks then realizing the hilss were a big obstacle we flagged down a cab to take us to the Hotel Beresford. The hotel was off the beaten path by a couple of blocks. It was built in the 1910. The front desk staff were nice and directed us to our street facing room. The hotel lacked AC so we opened the window to be greeted by the noises of local bar patrons visiting the attached hotel bar. The room was small with a bathroom that would only fit one. We decided it was fine and quaint. Our stomachs were empty after our 5.5hr coach flight. We hiked up the street to an art-deco bistro and had a fancy meal with our first wine of the trip. We walked around the area getting our bearings then retired for the night. The bar was really getting noisy now!

Saturday we had a quick carb loaded hotel breakfast and set off. We walked up to knob hill and grabbed a trolley; we bought a day ticket so we took it roundtrip enjoying the sites. It was early morning and there were very few if any other riders. We hopped off at the Sheraton and went inside and hooked up with the Friends of the SF public library tour group. Each day local volunteers take a walking tour around different parts of the city. We chose a mystery tour because it offered the possibility of my top three tours. Fisherman wharf, Little Italy or Chinatown. Today was Chinatown. The guide was a treasure trove of information and he set the stage of the tour with a quick 10 minute synopsis of the history of the town that became San Francisco. In Chinatown we went to a live market, saw locals hanging fish in their windows to dry, saw a fortune cookie factory and toured a temple. The amazing thing I took away was the massive Cisterns built under intersections that provided firefighters with water for specific sections of the city. Fire Hydrants were colored coded to indicate which cistern it was attached to. All of this was because earth quakes can destroy an interconnected pipe system that is used everywhere else. After the tour we walked around the homes that lined the hills overlooking the bay. We made our way to the wharf to watch the sea lions at the pier. They were the fun to watch, but the crowds were large along the wharf. We stumbled into a Biscoff store and ordered a coffee and a couple of cookies and we were off to see Lombard Street. Here is where we underestimated the hills. The walk to the Wharf was noticeably downhill which meant one thing…what goes down must go up??? We hiked and hiked and hiked through really nice neighborhoods finally getting to the top of Lombard. For me it was anti-climactic moment. I marveled at the million dollar houses that are right along the street but pity the owners that have to put up with all the tourists and their antics. That night I was awoken to Charlie horses in my legs from all the hill climbing. It had been a long time since I felt this level of muscle discomfort.

On Sunday we packed our bags and stored them with the front desk. We grabbed a cab to the Alcatraz fery and did the island tour in about 3 hours. It was a fascinating tour. We walked into town to catch a bus to the other side of town. We walked a few blocks to get to another bus line and watched the last four minutes of the Georgia game with a half-dressed female bar patron. The final bus took us out to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a fascinating visit reading about the history and the architectural marvels that make it so special. We walked half way across took some pictures then went back to the park to catch a bus back into town. While waiting I found an app that Bart provides that gives real time tracking for the next bus to arrive. Multiple busses come to this one stop but the #22 is the one we all were waiting for. Soon people realized I was tracking it and my phone became the hope for a lot of people around us. The bus took us within a block of our hotel so we jumped off grabbed our luggage and grabbed the next bus to the closest train station. In short we went to a Cal train station instead of the Bart station. It was a cool commuter train and we rode in the bicycle car but in the end we had to get a cab to the car rental center. While researching the cab rental location for the cabbie I realized Hertz was closed after 2pm on Sunday. To the airport we went to get a car with higher fees but that is what happens when one tries to be frugal. An hour outside of San Francisco I realized I left my phone on the bench waiting for our car to be brought to us. The Iphone app worked great showing its location through the day the phone never moved. We continued our drive north to Ferndale, CA. It was a long drive and we were 2-3 hours behind. I fought exhaustion as we rolled in around 10PM. The room was left unlocked and what was supposed to be a quaint inn was just a small motel. We crashed hard and slept solid since it was so quiet compared to our previous two nights sleeping in the city.

2013 Savannah Century

12 friends rented a cottage on Tybee Labor Day weekend.  Sunday was the Savannah Bike century which was a blast.  I was recovering well from my jet lag but came down with a stomach virus so no biking for me.  Seven riders started with one finishing the 56, two finishing the 75 and four finishing the 103.  Good turnout from the Team Peace wearing their Orange Cycle Jerseys.

I have to comment that the cottage turned out to be a very special place for our group to relax and catch-up.

We booked the cottage online from Mermaid Cottages; the cottage we chose was the Dutton-Waller cottage.  This cottage was built in the 1930s and is one of the few remaining original tybee cottages.  It is on the national historic register.  The cottage was advertised to sleep 8 but their are beds and couches for at least 6 more under the age of 21.  Mermaid Cottages were very easy to work with and made the stay very easy.  

Mom, Dad and Suzy came over Monday for their anniversary dinner.  A great labor day weekend wih friends and family.    

Find the translation mistake

Our visit to Qingdao was short. On the way to the airport our guide and driver took us through the city and past the big public tourist beach.  The picture below was not taken by me but was somewhat close to what we saw.  

The flight to Shanghai was delayed multiple times but one of my travel partners was a Delta black Diamond traveler and was able to get us in the China Eastern lounge where we could get snacks and drinks.   

There is a fair amount of mixed up translation, it is just amazing when it is so wrong.

Tsingtao beer festival

Sent from my iPhone

Gregg Wagner

More pictures to come...... Words will never explain what we experienced

I posted more pictures of the festival in the Google+ album mentioned in my previous post.  the only way I can describe the festival is to think of it as a giant state fair; but on a magnitude of 10x larger.  Everyone was having a good time and outside of the crowds we had no issues with safety.  Not having a local speaker with us was a hinderance as there was no English  except at the Paulaner and Carlsberg names.  The event had a very large toilet facility setup but our group enjoyed the festival just enough to keep our bladders in check to avoid a long wait at the bathroom.  

When the Japanese were in control they brought the tradition of drinking liquids out of bowls.  To this day many of the Chinese buy their beer in plastic bags to take home and drink out of a bowl.

China beach

Sent from my iPhone

Gregg Wagner

Took a one day trip to Quingdoa, china. This is a coastal town that has one of the few swimmable beaches. Not recommend for westerners. The city is known for its history in WWI and WW2. Quingdoa has been occupied by Germans and Japanese.

More to come as I only have my mobile devices

Water village

Today, Sunday, I organized a trip for 9 people to the Zhujiajiao Ancient water city. Zhujiajiao is an ancient water town well-known throughout the country, with a history of more than 1700 years.  There are not many Western tourists, this is where the Chinese come for time off.  I am told the little town is the best-preserved among the four ancient towns near Shanghai. Unique old bridges across  small rivers shaded by willow trees.  Bridges in the town are distinctive and old, built during Ming and Qing Dynasties.

 Without a local with us, the nine westerners opted to not try the local cuisine, we all packed protein bars and trail mix.  I did pay for three bean pods from a street vendor.  You dig out the seed/bean peel it to a white covering is exposed and eat it.  Many of us tried but not everyone in case it might make us sick.  So far all is good. 

Some of the food we skipped.

More photos can be found here

Shanghai trip 5

Back in China for a project kickoff. Second time being here in August. This year there is record heat and is hot ~ 35 - 40 Celsius . What a better way to quench the heat is with a cool drink.

Vietnamese Beer on ice for lunch at Pho Yummy

Scotch on a sphere

Dinner Friday night was wonderful at Lost Heaven restaurant down near the bund.  The cuisine was Yunnan Folk and was somewhat spicy. Chicken, Mussels, Pork and Beef dishes were served in a unique setting.  The only thing I disliked was the tofu.  Lunch Saturday was at a Vietnamese fast food restaurant, the mushrooms that ended up in my dish were not bad!  I am usually not a fan of them.   
  

GSMTR 2013 Windrock Park in Tennessee

Chance and I spent the weekend at Windrock park near Olive Springs, TN.  Great Smokey Trail Ride is one of the largest gatherings of Toyota 4x4 vehicles in the East Coast.  We spent a few days and nights wheeling but we also got in one of the best bike rides I have ever done.  

The ride below was "Epic" for flatlanders. 

More info about the ride can be found here.

5 Boro Bike Tour

A second cousin told Sally and I about a bike ride in NY city.  The ride goes through the five boroughs of NY City.  It is the largest bike event in the US.  Over 33,000 people participated in the one day event.  To get that many people to travel 40 miles within the city is quite a feat.  First the city agreed to shut down all vehicular traffic along the route.  That means no vehicles on Church st, 6th Ave, Long Island Expressway, QueensBoro expressway and five major bridges including the Verrazano.  Next the 5 Boro Tour secures security from NYPD, emergency services from NYFD and reserves five city parks for rest areas.  Amazing logistics, but after 36 years they have it down to a science. 

Getting ready to board the Staten Island Ferry

After floating the idea with our group, seven riders emerged with a total of 10 people from Orlando.  Sally's oldest sister and husband rode with their grown kids that live in NY. Our logistics pailed in comparison to what the tour had to do.  We took a 13 year old mini van and built an internal bike rack to secure 4 bikes.  We moved Chance's Yakima roof rack to the van getting all seven bikes on a single vehicle, leaving only the two front seats free.  Brandon, Chance and Stephanie became the drivers with only Brandon making a round trip.  With a stop at a friends house in DC the total drive time into NY with Friday traffic and rain In the south was 19+ hours.

Norman's mini van loaded up with just space for the driver and navigator. 

We made reservations at the Harbor House Bed and Breakfasts on Staten Island.  The location of this place was ideal, spectacular view of the Manhattan skyline from the front porch, the ride proceeds on the road in front of the house and there is a bike store within walking distance.  The best thing is the end of ride event which is a big party is 2 miles away from the BB. Mo is the manager and is very accommodating.  

   

Most of the Florida crew flew in on Friday and out on Monday.  Some saw Broadway shows, museums and Times Square but we all went to the 9-11 memorial.  The spire was hoisted to the top of the Freedom Tower on Friday giving us a perspective of its height.  The memorial plaza grounds were open but the museum was not.  It was quite emotional to relive that event and re-read about that eventful day.   

The ride for us started on Staten Island so we had a 3 mile ride to the ferry at 5:30 am which was quite cold. The 20 minute ride to Manhattan went by fast.

 The temperature was in the high forties with a stiff wind.  I was excited to be in the first pack thinking we would not be going too slow but with only three groups spread out in lower Manhattan math told me we would be riding with eleven thousand other cycling enthusiasts.  We stopped at a Duncan Donut for a biscuit and coffee along with everyone else.

 The ride started with patriotic music and the Star Spangled Banner and off we went.

 Map of ride is posted below. 

Detail Map can be found here

Event organizers had Cheerleaders, local bands/singers playing along the route.  One biker had two boom boxes strapped to his bike playing cycling themed music.  We all cracked-up off rolling off the ferry to "Back in the saddle again".    We cycled the length of Manhattan, into Harlem, Bronx, Queens and down through Brooklyn and ending on Staten Island.  5 Boros and Five bridges.

It was quite challenging to keep track of each other while riding even with custom designed shirts that Sally sourced for us.   I highly recommend customink.com.  Custom Ink offer many options, are very friendly and prefer customers to call in with questions.  We even received a hand written note thanking us for our business.  Next big ride we will be gluing mickey ears to our helmets.  Sally's family wore foam Statue of Liberty crowns.

More to come ....

2013 MS Bike ride "Citrus Tour"

Another great ride through the orange fields of Polk County. This year Kevin, Mathew, Sally and I did the 100 mile route on Saturday. Eddie, Chance, Debra, Jeremy and Jana did 50 miles. Sally suffered the most with a new seat that was not right for her. With the van at Bok tower Chance, Mathew and I headed back doing another 50 miles on Sunday. Amazing how this year the hills people have complained about really stood out.




 
 
 

   
 
 
 
 
 

The medical center loop morphed

On April 7th Kevin and Mathew did what I am referring to as the Mega Medical Center loop.  This 80+ mile ride is perfect primer for a flat florida century.  With St. Cloud at the mid-point and the shopping center at Narcoosee and LeeVista at the 3/4 mark; this is a great ride.  We also pass many other cyclists, usually going the other way.  Bike lanes for 90% of ride makes it a safer ride than being in the road.  On April 11th Sally, Mathew and myself did the ride and the details are below.  Realize we did have a moderate N-NW wind which slowed are progress coming up Narcoosee.

Travel home

I traveled with a medium large wheeled suitcase, a square duffel and my backpack.  Luggage does get misplaced on these international flights and if I found clothing that would fit in China it would be at the Gap or H&M! So I put two days of clothes in the duffle and carry that onboard as a back-up plan.  Weather this trip was typical Spring weather like Washington DC where nights were real cold and the days were in the 50's.  This required jackets and sweaters.  

Coming home I started the stopwatch on my antique smartphone once I left the hotel.  I walked to the line seven station and transferred to line two where the mag lift station was adjacent to.   I did not see an elevator so I had to drag my luggage up one flight of stairs and navigate multiple doors.  If you are a Shanghai team member and thinking about the Maglev only do it if you can manage your luggage on stairs.  From Airport to Hotel everything is downhill and easy.  Once at the Maglev station I paid my 50 RMB ticket ($8.10 as of May 2013).  Seems there is a 10RMB discount coming from the airport if you show your boarding pass. The train arrived as I was going up the escalator.  The train ride is maybe 20 minutes so the whole trip from hotel to airport is close to 45 minutes; about equal to a taxi ride which costs 100RMB.  Even though the taxi ride never goes above 100KMH and the train sometimes exceeds 300 KMH the taxi is more like an amusement ride.

Shanghai PVG airport is a dud with a poor United lounge and over prices shops.  The time went by fast and before long I was settling into my seat on yet another 777. After dinner was served my plan was to sleep just 4-6 hours and then stay up until my arrival in Orlando to start the process of resetting my internal clock.  When I awoke in the dark cabin and turned on the TV and saw 2.5 hrs left on the flight I realized I slept for more than 8 hours on a 13.5 hour flight.  DANG-IT!  The end of flight snack was served and I watched the Hobbitt instead of getting my work computer out.  Procrastination...

Have I mentioned before my disdain of the US Customs and Border Patrol organization.  Our plane filled their queue line and with only a hand full of agents I moved through the line in 40 minutes for a quick glance and stamp of my passport.  Ridiculous! Next was a customs stop to declare my "flea" market goods then re-united with luggage, rechecked, rescanned and off to Terminal one.   Total time maneuvering through the CBP mumbo-jumbo was over an hour.   

Sally had an emergency visit with a friend so I caught a cab home for $35 USD (9 miles) and stopped my watch on what my China colleagues would say was a good omen.  Lucky double 8 at the end of a 23 hour 11 minute and 11 seconds trip home.  This was 3 hours faster than going over because I had such a long layover in SF.  

The end of our Volvo Oversea Delivery (OSD) experience

 You can go back in the archives and find trip posts about our Oversea Delivery of our 2013 XC60 in December 2012.  The end note to this incredible experience was the long wait for the delivery.  I belive dropping the car off in between Christmas and New Year added to our delay.  Leaving the car in Copenhagen instead of the factory in Gotenburg added delivery time. A very large snow storm moving off the east coast delayed the Sapphire Queen Roll-On-Roll-Off cargo ship from making scheduled stops along the east coast.  Once the car was offloaded in Brunswick it would seem that the US office of E. H. Harms the importer used by Volvo went out of business.  Volvo worked out the issue by resupplying paperwork to US Customs but the delay was close to 3 weeks.   

• Ordered car 1st week of September 2012
• Financed the car in October 2012
• OSD trip December 2012
• Dropped car off in Copenhagen Denmark December 29th 2012
• January 16th 2013 car arrives at factory. Dealer in Copenhagen said it would ship from Denmark??
• January 25th car was loaded on ship
• February 8th a massive USA northeast snow storm delays RORO ship from making scheduled stops along east coast
• February 17th car was dropped off in Brunswick, GA
• March 6th after an inquiry regarding status the Volvo OSD team was working an issue
• March 8th Volvo USA claims US Customs is holding car waiting on paperwork
• March 21st picked up car from Central Florida Volvo dealer

Sally picked up the car and took it for an unexpected trip to Miami the next day with no issues.  While our XC60 was in the hands of Volvo for 60+ days it only had 11 miles added to its odometer. Within 24 hours of taking delivery Sally added 500. 

Even after the long delay I think all of the Wagner's would agree to do another OSD.  My hope is our kids will be buying their own car though....

Our snow covered XC60 in Salzburg, Austria.  It could be a long time before this Florida car sees snow again