For the past several years, I have been traveling up to my folks’ place in Somerset (Sierra foothills area near Placerville) every Memorial Day weekend with a few folks in tow to enjoy the area. Gratefully, this past weekend would prove to be another one for the memory books and I would be returning in the wind… with one extra wheel but there nonetheless.
I waffled back and forth about riding the Spyder up… was I ready, would I have the energy, how would it be to ride, etc. And then I just said, “Self, just get on the damn thing and ride it and find out!” And so I did… leaving the Bay Area around noon, with CC & Bill along, which proved to be a good idea as we missed the majority of the traffic getting out of town for the long weekend.
It was an amazingly beautiful day… temps were a perfect cool, skies were blue, and those big fluffy clouds that you think you could jump and bounce on dotted the skies. And as it happens this time of year, the green hills have all but vanished, replaced by the golden brown of summer to come.
We made a pit stop in Plymouth to pick up a few things at the market and noticed this group across the street well into their celebration mode for the weekend!
And this window sticker couldn’t help but catch my eye… supposed to be something about an engine type… riiiiiggghhhhttt…
I found just how much you can fit in that front trunk of the Spyder… what you can’t see is my rather large emergency kit (tire plugs, inflator, first aid supplies) and two bottles of wine in additional to the beer, wine coolers, donettes, and flowers for my mum…
One of my favorite little spots is D’Agostini Pond along Mt. Aukum Rd./E16. Every time I have stopped there has been idyllic and stunning… this day would be no different and would afford my first “posed” shot with the new machine…
Taking our time, we finally came to the little road down the lane to my folks’ property… there is a horse ranch as you first come into the area and the meadows were green and still filled with wildflowers… summer had not quite hit here yet… kind of like a piece of the world that time forgot for a bit…
Others arrived over the next few hours and after our first meal of the weekend, it was decided to take a leisurely stroll to stretch our legs… glass of wine, check… good friends, check… attack goat for protection, check!!
Never mind… you guys walk too far for me. I’ll stay here and watch the house for ya…
The fields were still awash in lupine, poppies, and other wildflowers…
Dusk fell and the sky changed to a deep blue with the tree branches making stark patterns against it… I just stood there taking in that perfect moment as the crickets gently chirped their night music…
The next day dawned and more folks arrived… as a thank you to my folks for their continued hospitality over the years, we deemed Saturday a “work” day to help around the property with weed whacking, mowing, and anything else deemed worthy of doing…
Ed gives a weed whacker lesson to the masses…
And then set them upon the teeming mass of overgrowth…
Ed gets Farmer Nat up to speed on the John Deere mower… she was a mowing fool and we didn’t see much of her for the next few hours as she mowed down hip high growth all over the property…
Dana and the goat kept busy trying to read each other’s mind…
And Mike came to join us for the day and tackle the back orchard, lawnmower a’mowin’…
Chia Mike!
More lupine that escaped getting whacked…
We took a lunch break and sat on the deck engaging in a little girl talk…
Scott not so slyly eavesdropped… Did someone say girl talk??
As more folks arrived, the front of the house looked a bit like a motorcycle nirvana… a little bit of everything for everyone!
Dorothy tries the CanAm on for size… we’ve decided that instead of wearing purple hats when we get “old”, we’ll wear CanAm Spyders instead!!
Ed needed to scoot into town to get some more ice and looked at me with eyebrows raised high and those dimples a’dimplin’… can I, can I?? Of course!!!
Geoff was getting sunstroke so Dorothy kindly lent him her hat… doesn’t he look cute???
Damn, my head’s hot!!
Gimme back my hat, Cupcake, you’re on your own.
Ed charmed the ladies with a story…
Patrick and Stevie drove up to join us for dinner…
We traipsed out to pay homage at Indian Rock…
And then it was time for what everyone really comes up here for… Ed’s ribs!!
After dinner, we celebrated the May babies…
I waffled back and forth about riding the Spyder up… was I ready, would I have the energy, how would it be to ride, etc. And then I just said, “Self, just get on the damn thing and ride it and find out!” And so I did… leaving the Bay Area around noon, with CC & Bill along, which proved to be a good idea as we missed the majority of the traffic getting out of town for the long weekend.
It was an amazingly beautiful day… temps were a perfect cool, skies were blue, and those big fluffy clouds that you think you could jump and bounce on dotted the skies. And as it happens this time of year, the green hills have all but vanished, replaced by the golden brown of summer to come.
We made a pit stop in Plymouth to pick up a few things at the market and noticed this group across the street well into their celebration mode for the weekend!
And this window sticker couldn’t help but catch my eye… supposed to be something about an engine type… riiiiiggghhhhttt…
I found just how much you can fit in that front trunk of the Spyder… what you can’t see is my rather large emergency kit (tire plugs, inflator, first aid supplies) and two bottles of wine in additional to the beer, wine coolers, donettes, and flowers for my mum…
One of my favorite little spots is D’Agostini Pond along Mt. Aukum Rd./E16. Every time I have stopped there has been idyllic and stunning… this day would be no different and would afford my first “posed” shot with the new machine…
Taking our time, we finally came to the little road down the lane to my folks’ property… there is a horse ranch as you first come into the area and the meadows were green and still filled with wildflowers… summer had not quite hit here yet… kind of like a piece of the world that time forgot for a bit…
Others arrived over the next few hours and after our first meal of the weekend, it was decided to take a leisurely stroll to stretch our legs… glass of wine, check… good friends, check… attack goat for protection, check!!
Never mind… you guys walk too far for me. I’ll stay here and watch the house for ya…
The fields were still awash in lupine, poppies, and other wildflowers…
Dusk fell and the sky changed to a deep blue with the tree branches making stark patterns against it… I just stood there taking in that perfect moment as the crickets gently chirped their night music…
The next day dawned and more folks arrived… as a thank you to my folks for their continued hospitality over the years, we deemed Saturday a “work” day to help around the property with weed whacking, mowing, and anything else deemed worthy of doing…
Ed gives a weed whacker lesson to the masses…
And then set them upon the teeming mass of overgrowth…
Ed gets Farmer Nat up to speed on the John Deere mower… she was a mowing fool and we didn’t see much of her for the next few hours as she mowed down hip high growth all over the property…
Dana and the goat kept busy trying to read each other’s mind…
And Mike came to join us for the day and tackle the back orchard, lawnmower a’mowin’…
Chia Mike!
More lupine that escaped getting whacked…
We took a lunch break and sat on the deck engaging in a little girl talk…
Scott not so slyly eavesdropped… Did someone say girl talk??
As more folks arrived, the front of the house looked a bit like a motorcycle nirvana… a little bit of everything for everyone!
Dorothy tries the CanAm on for size… we’ve decided that instead of wearing purple hats when we get “old”, we’ll wear CanAm Spyders instead!!
Ed needed to scoot into town to get some more ice and looked at me with eyebrows raised high and those dimples a’dimplin’… can I, can I?? Of course!!!
Geoff was getting sunstroke so Dorothy kindly lent him her hat… doesn’t he look cute???
Damn, my head’s hot!!
Gimme back my hat, Cupcake, you’re on your own.
Ed charmed the ladies with a story…
Patrick and Stevie drove up to join us for dinner…
We traipsed out to pay homage at Indian Rock…
And then it was time for what everyone really comes up here for… Ed’s ribs!!
After dinner, we celebrated the May babies…
