Davis Ranch [Lee Overnight - Day 1]

Sunday morning, Sharon and I made a pilgrimage to Davis Ranch to get fall decorations. We have gone there for a car load of stuff 16 of the last 18 years [2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020]. We didn't go to Davis Ranch in 2016 when the fall dinner party was held at Sea Ranch or in 2017 due to our fall trip to New Engl@nd. One of my favorite pictures from those trips is here.

This year, we had Lee with us!

2016 Fall Dinner Party Day 4

Sharon had been fretting over the weather ever since she could see the fourteen forecast. Sharon was worried that the weekend was going to be cold and rainy. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the weather was very nice. We got a little bit of rain on Sunday morning. We woke up Monday morning to a steady rain. It rained off and on over the rest of the morning.

The Renterias headed home early. Afterwards, Sharon and I went out for a thirty minute run in the rain. Getting cleaned up, we started packing up; we had to be out of the Vista Del Mar house by 11 am. The Larkins and the Gainsleys both stopped by to say goodbye and headed out.

The Sanborns showed up about 10:40 am and we started loading up their truck. We pulled away just a little before 11 am. We dropped the key for the Kyuka house back in Gualala and headed back towards Sacramento.

We won't use the Vista Del Mar house again. While the master bedroom was nice, the kitchen was not good and needs to be substantially updated.

With the Sanborns in tow, Sharon, Janie, Liz and I stopped at the Hartford Winery. Noel had recommended this winery when we had him for dinner in September.

The winery recommended the Backyard in Forestville for a late lunch. I had a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich, while Sharon had Tim's burger. The food was very good.

Back in the car, we wound our way through Santa Rosa, down 101 to Petaluma, across 116 to 12 and then on to 80. I avoided 37. The traffic was actually a lot better than I expected, particularly through Davis and on to the causeway. Nevertheless, it was just after 6 pm by the time we got home.

I was an extraordinary weekend!

2016 Fall Dinner Party Day 3

After a couple of late nights, Sharon and I slept pretty late. Eventually, we wandered over the Kyuka house a little after 9 am. Donna served a great breakfast casserole for everyone.

The plan for the day was golf at the Sea Ranch Golf Links course. We had two foursomes. Sharon and I played with Gainsleys, while Joe and Rod played with Sanborns. The group headed to the golf course just before 10 am. We had tee times at 11 am and 11:10 am.

Using a number of mulligans, I ended up with a very, very liberally scored 98. Given that I haven't played since Rod's tournament in April, I actually felt like I struck the ball pretty well.

Sharon had worried about the weather for two weeks; it was supposed to rain on Sunday. It turned out to be a beautiful day. Additionally, we had the course completely to ourselves. We didn't see anyone else until a twosome came up behind us on the 17th hole. Donna dropped after the front nine and headed back to the house. Although Sharon talked about playing only 10 or 11 holes, she ended up playing the whole 18!

I played with Golfshot pro running on my watch. The watch gave me distances to the hole and allowed me to enter my score right on the watch. I didn't have to take the iPhone out of my pocket. I was very pleased with how it worked. It looks like there are a number of other features on the watch that I need to figure out how to use. I will post the Golfshot Pro scorecard in the next two weeks.

After getting cleaned up, I walked from Vista del Mar to Kyuka carrying Alexa.

Larkin and Gainsley cooked a great tri-tip for dinner.

The Renterias, Sharon, Janie and Liz ended up heading back to Vista del Mar house fairly early. I stayed and hung out with the group.

About 11:30 pm, I started walking back. Without a moon, it was pitch black. Using my iPhone as a flashlight, I found my way. I called Sharon and had her flash the lights in the house once I got close to make sure that I wasn't going into the wrong house!

2016 Fall Dinner Party Day 2

Sea Ranch is one of my favorite places in the world to run. Heading out about 8 am, I ended up running from the Vista Del Mar house to the Sea Ranch Lodge and back. In total, I covered almost 8 miles. A map of our bike ride is here.

Phil made an early lunch about 11 am for the group at the Kyuka house, including steak and chicken. Afterwards, we got organized for a bike ride. Phil and the Renterias rented bikes like we did in February, while the Heringers, Larkins and Gainsleys all dragged bikes with them. In total, we had nine people on the bike ride.

We road north through Sea Ranch for about 4 miles and then turned back around. Sharon dropped off at this point. The rest of us rode all the way to the Sea Ranch Lodge. The group stopped for a drink at the bar in the lodge.

I headed back by myself to get ready to help Sharon with dinner. I enjoyed the chance to put my head down and roll on the way back.

In total, we covered about 17.5 miles. It was a great ride. I was surprised by the amount of dirt trail there was going south towards the lodge.

Sharon and I got cleaned up for dinner and dragged everything over to the Kyuka house. It had a much better kitchen.

Sharon made a great Flemish dinner. The menu is here! The main dishes were mussels followed by rabbit. We had a cake that I picked up on Thursday and we dragged over to the coast; the cake was very, very good.


I had brought Alexa with us on the trip. The surprise of the weekend was how much of a kick everyone got out of requesting songs. After a 8 mile run and a 17 mile bike ride, I started to fade by the end of the evening.

Eventually, we wandered back to the Vista Del Mar house. Rod and Julie and Sharon and I finished the night in the hot tub. It was a very late night...

2016 Fall Dinner Party Day 1

Last summer, Sharon started floating the idea of moving the fall dinner party to Sea Ranch as part of celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. Frankly, I never thought that she would be able to pull it off, but she did. We ended up getting the Larkins, Gainsleys, Sanborns, Renterias, Janie and Liz all together for a long weekend on the coast!

Liz, Janie and the Sanborns met us at our house in Carmichael about 8:30 am. We loaded Phil's truck up with food, drinks, luggage and golf clubs. I put the bikes on top of the Lexus. With Liz and Janie riding with Sharon and I, we rolled out about 9:15 am. We made a quick stop at Raley's for dry ice for the cake.

The plan was to meet the rest of the group at the Bouchaine Winery. We had a tasting and ate lunch on the back patio. Sharon and Janie are both wine club members at Bouchaine...


From there, we headed to Bodega Bay. The group made a quick stop at Tides Wharf Fish Market for some smoked salmon.

We finally rolled into Gualala about 3:40 pm. We had to stop and pick up the key for one of the houses.

Everyone got settled into the two houses. Janie, Liz and the Renterias stayed with us at a house called Vista Del Mar. The Sanborns, Larkins and Gainsley stayed at a house called Kyuka. The two houses were probably less an a 1/3 of a mile part, but the road didn't go through. As a result, we had to go back to Highway 1 to drive back and forth between the two houses. After we got settled in, I walked between the two houses in about 7 1/2 minutes.

The Renterias made dinner for everyone at Vista Del Mar. Julie served a great chili verde. After dinner, Sharon got everyone to play Cards Against Humanity.

Rod and I finished the night in the hot tub. It was after midnight before we finally call it a night.