thursday

Today's drive was an abbreviated one, because I ran out of time and couldn't make it down to Hwy 9... it will have to wait for another day. I needed to finish getting the Spyder ready for the track day tomorrow, do an oil change etc., and so I only had time for a brief drive up what I call my private test loop: Felter and Sierra, up in the hills over Milpitas and San Jose.

I did see some interesting things out there, but unfortunately I didn't have my digital camera with me so I only snapped a few with my cell phone. Some of them didn't turn out well, so I only have a few to share.


The road twists and turns up in the hills and offers some wonderful views of San Jose and the South Bay. But it narrows down to one lane in parts and has some precipitous drops right off the edge of the road, so you have to take it easy here.






At one point I saw something pretty bizarre: it looks like someone left their engine by the side of the road. Also along the drive I saw a family of turkeys, a mommy and daddy turkey led a few baby turkeys across the road in front of me. I took some pics of these but wouldn't it be just my luck, they didn't come out.

Tomorrow I wrap up the week of drives with the ultimate drive -- a trip up to Thunderhill Raceway where I get to push the Spyder to the limit.

wednesday

Today's drive was relatively short but satisfying. The road of the day: Highway 35, also known as Skyline Blvd. This strip of road runs along the crestline of the coastal mountains, running from Hwy 92 near Half Moon Bay down to Hwy 9 in Saratoga. The route is peppered with vista points and turnouts where you can look down and see fantastic views of the bay area on one side, and the cool blue Pacific coast on the other side. The road quality is pretty good for most of the way and the curves are more gentle so this is a good road for finicky passengers and people prone to car-sickness, and you see a lot more sightseers as opposed to hardcore corner-carving enthusiasts.

Well after yesterday's little adventures, today's journey was comparatively uneventful. I ran out of time so I did not get to cruise Hwy 9 but perhaps I will pick up where I left off tomorrow and work my way down to Santa Cruz. Without further ado here are some of my pics.













see more of the Wednesday drive photos here.

tuesday

Day 2 of the inaugural Summer Drive Week yielded another spectacular day of driving and sightseeing along some of the Bay Area's most remote backroads. For today's drive I selected Highway 130, the drive up and over Mt. Hamilton. My ride for this journey is the Lexus IS350. As with all the other posts, click on the photo thumbnails for a larger view.

The drive up to Mt. Hamilton begins in East San Jose, heading up some back country roads that are probably over 150 years old.

They started as an old trail up to the 4200 ft peak where the University of California built the Lick Observatory back in the 1880s. The Observatory remains open to this day, and is open to visitors with daily tours. The roads are narrow and super twisty, with multiple hairpins and switchbacks as it winds its way up the mountain. And mere feet away from the edge of the road, the ground drops away in steep sheer edges. The vistas of the bay area below are breath-taking, but sight seeing is best left to passengers because the driver definitely has his or her hands full. Many a motorist, motorcyclist or bicyclist has fallen victim to this road, and sometimes their mistake or lapse of concentration is fatal. You definitely have to respect this road, and navigate your way up carefully.

When I got up to the Observatory I saw this old school VW Beetle parked there and just had to snap it. It really set the scene and you could imagine the place looking pretty much the same some 40 years ago.

There's a gift shop at the Observatory and I had to stop in and check it out, and chat briefly with the lady who runs it. She told me that it snows up on Mt. Hamilton nearly every year, and the postcards on display showed the whole area lightly coated in white snow -- a stark contrast to what it was like today, with temps in the high 80s. I picked up a few postcards to bring home, some striking night and evening photos taken by a local photographer. If you go to her website (www.lauriehatch.com) the first photo on the page shows a lightning strike near the telescope dome -- that's one of the cards I bought.

Setting off down the other side of the mountain, the road's name changes to San Antonio Valley Rd. Slightly less treacherous than the San Jose side, it's still a winding and steep descent.

Shortly after after leaving the Observatory I spot a bicyclist on his way up, and he flags me. I roll down my window and see if he is allright. The look on his face is one of exhaustion and resignation. "I can't make it," he murmurs. "How much further is it?" Not far, I tell him, no more than 2 miles. But it's all uphill. I offer to take him back up there, but he declines, choosing to walk his bike the rest of the way up. He says his friends are ahead of him, and they will probably come back to pick him up in their truck if he doesn't catch up to them. I make sure he has water, and leave him to face the rest of his daunting climb. I can't help but feel a little guilty pulling away, the cool AC blowing in my face, my butt settling into the plush leather seats, groovy chill music softly emanating from my 14 speakers. And so I continue my descent into the valley of nowhere.

It's literally the middle of nowhere. It's the largely undeveloped, unpopulated expanse of land that lies east of San Jose, largely inaccessible due to the imposing Mt. Hamilton that looms behind you. Once I descend into the valley the road flattens out and there are fields and meadows where cows lazily graze. I stopped and snapped a few of them. One of them seemed to stare at me and my car in amazement before turning its back on me and walking off into the distance.

Somewhere along the way down the mountain, my GPS satellite navigation system seemed to lose focus on the task at hand -- telling me how far to go to my next destination. In this case it is the Concannon winery and vineyards up in Livermore.

Believe it or not, the road twists and turns its way through nothingness, changes its name a few times and eventually takes you up to Livermore. That's fine, I know the route because I've driven it before. But I started my drive with only a half tank of gas, and I may have miscalculated the amount of fuel needed to make it back to civilization. Using the voice navigation commands as I continue my drive, I ask the system to show me the nearest gas station. The calm motherly voice informs me, "No selected destination found around here." Fantastic. My onboard computer tells me I have about 40 miles worth of gas remaining, and a few minutes later I pass a small sign that says Livermore is 31 miles away. It's going to be kinda close. Time to stop sightseeing, and stopping at every curve to snap a photo with the motor running. Time to stop downshifting and flooring the gas exiting every turn. I even shut off the AC to try and eke out a few extra MPG and start tackling the curves with a maintain-my-momentum strategy. Less braking, less acceleration, try to coast my way down the hills as much as possible.

I start thinking about contingency plans. Flag down a passing car and ask for help? What cars? The road is deserted and it might be hours before another one passes through. Find a residence or ranch of some sort, and hope they have some spare gas? There's barely anything out here. As a last resort I could call Lexus or AAA and they could send a tow truck out with a gallon or two of gas -- but out here I don't know if my cell phone has any signal from the network. Man, it's getting hot in here.

As I continue to make my way through the canyons, I notice painted numbers on the road. And the numbers seem to be decreasing. 19. Then 18. 15. If my hunch is correct these are mile markers. But markers from what? What lies at mile 0? The beginning of civilization, and the prospect of a gas station, or some historical landmark still out in the boonies? The low fuel light on my dashboard comes on.

At long last I reach an intersection and once again call upon my navi to find a gas station. This time I am rewarded with a multitude of gas station icons, and I gratefully select one. Running on fumes, I pull into a 76 and tank up my thirsty steed.

Petrochemical needs fulfilled, I find my way back to the Concannon winery. Unfortunately I have arrived shortly after the tasting room has closed, and so I take a few snaps of the nice picnic area and vineyards, and head for home.

All these photos and more are available to view here: http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=2104855868

monday

Today marks the kickoff of my Summer Drive 2006 -- a week of drives through the Bay Area's greatest sports car roads. My ride today: the MR2 Spyder, which sports fresh new Toyo T1R tires begging to be scrubbed.

For the first day, I chose a modestly brief ride through the East Bay hills. From Fremont a short drive through the sweepers of Niles Canyon takes me to Palomares Rd, which winds up to Castro Valley.

From there I find my way to Redwood Rd, a set of gently winding curves up into the hills behind San Leandro and Oakland. An easy to miss sharp turn onto Pinehurst Rd takes me into a secluded redwood forest where the trees tower above me, blotting out much of the sunlight even on the sunniest of summer days. In the middle of the redwoods sits what must be one of the nicest locations for a post office in the Bay Area. A small creek flows right past it and I stop to admire it in the shade of the very tall trees. The building proudly informs you that you have found your way to Canyon, CA.

And then, because it was altogether too short, I turned around and drove back down the way I came, taking in the views and fresh air once more.

At the end of my drive, I noticed something caught in the front grille of my Spyder. A colorful butterfly had fallen victim to my speeding arachnid. It was sad, beautiful and poetic all at once.

For more photos from today's drive visit my Imagestation album:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2104855868

variation

Another weigh-in this morning; I am now at -8 pounds from my starting weight. People are starting to say I look thinner, I'm not sure whether or not to believe that. Perhaps the sad look on my face is what makes people think I am thinner. But not to worry, things are looking up for me now! It's the turning point in my recovery. I had my first meal of solid food last night, and I am happily back to eating some normal foods, albeit at a relatively slow and careful pace. I am chewing on the right side of my mouth, very mindful not to get any sharp or hard pieces of food over into the left side where it could cause some pain and/or damage. I can also feel some strands of the stitches with my tongue which can be annoying. But hey I am just glad to be eating chicken and beef again. I've had just about all the jook, flan and mashed potatoes that I can stand for a while.

People work towards a goal a little faster with the appropriate motivation, so for me it's all about looking forward to a good burger and some fries again. It seems the battle to build the ultimate burger is an ongoing one, and it's not just about bigger, but also better. With that in mind, I submit for your review, a new $100 burger patty created in Florida, crafted from the most expensive beef from the U.S., Japan and Argentina.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/100_burger


It's only a modest 20 ounces in size so it doesn't pose a threat to the size kings from Fuddruckers or Denny's Beer Barrell Pub, but it must be pretty high up there on the flavor scale. It's offered at a country club in Boca Raton where the price of membership tops $40,000. Crap, that's a bit much for me, I just want a taste of the burger. You think if I hung out in the parking lot of the country club, I could wait for a member to pass by and see if he would be willing to bring me out a piece of the burger? "Pssst, hey buddy, give you $50 to let me try some of your burger." Well when I am fully recovered, I'll probably just have a homemade burger party and roll up some nice fat patties myself. That will be tasty enough to tide me over until I find myself on the east coast within range of one of these burger champions.