Go West Young Man...to Seattle - Part 3 We enjoyed dinner at the Top of the Hilton where there is intimate dining and stunning views of the city below, especially at night, and enjoyed fresh salmon, scallops and shrimp.  I had barely finished dinner when a major case of the "tireds" hit me full force...
	Go West Young Man...to Seattle - Part 2 Halfway through Montana, I began to notice a subtle change in the landscape: geologic features called buttes began to appear: isolated hills with steep, often vertical sides and small flat tops, formed by erosion when a cap of hard rock, often of volcanic origin, covers a layer of softer rock that is easily worn away.  This is prime territory for dinosaur fossils...
	Go West Young Man...to Seattle - Part I Descending the escalator to the below-street-level terminal, excitement mounted as we watched hundreds of people scurrying about, trying to locate their departing trains or arriving friends.  After a quick stop at the kiosk for our tickets, we passed through frosted-glass doors and into the Executive Lounge (reserved for sleeping car passengers only), where we checked in...
	Sausalito My last visit to Sausalito was many years ago when my sister brought my mother and me there one sunny day to enjoy an incredible breakfast followed by some shopping.  Consisting of some indescribably delicious Eggs Benedict at a marvelous hotel called the Miramar, up on the hill and overlooking the bay, it was a scene almost right out of a movie...
	Wine Tasting in Sonoma Valley - Part III Visiting Sonoma-Cutrer ... It was going to be an incredibly interesting afternoon.  Our first stop was in the vineyards where Beth demonstrated the art of vine pruning, informing us that the entire vineyard is pruned in such a fashion... by hand!  Asking if we had remembered what we had just learned, she then handed the pruning shears first to me  (03/08)
	Wine Tasting in Sonoma Valley - Part II Visiting the Tasting Rooms of Chalk Hill and Korbel ...The scenery – and the geography – was immediately and noticeably different from the region we had just visited: giant redwood trees began to appear, along with ferns and other, lush vegetation in the lower-lying areas. (02/08)
	Wine Tasting in Sonoma Valley - Part I Visiting the Tasting Rooms of Gloria Ferrer and St Francis ...We turned east onto Route 37, skirting San Pablo Bay, and then headed north on Route 121 to our first stop: the Gloria Ferrer Winery in the Carneros wine district (southern end) of Sonoma Valley. (01/08)
	Carmel Valley Wine Tasting - It was a perfect day to embark on a little excursion, so we headed east, along Carmel Valley Road, toward the village of Carmel Valley in Monterey County. Our chosen destinations were three wine tasting rooms there: Bernardus, Heller and Joullian... More about Carmel Valley, CA
	Wines of Santa Barbara We sailed down the other side of the hill and past Lake Cachuma, Santa Ynez and made a brief stop in the small town of Los Olivos where we bought a light snack at a local store and relaxed at an outdoor table, just enjoying the day, the weather and some conversation on a delightfully perfect morning... More about Santa Barbara, CA
	On the Coast in Oxnard Oxnard is: "at the western edge of the fertile Oxnard Plain, and is one of the world's most important agricultural centers, with its distinction as the strawberry and lima bean capital." There is even a Strawberry Triathlon in March and  California Strawberry Festival in May to celebrate the delectable treat. More about Oxnard, CA

	I'm just an ordinary guy with a taste for great food. I have had the good fortune to have dined at restaurants across much of the country, from Florida to Maine to California - some very fine and some not so fine.  As always, the words on these pages are simply the result of my dining experiences; they are not embellished in any way and they are the truth.  No one knows when I will join them for dinner, therefore my experiences would be as yours would if you walked in off the street. I hope that they will help you to determine just where you dine this evening or this weekend. Bon appetite! --
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA	Baja Cantina California Market Mission Ranch The Wagon Wheel
Oxnard, CA	Tierra Sur