day 1 chico & day 2 fortuna, california

We've finally taken off! On our first day we made about 250 miles up through the wine country, Lake Barriessa, through California's rolling hills, ending in Chico. It was a beautiful day for riding with only sporadic rain showers toward the end of the day. We arrived in Chico late afternoon and drove straight to the new restaurant Crush 210 belonging to our friend Carson that we met aboard s/v Sundance w Mike while in Vava'u two years ago. It seems as though Carson has been a very busy boy since we last saw him in Vava'u! He and his partners have built an astonishing new upper-class restaurant in the center of downtown Chico. It's chic and swanky. They've really pulled together a stylish, copper-infused, retro, San Francisco-feeling place w an American/Italian menu and an extensive wine list. Well done, guys! Our wonderful meal helped diffuse some of the effects of the mass quantities of wine we consumed together w Carson and his sweetheart Amber. Good times w good friends. After breakfast this morning with those guys, we pushed off northwest down one of the best driving roads we've ever experienced: HWY 36 to Fortuna. Along the way we got our first sights of the California redwood trees that we've been longing for. Snow still clings by the side of the road. It was gorgeous, but the words 'I can't feel my fingers' rang through each of our helmet's headsets. Eventually we found ourselves thawing out while sharing sizzling rice soup in Fortuna before retiring to our very expensive 1st class presidential suite at the Travel Lodge, room 124. ***what an amazing beautiful ride!***
Maybe our Fortuna fortune cookie says it all: 'you see and are destined for bold and exciting adventures'