The farmland rolls away as far as the eye can see. Lazy, seemingly pristine waterways snake through the region, hemmed in by levees to protect the valuable crops below. Grapes ferment in barns while visitors sip tastes in local tasting rooms.
This bucolic area between California's capitol and the coastal mountains blocking the bay area belies it's importance to this very heavily populated state...it is the main water valve for fresh water for the entire state.
It's also very environmentally sensitive. Take too much water from the rivers that drain into it and you get salt water from the ocean seeping in, affecting crops, migrating fish and birds, and poisoning the soil. This is magnified during drought years and deferred maintenance on the levees, canals, and pumps can also wreak havoc.
Today, we'll leave the controversy behind to spend time we've never had to finally explore this region a little deeper.
Our first stop will be to get sustenance for the day. There are a number of old little towns, below the adjacent waterways and protected by levees in the region. Isleton was founded in 1874 with wharf as a steamboat stop between San Francisco and Sacramento.
It was (and is) a heavily agricultural region and, soon, canneries opened up with a 90% Asian workforce. Divided into mostly Chinese and Japanese neighborhoods, you can still see that influence today in the small downtown that looks like a preserved Gold Rush era Chinatown.
Many of the Asian-American families here have roots in the town going back over a century.
Peter Low and his wife, Yee, don't go back that far. It hasn't been quite 40 years since he immigrated from Canton, China and became a dishwasher at the town's Hotel Del Rio. He developed quite a knack for making prime rib and eventually opened his own place two doors down, Peter's Steakhouse.
That's where we're having lunch today.
We enter through the accessible back door by the bar, steps away from the top of the levee. The first floor dining room opens up beyond that and we select a nice table near the front. In summer months, there is an outdoor deck to dine on with great views of the river and the delta beyond. The restaurant has installed an elevator so that guests with mobility issues can access the upper floor, too.
Letty gets a prime rib sandwich while Tim and I each get a prime rib dip. Ours came with fries while my wife went with the clam chowder option. It's all very good but Letty says the chowder is just "ok."
Back in the van, we head over to nearby highway 12 and make a stop at the Delta Farmer's Market. This year-round produce stand benefits the Discover the Delta Foundation.
On this winter day, there's not a lot of fruit...some citrus and grapes, mostly...but there is a lot of veggies and baked goods. We pick up some oranges, mandarins, and snacks for later.
Back on highway 12, we cross the Rio Vista drawbridge where large container ships come in from San Francisco Bay to unload in the Port of Stockton. Keep going, and you'll eventually end up at the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield but we're turning right on highway 84 at the other end of the bridge.
Continuing on highway 84, eventually we come to the Real McCoy. It's part of the highway but it's a ferry...one of only two publicly operated river ferries left in the state of California. The other is the J-Mac, on the other side of Ryer Island (where the ferry we're on is taking us) but we'll have to be content with this one as the J-Mac is out of service today.
The Real McCoy operates every 20 minutes so we wait our turn for about 7 minutes before boarding. It's a quick, free trip to the other bank of the river.
Now, it's a somewhat hair-raising drive on narrow, winding, levee top roads until we get to Clarksburg and a stop at Bogle Vineyards to taste some wine and pick up a few bottles for home.
This used to be a reliable, free tasting room but now charges $8 (now a Covid-inflated $20) per person for tasting...refundable if you buy at least $20 for each. We negate this a bit by sharing sips from one tasting glass and then buy a few of the moderately price bottles to meet the threshold.
It's also a good stop for accessible bathrooms and there's a lovely picnic area outside by the grapevines if the weather's cooperating.
With that, our day out on the Delta is over and it's time to head back home.
Darryl Musick
Copyright 2019 - All Rights Reserved
Over the years, our go-to hotel in the Sacramento area has been the Hyatt House in Rancho Cordova. It's been a few other names over the years but it's still the same building, sitting across Folsom Boulevard from the Sunrise Light Rail Station.
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While the rooms and hallways could use a refresh, it's still a clean comfortable place to stay and...thanks to the Hyatt loyalty program...those several stays over the years meant the three nights here were just about free (I was just short of enough points for a three night stay so Hyatt just charged me $50 to make up for it).
(This hotel has since had a year-plus renovation and is now a Doubletree Hotel - Ed)
We've always liked the breakfast bar here, with it's cooked-to-order omelettes, even though at times we've had to jostle in with Olympic athletes or hordes of Little Leaguers competing in a tournament. The days just before Thanksgiving are quiet, though. We almost have it to ourselves this morning.
Today, we're adding a new place to our in-state resume. Our little band of travelers have made it to just about every nook and cranny of our Golden State but we've never been to Davis before. Today is the day.
Actually, the morning. Davis can be the clone of Claremont, another quaint college town near us in Southern California. We wander the streets talking to shopkeepers, browsing the stores, and ending up at a gluten-free, local sourced coffee shop and a grocery co-op, picking up some snacks for the road.
Yeah, Davis can be a kind of hippy town at times.
...and now a word from our sponsor. We're very happy and long-time customers of Paul Kalemkiarian's Wine of the Month Club. We'd be pleased to see you become members, too. Now, all gift purchases get a free wine Accessory. Click the following link for some amazing wine deals: The Wine of the Month Club 45th Anniversary Sale. Thanks for your support, now back to the story...
It's a cute town but with a heavy sense of de ja vu for us so we take our leave over to the Sacramento River Delta.
Not too long ago, my wife and I enjoyed a delicious Cabernet. My wife liked it especially. It came from Bogle Winery, which we find is headquartered here in the Delta.
Just outside the town of Clarksburg with some breathtaking driving atop a narrow dike, we make it to the winery.
When parking, we notice the tasting room is upstairs. Quite a few of them, actually. Luckily, it doesn't take us long to find the big, two-story ramp on the other side of the building.
The wines are delicious and there are several sold here that can't be found in stores. We make a bread and cheese platter from the goodies we bought in Davis, and have a picnic with a glass of wine.
The flat Delta views are stunning, especially with the snow-capped Sierras in the distance.
In the morning, after another delicious Hyatt House breakfast (which is included in your room rate), we head up to Gold Country to look at possible places to retire. We look in three areas...Valley Springs, Ione, and Plymouth...and quickly decide we'd much rather move here than over the mountains in the Carson Valley.
The Amador County Motherlode seems like the place we will spend the rest of our days after retirement. Can't wait.
Afterward, we go to see all of the friendly people who, by this time, are turning more into friends in the Shenandoah wine country, where we end up at a place you'll see time after time in this blog...Story Winery.
Still our favorite winery in the state, we have a grand time visiting with the staff who treat us like family every time we go.
Letty swaps recipes with master cookie maker Della while I make deals on cases of wine.
Of course, another picnic on the beautiful deck is in order, maybe a little more special this time because last spring, a wildfire came very close to consuming this slice of heaven on earth.
Della points out the spot where a car's hot muffler hit the dry, drought-plagued grass and started the massive Sand Fire. Dead trees and burnt ground mark the fire's path across the canyon, right up to the edge of the wines.
We're told that this year's vintage of Sangiovese (the closest grapes to the flames) will definitely have their flavor altered from the smoke.
That's it...we're done as we've found our spot to settle down and spend another night at the Hyatt before heading home.
Darryl
Copyright 2015 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved
Well, it was a fun but hectic couple of days in the city. Crowded bar hopping and people watching in San Francisco, then a fun baseball game in a decrepit stadium. We won't mention the inadequate hotel accommodations...
Now it's time to hit the road for more bucolic locales but first it's a race against time as we have 100 minutes to drive from O.co Coliseum in Oakland to the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield.
It's a jam trying to get out of the ballpark's lot but when I see a couple of cars peel off in a direction nobody else is using, I take a chance and follow along. A minute later, we're whizzing off on Interstate 880 and we make it to the Jelly Belly parking lot at 4:55 when they close at 5:00.
No worries, we're not there for the tour...which is fascinating, by the way...just to run in a get a few bags of Belly Flops.
The Flops are the jelly beans that do not meet the rigid quality control standards of the company. The seconds, if you will. Supposedly, only sold at the factory (but I've seen them online, at Costco, and the 99 Cent Only store), they are just as good as the others, just oddly shaped sometimes.
As I enter the door, I here the announcement: "attention Jelly Belly fans, our facilities will be closing in two minutes." I've been here so many times, it's not a problem. I know just where they store the Flops in the bins, pick up 5 bags (buy 3, get two for free), and head to the counter.
Success!
Just a couple of blocks away is the entrance to Highway 12, the route across the Delta. It's a leisurely hour drive through this scenic and endangered outlet where the Sacramento and the almost-gone San Joaquin rivers converse and meander across the flatlands heading for San Francisco Bay.
Occasionally, you'll see large tankers navigating the narrow channels, causing the drawbridges to rise.
It's on to Interstate 5, where we pass the hotel where we got stuck outside of Lodi, then into the city itself. Today, though, we're continuing through to the hills beyond.
That will be another adventure for another day.
Darryl
Copyright 2014 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved
