Page 171 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2021 REDISCOVERING CALIFORNIA'S CENTRAL COAST

son offered to take Jamie and me on an ATV safari The extraordinary Route 128 connects the Men-
in one oversized ATV through the property’s red- docino Valley to the wine country through shady
wood groves to the quarry, we drove to the top of redwood groves and alongside Anderson Valley’s
the mountain and back down through a field verdant vineyards from Navarro to Boonville. Our
where black and white cows grazed among wild- final accommodation, the stunning Mediterranean
flowers. It felt great not to be straddling a motor- compound, The Madrones, had four wine tasting
cycle. rooms on property and we tried Drew Family Cel-
The next morning, we jumped back on the bike lars, Bink, KNEZ and Signal Ride vintages without
and headed towards the Redlands. First stop: worrying about having to do any more driving.
Leggett for a drive through a 2,400-year-old red- We sat happily in the garden beneath the ap-
wood tree which is 325 feet tall and 21 feet wide. ple and pear trees watching the hummingbirds
Sure, it’s touristy to drive through it, but how flit from flower to flower. I closed my eyes and
could we not, especially on a motorcycle? And fi- felt the sun on my face as I recalled the beauty
nally we arrived on the 31-mile Avenue of the Gi- of the redwoods, the coastline, the cliffs and
ants surrounded by 51,222 acres of redwood the giraffe with his blue tongue inches from my
groves. There were very few cars and no motorcy- face. And then I giggled.
cles because we intentionally chose to visit when “What is it?” Jamie asked.
kids are in school. “I was just remembering how terrified I was
We almost had the entire park all to ourselves. of doing this trip on a motorcycle,” I said.
We got off the bike and looked up at the ancient “So are you ready to learn to ride and get
trees which were so wide I couldn’t put my arms a your license?” he asked.
quarter of a way around and so tall I couldn’t see
“No, I’ll stick to riding behind you. But I think
the top. The air was fresh and the smell woodsy.
we should do another bike trip next spring.
Except for our footsteps crunching the ground, it
Maybe Yosemite. Or Joshua Tree National Park.
was absolutely silent. When we finally got back on Or the Blue Ridge Mountains. Anything away
the bike, I felt humbled. I was also glad I was the
from the concrete canyons of Manhattan.”
passenger and not the driver, because I could look
He grinned. “You’ve got a deal. And I bet
around in every direction including straight up to
the canopy of trees. you change your mind about getting your
motorcycle license.”

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