SFO, IDA, BOI - Wine, Potatoes, Lava

Thanks for missing the blog! I've been busy and will get back in the bloggable spirit pronto. What can I write about dodging tornadoes and driving up I-44 from Oklahoma City, OK through Springfield, MO that hasn't been written? Usual hotels, bad food, way more car time than one wants, bad airconditioning, slow and low watt hair dryers - simply non bloggable! Finally a week that is bloggable :)
How often can one start in Santa Rosa, CA on a Monday evening and have a fabulous dinner with Todd, Scott and two great referenceable customers at Equus http://www.fountaingroveinn.com/equus_dinner.html with two bottles of Jordan 2002 and 2004? Abbondanza! Then, work and end the next day with a quick tasting at http://www.rossobianco.com/ followed by a patio dinner at the Hilton and an evening walk around the trail and "Round Barn".

Jetting off from San Francisco, and it's brisk, clear and windy June day, how can one refuse to end up in the potato capital of the world honoring Mr. J. R. Simplot who passed away in late May 26, age 99, in Idaho Falls, ID? Born in Iowa, he lived quite a life and was on the Forbes Top 400. (Simplot had many attributes of fame : semiconductors & Micron Technology, selling potatoes to McDonalds and others. ) Dinner? Of course, baked potato soup at the Brownstone Brewpub along the banks of the Snake River with a glass of cheap cabernet. Who else would be open at 10pm at night? I really like Idaho Falls, love the Snake and outdoor activities galore. The town is also home to Idaho Falls Chukars!

Having a long but productive day at a bank in Idaho Falls, what could be more fun than to round off the week driving from Idaho Falls, ID to Ketchum, ID looking for Demi, Ashton and Bruce's homes via hot spots of Arco, ID?
We passed the home of INL and the Atomic Burger. http://chefmoz.org/United_States/ID/Arco/Pickles_Place959994725.html, both keeping our nation safe. https://inlportal.inl.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=255&mode=2

On our long drive, I forced Eric to stop so we could walk a little at the Craters of the Moon National Park and toured a lava tube cave which was well worth the diversion on the trip. http://www.nps.gov/crmo/ See that smile? It was worth the extra hour's stopover.









To round out the day, we enjoyed a cocktail at the Roosevelt http://www.therooseveltgrille.com/ with dinner at the Pioneer http://www.pioneersaloon.com/ with fresh wild Alaskan King Salmon and a bottle of Silver Oak 2003 - the wine tour week :) More adventure awaits! Stay tuned, June will be a wild ride :)