R.I.P.   8/12/11 No more tales of City Mouse and Country Mouse. That story has closed. I won't go into details. But it was a sad ending for Country Mouse. Turn the page.


Since blogs kind of run in reverse I have a lot to catch up on.


The vacation in Kali was great. Santa Barbara. What a place. If I was a trustafarian I'd retire there.


Country mouse, Jaunty Mouse and Vino Mouse made the journey to Pixburg to fly out of there.
We started the wine journey with a bottle from a friends vineyard. Rogers and Roberts.

A nice capresee salad. What would this blog be without food? 

We'd rented a house on Craigslist and Vino took care of the car rental. The bike had been shipped out ahead of time. All flight connected and soon we were in LA. Again I have a skewed perspective of Kali. I think everyone drives a cool car,hot rod, low rider etc or it's all choppers. None to be seen.  We did see lots of old cars in great shape. Kind of time travel with cars. We also one genuine low rider a couple lead sleds. One chopper a Big Dog,exactly what it is.

We settled into out digs and went grocery shopping. The Von's near us was a very good market.

Those in the know will get it. So I get up for the Saturday club ride at 7AM. UGH, I'm on east coast time. So around 60 guys show up for this. Here's the M.O. for the rides. Everyone is on high end bikes and Zipps with tubulars are de riguer. Not a aluminum wheel in sight. Dura Ace DI 2 in abundance. If you've seen it in a magazine and it costs too much it was there. Kind of like riding in  catalog. Good for them and the bike industry. This ride was like a race. Who know's what kind of HP was there but it was fast,all the time. We finally regrouped at the top of a long climb. I was whipped and they were going to go 75 miles. I headed back for with a group for 54. Even the return was a flurry of attacks. 24.6 avg speed. More than most races at home.

Our first trip took us to Solvang. The idea follow the movie Sideways. Vino Mouse was  a star. So we took in the countryside and sipped. Blackjack being a favorite.

A field of orange. Splendid.

Memory lapse on days here. I should keep a journal or have done it daily in Kali.

I'd discovered the Brewhouse on the net. It said "Best happy hour in SB". Well, we had fun there and Beth our waitress was the best. I was going to make a video of her and send it to the Ale House to show them how to treat customers. She told us "You can try others, but you'll be back." She was right.

We tried Santa Barbara Brewing OK, but out of beers and no outside seating. The Union Ale House,the worst. Couldn't even get three beers right. We ran for the Brewhouse after that one.

Hollister Brewing. Like going to TGI Fridays with a brewery in it. So the Brewhouse became our home. Beth recommended "the team" as she called us,come for brunch. It was great too. They made a Habernero beer. Did it by 2oz shots. Tasty, but was enough. Cold,then the heat came. They also made a jalapeno popper with fresh jalapenos,goat cheese and bacon. These were super. But the heat varied from a 1 to a 7. I also had the "Cruel Prawn" That was hot. Thats' Pete the brew master. He came out to meet the team. Of course I'm representing Omme. On our last trip there I gave Beth the shirt.

Latino girls are hot. It was Fiesta days in SB. They had this cultural tradition of taking eggs that had been filled with confetti and you smash it on someones head. No could explain it. Confetti filled the streets. The girls said OH you have to put it on Face book.

So let's go to the farmers market. I'd be there everyday. What produce. Things I'd never seen. I got squash blossoms to make. Pretty tasty. This homeless lady was classic. Check the sign. The joy of giving. If I just sit here. You'll give. Sure I will. We saw her around town with various signs.

Now for produce pics.

And a sweet old ride.

OK kids Country mouse has had enough computer for the day.

So ride your bike,eat good food,drink good beer and love the one your with. OGQ

I'll get to riding part soon. That was incredible.