Northern California: An Explorer's Guide

This new guidebook, written by San Francisco resident, Michele Bigley, was just released on June 1. It's a great resource for travel in San Francisco, the Bay Area, and all of Northern California - from Big Sur to the Oregon border.

Here's what Michele had to say about Blue Heron Custom Tours and Travel, "A wealth of knowledge, Rick takes folks on customized tours of the Bay Area, Wine Country, Central Coast, Mendocino, and even the Sierra Foothills. You tell him what you want and he'll create the ideal trip. He knows more about wine and food than most."

Many thanks to Michelle for the nice review. If you're planning a trip to San Francisco, you can pick up "Northern California: An Explorer's Guide" at most good bookstores.

If you'd like to take a tour with a guide who "possesses a wealth of knowledge," please phone me at (866) 326-4237 (toll free) or e-mail me at Rick@BlueHeronTours.com.

Baseball is Back

The baseball season is with us again and our two local teams have begun to play. The Oakland A's are celebrating their 40th season on the west coast while the San Francisco Giants are celebrating their 50th.

The A's were founded in Philadelphia, spent many years in Kansas City, and moved to Oakland in 1968. Whether they will stay in Oakland or move to Fremont, as announced, is anyone's guess.

The Giants and the Dodgers moved west in 1958 from New York and Brooklyn respectively. Here's a good trivia question for baseball fans: of those cities that have never celebrated a World Series victory, which has suffered the longest? The answer - San Francisco. The Giants won in New York but never here. Cubs fans have suffered longer but they did win the Series in 1908.

The prospects for both teams aren't too hot in 2008, but attending a baseball game is a leisurely way to spend a few hours. If you are visiting San Francisco and want to take in a game, both stadiums are easy to get to.

The Oakland Coliseum is a 30-minute subway ride on BART. There are four BART stations along Market Street. Take a train going to Dublin/Pleasanton or Fremont and get off at the Coliseum stop. The stadium is a five-minute walk from the BART station. The weather in Oakland is warmer than in San Francisco, but take a sweater for an evening game.

AT&T Park is a 15-minute walk south of Market Street. You can also catch the N Judah streetcar at one of the MUNI Metro stops along Market Street and get off in front of the stadium. While AT&T Park is advertised as being warmer than the Giants' old home at Candlestick, evening games can be downright cold. You might need a heavy jacket if you sit in the upper deck at night.

I prefer baseball during the day, particularly in the Bay Area. You can enjoy a cold beer during a day game here. At night, you'll probably need a hot coffee. Tickets can be purchased at the teams' websites: www.giants.mlb.com and www.athletics.mlb.com.

Terrific East Bay Winery

Not many people know that one of the great Northern California wineries is located just across the bay from San Francisco on the island of Alameda. Rosenblum Cellars is most noted for its 30 plus varieties of Zinfandel. I recently took a Zinfandel seminar at Rosenblum's winery and tasted four recent releases. My favorite was the 2004 Richard Sauret Vineyard, but my friend most enjoyed the 2004 Monte Rosso Vineyard. Rosenblum Zins consistently receive scores of over 90 points from "Wine Spectator" magazine.

The winery and tasting room are located at 2900 Main Street in Alameda. The tasting room is open daily from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Rosenblum also has a tasting room, just off the plaza in Healdsburg, at 250 Center Street. This facility is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily.

Join me on a Hidden Vineyards tour and you can visit Rosenblum's tasting room in Healdsburg. To book a tour, call me at (866) 326-4237 or e-mail me by clicking here.