…and the fruits and vegetables, the coffee, the sandwiches and the cookies and scones and turnovers. And the pies! The Pacific Italian Alliance awarded their 22nd Luke Award to Ralph and Denene Lucchetti, the owners (very hands-on owners) of The Fruit Bowl, our local favorite fruit stand and bake shop. PIA presents an award each year [...]
Look what turned up in my Facebook Newsfeed this morning: some very bad news to start a Sunday. Harrah’s Northern California Casino will be located on the Buena Vista Tribe reservation land in Amador County, approximately 1 mile south of the town of Buena Vista, 5 miles southeast of the city of Ione, 28 miles [...]
My last blog was about drivers behaving badly. Passing too close, too fast, leaning on their horns, giving cyclists a ‘smoke out’ or a one fingered salute. Shouting at us to get off of ‘their’ roads. Stoker even noticed; she said that people are getting ‘more vicious ‘. Incidents have been happening to me (and [...]
That is what my friend Ilya said is going on. On Sunday, as Stoker and I were laboring up the big hill on the north side of Pardee Dam, the driver passed me and told me “Ride on the white line” on the right side of the road. Never mind that that particular white line [...]
Saturday was the 10th Pedaling Paths for Independence ride, a fund raiser for the Community Center for the Blind in Stockton. I am friends with Joni Bauer, the driving force behind this ride. Joni works with ‘clients’ at the Center, helping those with sight impairments learn to function in the world. A noble vocation, and [...]
The Federal Government is shut down this weekend. People are wringing their hands and gnashing their teeth. The alleged reasons are DACA and a big wall, but perhaps the Cosmic Cause is Karma for a lucky couple. Consider the case of Stoker and me: if not for a similar shutdown in 1978 we would have [...]
Tomorrow Diane and I are going to celebrate the 35th anniversary of our wedding. We are planning an enjoyable day: we’re going to a movie and then out for the great burgers and fries at the Lodi Brewing Company. But before that, we are planning to ride our tandem CoMotion from Ione to Plymouth with [...]
July 27, 1910 was a very hot day in the south of France and race officials anxiously waiting at the top of the Aubisque watched to see if any rider could make it over both the Tourmalet and the Aubisque. The second rider, Octave Lapize, appeared in great distress and pushing his bike. Upon reaching [...]
The Fruit Bowl is a Stockton Institution. From its beginnings in 1947 as a small fruit stand on Waterloo Road selling seasonal fresh fruit (mostly peaches) it has evolved into a large shop with a wide variety of fruits, nuts and vegetables, all grown locally. They also have a bake shop with wonderful pies, cookies, [...]
Last Friday and Sunday I pressure washed the exterior of our house. The vinyl siding cleaned up nicely. Diane was very happy and kept saying how great the house looked. And if Stoker is happy everybody is happy. But no good deed goes unpunished. On Monday, I got out our electric lawn mower to cut [...]