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San Ramon Valley Newcomers Club

Hiking, Arts & Crafts, Wine Club, Book Club, Cooking, Golf, Poker, Bridge, Bunco, Luncheons

Book Club Luncheon

2009 Holiday Luncheon for the Book Club


Date: Dec. 8- Tuesday

Time: 12:30

Where: Esin Restaurant – 750 Camino Ramon – Danville

The book club will meet at a delightful local restaurant in December.  The menu is varied and has something for everyone.  The club will not select a book for December, but I ask you to share one interesting nonfiction book and tell the group about it.  Please RSVP to Suzanne Ziarnik at 830-8339 by Sunday, Dec. 6, so I can notify the restaurant.  If you have any questions, please call Suzanne Ziarnik.

Jan. – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Feb. – Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

Balancing Rock Hike

balancing-rockWe had very good weather, sunny most of the day and dark clouds gathered only at the end of the hike.

This wide service road took us by Balancing rock, great for our group photo. Shirley, Muff, Sharon, Angelika, Bobbi, and Marie joined me on this up and down hike, not as easy and level as I believed from the hike description, giving us a little workout.

We took the trail to the fence line and then a short right spur to a rock outcropping. Angelika and I climbed around the rocks finding a sandstone cave like section.

Bagels were very welcomed after the hike.

Trekking the Wilds
Fran

October Hike

october_hikeWe had wonderful weather last Friday for our hike.

We hiked up through a shady switch back going and coming back.

At the top we hiked in open sunny areas around a loop trail that took us to the backside of the mountain and away from the 680 traffic sounds.

Muff, Angelika, and Jacky joined me. Great views of the surrounding mountains.

Trekking the Wilds

Fran

Indian Joe Trail Hike

indian-joe-trailIndian Joe Trail & Cave Rocks

We had a wonderful hike up Indian Joe Trail which follows a creek up to Cave Rocks trail, mostly in the shade with much elevation gain.

Left on Cave Rocks took us to a frog pond which looks like it has become a turtle pond.

We passed the JB ranch, the large barn is in excellent condition; it looks like it is used by the park for outdoor events.

I tried to get information about it but didn’t find any on-line.

You can see Sharon taking a photo of the inside the small ranch building and you saw the photo she sent all of you, including the turtles.

Sharon, Marie, Shirley,Muff, Jacky, Lois, Aleta, Angelika enjoyed this hike.

We went down a wide service road on Hayfield Trail back to our cars and picnic tables.

Finished our hike we with sandwiches, lemon aide, cookies and relaxing conversation at a lovely, shaded picnic area.

Trekking the Wilds

Fran

October Wine Club Meet Averts Disaster

A Good Time Was Had by All (who received the change in venue!):

Satyrs-wineLabelThe Wine Appreciation Group met at Tracey & Craig Harper’s house this month on October 9th due to a mix-up at Corks Wine Store where it was originally planned to be held. Seems that their manager left them “high and dry” (no pun intended…well, maybe a little one). Anyway, lots of tricks and treats were had by all with Craig making his ghoulish turkey chili and Tracey’s sumptuous corn muffins not to mention numerous other tasty tidbits brought by all who attended, including a bottle of Bent Creek’s finest provided by Gil as a pre-tasting wine.

And the winner is…

The biggest treat of the evening was our third tasting, Satyrs’ Pond Winery, 2005, Meritage. So you may want to pick up a bottle and treat yourself. It’s available at Corks Wine Store (www.corkswinestore.com).

Only 275 cases produced

Suggested Retail: $56.00

Composition: 51% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petite Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc


Wall Point Road Hike

Recap of Friday Newcomer Hike Wall Point Rd Mt. Diablo

wall_point_roadToday, Oct 9th we hiked out from the Macedo Ranch staging area at Mt. Diablo. Our hike took us continually uphill on Wall Point Road Trail through the golden grasslands where we saw many ground squirrels gathering their food for the winter. The day started off overcast and then the skies became a beautiful blue as the hike progressed. The early morning clouds hung in the air providing a lovely backdrop for the dark oaks that were in the distance ahead of us. We hiked at a good pace for an hour, retracing our hike at the beginning when we forgot to pay for our parking at the staging area. That gave us a good warm up for a hike that gave us a good aerobic workout. We enjoyed pretty views of the summit along the way. We didn’t see any tarantulas but it is the season so if you are on a hike be on the lookout. They are very timid and interesting to see.

There were 8 hikers today including Aleta, Bobbi, Muff, Lois, Claudia, Barbara, Debby and Sharon.  Thank you for driving  Debby. Afterwards we went  Bagel Street Cafe for lunch.

Happy Trails, Sharon Kovar

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie SocietyBook Club for the month of November 2009

When: Tuesday, Nov. 10 (Note the date change)
Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Where: Pat Gross

“RSVP” Pat by Monday, Nov.9

Our book will be The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows.  This is a war story that is also fun to read.

We welcome new members so think about attending one of our meetings.  If you have any questions (except to RSVP), please call the Chairperson, Suzanne Ziarnik 830-8339.

Dec. – no book for December

Mare Island Visit

pic1September Gad Abouts at Mare Island in Vallejo.  Pictured are Pam Deas, Bernice Pelicas, Carrie Pohl, Jan McArdle and Diana Bixby.

We toured the beautiful St. Peter’s Chapel, the Commander’s quarters, and the Mare Island Museum.

Following the tour, we had lunch at Bon Appetit Restaurant in Benicia.

pic2

Morgan Territory Hike

Oct 2nd hike to Morgan Territory

morgan_territoryLast Friday  the crisp air and bright blue skies let us  know Fall is here on our hike at Morgan Territory. We hiked along Blue Oak, Hummingbird, Volvon, Prairie Falcon, and Condor Trails,.  We hiked an easy loop through the golden grass mostly along a winding road with glimpses of Mt. Diablo appearing around many corners.

Hikers were Aleta (thank you for driving up the windy road), Claudia, Barbara, Judie, Rose, and Sharon. We didn’t see any coyotes but we did see a deer along the road driving in but the big surprise was the pond full of jumping frogs. When we got to the pond the frogs that were camouflaged in the mud starting jumping into the pond by the hundreds. Our frog walker, Claudia, discovered that if she walked the length of the pond they would all jump in as if on cue as she approached them. I hung around at the pond taking photos of the frogs, several basking in the sun on the lily pads. That would have been my choice over the mud! The group continued on another 30 minutes.

The group hiked for a little over 3 miles in about 1 hour 45 minutes.

Save Oct 23rd for our FALL PICNIC. Fran will be planning another one of her great hikes and I will be planning a picnic after it.

Happy Trails, Sharon

October Wine Appreciation

There Will Be Blood!

When: FRIDAY!!! October 9th at 6:30 pm (please note FRIDAY)
Where: Corks, 411 Harts Ave. Suite GG, Danville
Theme: Blood Red Bordeaux. Please bring a ghoulish appetizer to share. Glasses will be provided.
RSVP: $15.00 per person. Send check to: Tracey Harper, 42 Prentiss Place, San Ramon, CA 94583

It will be a haunting good time!

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