Posting remotely (by auto post, because no my computer is not with me) from the beautiful Bothe Napa Valley State Park. The Napa area is my very most favorite place to be in the entire world so far, and Jesse and I had the crazy idea to bike it. It was one of those, “hey Jesse, wouldn’t it be crazy if….?” sort of deals, and true to form, Jesse said yes.
Game Plan:
Saturday August 5th
Take the Amtrak to Oakland, and then bike 50 miles from Oakland into Napa. Stay at an Air Bnb right in the middle of downtown, and go wine tasting to discover our favorite wine.
Sunday August 6th
Did I also mention there is a pool?
Stay in the heart of Napa for only $35 a night? Sign us up! If you’ve never heard of Bothe, go google it. 5 miles from most wineries and only 20 miles from Napa, this place is a steal. It comes with all the luxuries for the inexperienced camper: bathrooms, showers, and RV hookups. Just book very, very in advance!
Our plan for this Sunday is to bike the 20 very uphill miles to Bothe State Park. There we can set up our little tent, and my old C-130 crew rest hammock from work. Who knew I would use it like this? Then we can take the camp shuttle into Calistoga to get food and provisions. Cooking should be interesting with no stove. At night, we can drink an entire bottle of wine under the Napa stars.
Monday August 5th
Hiking day! Ten miles from the beautiful Bothe is Robert Louis Stevenson state park, which is supposed to be an absolutely brilliant hike. Submitting mount St. Helena is a ten mile round trip with a 1,800 ft elevation gain. All sources promise a true “top of the world” experience! A 20 mile bike ride and a 10 mile hike is a good workout for a day, wouldn’t you say?
Tuesday August 6th
Bike around and see the sites. Maybe take a tour of an honest to goodness castle? Go get some fabulous food? Maybe take a nap and hang out by the pool?
Wednesday August 7th
A true rest day. We are going to need it. Time for the real camping experience of just handing out and being together.
Thursday August 8th
Bike 70 miles from Bothe back to Oakland. Amtrak home. Eat tons of food, and prepare for a one day work week starting Friday.
The Recipe: Cajun Tofu
This stuff is super easy and completely bomb on sandwiches. Costs what you pay for the tofu. I get two large blocks of soft tofu (which works for this recipe just fine and is a little cheaper than firm) for $4. That gave me 12 little "steaks".
Ingredients
- Two blocks tofu
- 1-2tbs Cajun spice
- 2 tbs olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Cut tofu into steaks of desired thickness, about 1/4-1/2 inch is good.
- Coat in olive oil and cajun spice.
- Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes each side, until crispy.
- Enjoy!
Yum
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