Jelly Belly Fun

Well the weatherman was right..it's raining... so we piled in the car and went to explore Rte 128 W. This is the road we plan to take as we head north so we wanted to check it out to be sure it's OK to drive the coach over. This road is really windy and somewhat narrow as it works it's way through the hills of the Puntah Creek Wildlife Area. Just up the road is Lake Berryessa and the Monticello Dam. Even in the clouds the views are out of a picture book. We climbed over the Yolo Rocky Ridge Mountains and just enjoyed the rolling hills and budding lavender dog wood trees.

Continuing down Rte 128 we talked about when we were in the Napa Valley during my San Francisco work assignment in 1996. We remembered a little family place on a backroad called Nichelini Winery, but couldn't remember where it was. About 15 minutes later we came to the sign for it! Unfortunately they were closed.

Rolling through the valleys, around hairpin curves, and over mountains we came down into the spectacular Napa Valley. We decided the route would be ok for us to take when we leave on Sunday - we just have to go slow. Now on the Silverado Trail we are passing field after field of vineyards and wineries, but we're not tasting today. Some of the wineries here are amazing buildings nestled in trees or on top of hills overlooking the vineyards. Some look like castles with beautiful iron gates and long driveways, others are small and rustic with welcoming patios and gardens. Today we just enjoyed the views.

As we drive through the outskirts of Napa we found the Black Bear Diner and decided to stop for lunch. What a find this was. The food, service, and price was out of this world. The place was packed, but they made you feel like you were the only ones in the place. The history of how the diner grew from one restaurant to the family they have today was really interesting.

In 1851 a gold prospector by the name of Sisson fell in love with the Strawberry Valley at the foot of Mt. Shasta in northern California. He opened an inn overlooking wild berry patches which were frequented by black bears and people alike. Tired travelers soon became aware of Sisson's great hospitality and the inn became a favorite stopover. In 1995 the Manley's and their partner Bruce Dean opened the first Black Bear Diner on the site of the old inn. They were determined to rekindle the hospitality received by the earlier guests. They wanted to remind today's guests of a simpler time where service and quality were the cornerstones of business. Today the restaurants have expanded to a widespread family of Black Bear Diners along highways and byways of the Western, United States. If you see one of these in your travels - we highly recommend you stop and enjoy a simpler time.

After lunch we drove east to Fairfield, California - home of the Jelly Belly Candy Factory. This was our planned destination for today. Two young brothers imigrated from Germany in 1869 to begin the Jelly Belly Candy Company. Today the 5th-generation descendants are still making candy. In 1976 the invention of the first gourmet jelly bean brought the company international recognition. However, the company got a big boost when in 1980 news stories reported that presidential candidate Ronald Regan was a fan of the new generation jelly beans. It seems they couldn't start a meeting without first passing the glass jar of jelly beans around the cabinet table. Now the whole country wanted to taste a Jelly Belly jelly bean.

Stepping through the doors you are met by Jelly Beans hanging from the ceiling and pictures of famous people, like Elvis and President Regan, made out of Jelly Beans. We took the walking tour and had a birds-eye view of every step in the process. Walking through the factory the aromas of berry, cinnamon, and others wafted through the air. We tasted the new Honey Jelly Belly and saw why it takes up to 20 days to create each Jelly Belly jelly bean. With our sample bag in one hand and candy scoop in the other we went through the store and picked up some favorites.

Leaving the factory we took backroads through the Suisan Valley - which we didn't know existed - back to camp. We must have passed a hundred wineries and beautiful houses. The rain has let up some and it's suppose to be nice tomorrow.

Back at camp we had the Red Snapper for dinner and it was yummy. Then we went off to play BINGO. It was just a small group but lots of fun. Ken was "king" for the night - something new - he picked a number and everytime it came up he got a dollar. I won the 50/50 raffle for $11 so it was a good night.

Back home at 9pm we watched TV and then crashed. We are getting reacclimated to the time change again. The stars were out when we came home. It will be a good day tomorrow.....

Picture: Jelly Belly Lobby