Brunch and a bike ride

A mushroom on the floor of Hendy Woods.

This past Sunday I was asked to join some friends for brunch. They wanted to try Queenie’s brunch at Lauren’s at the Buckhorn and I agreed this sounded good. It was a first for all of us and it was delicious!

We met up just before 10:00 AM and walked into the restaurant where we were greeted by Natalie and showed to our table. The menu was simple but satisfying - something for everyone. There was also the option of a bloody Mary or “bottomless” Mimosas. The table sampled the menu, with only two repeat orders, that of the pancakes. There was one burger and one eggs Benedict. I had the shrimp and grits. We sampled the bloody Mary and the Mimosas and all were good. There were several other large tables filled with friends and families and it was a warm, nice feeling to be out on a sunny Sunday in Boonville for brunch.

After our brunch, one of our party went to watch the 49er’s game (which I heard was a disaster). Another went to hang our with small children. The remaining three of us gathered our bikes and gear and met up again at Hendy Woods for a ride.

This was my first visit to the park this year and the first since all the storms. We took the road in as far as the fire road and that was fine. Once one the fire road, though, evidence of the storms became clear. We rode through and over many, many small sticks and the trail was strewn with litter from the trees. There were three places where we had to dismount and pack our bikes over downed trees. Someone had cut the limbs from the trunks and cleared that much, so you could get over, but the actual trunks remain across the road. In at least one spot we had to ride over large limbs that were across the road. And once I stopped to remove a cluster of such limbs. More than once each of us had a stick get inside of some part of our bike, necessitating a stop for removal. Overall, though, it was a beautiful afternoon and a nice ride. I look forward to going back and taking my time and doing a little more clean up as I go. Hopefully, someone with a chainsaw will get out there and remove the downed trees to allow passage without having to get off and pack the bikes.

The sun remains out today though it is quite cold - the water was frozen at my office this morning until rather late. I hope everyone is doing well and no pipes are broken and you get out to enjoy the sunshine too.