Ione Weekend

What a wonderful weekend getaway with long time friends from the Stockton/Lodi area whom we met in the early 1990's while riding the California Tour North, a 5-day supported bike tour organized by Imagine Tours. My thanks to Kev for pulling us together for a weekend adventure. We rode from the outskirts of Stockton to Ione and back, with respective mileages of 44 and 48, staying overnight at the historic Ione Hotel. Lucky for us, we had a coolish weekend with temps in the 70's, perfect for riding and much better than the 100's we endured the previous weekend. A benefit of so many vineyards and wineries scattered about the foothills these days is that they also make great rest stops. The historic Ione Hotel was the only place with rooms in this small town of 7,900 people with several eateries and bars, including their own steakhouse where we dined. The place was old, as expected, but clean and comfortable with very hospitable staff and owner. We just didn't anticipate the loud, and I mean very loud, punk rock music which played until midnight vibrating through the floors of our upstairs rooms, but the unexpected is what makes things fun. It was a great weekend. Click on the picture below to go to my photos in Picasa.