Weekend Motorcycle Ride - Martinez

FInding more things to fill time with on weekends, with the weather getting nicer and Bonnie being home on Saturdays. My sister-in-law Vicki was scheduled to come into town last weekend, but her business trip was cancelled a few days before, sorry she couldn't make it, but it opened up the weekend schedule. So, this past Sunday (28th), we decided to hop on the motorcycle for a half-day trip. Somewhere pretty local, but that got us on the freeway, and somewhere we hadn't been before, so we settled on Martinez. A town of about 35,000, right on the bay, about half-hour from us (and San Francisco), notable for its 'large number of preserved historic buildings', and claims to the birthplace of the martini... It was a fine ride, first time I've had Bonnie as a passenger for extended freeway miles. We parked in quaint downtown - lots of motorcycles around, but not very many places were open. We stopped in a quirky homestyle/antique boutique, then hit the Martinez Historical Society. Very well-thought out museum, and lots of contributions from locals.
Then we took a quick spin through the waterfront park, and stopped near the bridge (also, near the Amtrak station) - to get a glimpse of the most famous current Martinez restaurants, the Alhambra Creek Beavers! This is a family of beavers who built a dam on the small creek that runs through the center of town. The controversy stems from the potential flood problems, but the people have spoken, and the dam stays!! Huzzah! We met a man named Moses who was shooting some pics of the creek (didn't see the beavers or otters, at that time of day), and he played us some video he had gotten of them that morning. (People in Martinez sure like to talk).
Then stopped for lunch at La Tapatia - one of the few places that was open, and we had a coupon - but well reviewed, and very good food. (They included 2 kinds of salsa, plus bean dip, with the appetizers). Still had a bit of time on the way out, so we stopped at the John Muir historical site, the house where he lived for the last 25 years of his life, and wrote some of his most famous books, includes part of his orchard.
Then the ride back home - noneventful, but we did hit traffic in the last few miles, and I lanesplit around the cars - Bonnie took it well!
Later that evening, had movie night w/Kody - watched "The Informant!" (which I found very interesting, and thought it handled a bizarre individual's life most compellingly)
Coming up : Oscars, March 7!
Also, if you read this in the next few weeks : go see "Handless", performed by the Ragged Wing Ensemble, through March 27!