Thanks, Z and T, for the hospitality and companionship. I definitely enjoyed our evening.
Yes, I did get to do Mt. Diablo. Wonderful view, and wonderful landscapes. I took many pictures of the blood-red sunset; I even got a cool shot of the mountain’s own shadow, stretching out across the land with the tip just barely touching the horizon.
Plus, I don’t know if you knew this, but apparently (according to the ranger I asked), it’s tarantula mating season, so the hairy buggers were everywhere. Spiders don’t bother me, so I thought it was neat, but my wife said “eww” when I showed her the picture.
(Riddle: Why did the spider cross the road? Because I was poking him in the butt to move him along and keep him from getting smooshed.)
I didn’t get out to Niles Canyon, though. Couldn’t quite work it into the schedule. What with Diablo and an excursion into the wine country in neighboring Livermore, plus getting caught in traffic going back to the airport and leaving time for dinner before I flew out, I couldn’t fit it in. But that’s okay; I’ve got to leave something for the next time I go down, right?
Speaking of wine country, though, I had dinner at Wente, which was marvelous. Their brut reserve is quite good; I bought a bottle. The appetizer was grilled peaches with a drizzle of reduced balsamic, fresh basil leaves from their own garden, and a crumble of mild goat cheese; yum. The entree was good also, salmon with sweet salsa and mixed vegetables (corn, spinach, potatoes; better than it sounds), but the salmon wasn’t nearly as rare as the waiter warned me it would be, which was disappointing. The service, though, was absolutely impeccable.
Oh, and I also got to visit the old part of downtown. Very neat; I’m glad I was able to squeeze that in. I’ll definitely want to go back and leave more time on my next trip.
Big thanks to everybody who contributed to the thread. It made my stay a lot easier and more comfortable; I felt like I knew my way around and what I should see and do. Otherwise, I probably would have just stayed in my hotel room and played Civ III the whole week. So thanks again!