Let’s step back a few decades, when some of us experienced Sunday drives. Maybe the drive starts after church or brunch, when the afternoon is still long, the sunshine bright, gas is cheap, everyone is all dressed up too nice to just stay home, and the open road is calling. Ok, am I getting too cliché? Next thing you’ll read is me talking about Dad and Junior’s hair slicked back with pomade, windows rolled down, Dad smoking a Marlboro Red, while Mom sits so prim and proper in her petticoat dress. No, that’s not the picture I am trying to paint here.
It’s more of a feeling you get when a random day offers you free time, and you feel the lure of new discoveries and landscapes beckoning you. Maybe the destination comes to mind, maybe not, because it’s more about the experience of a drive than the arrival. It’s the wind of the road and the vistas around every corner speaking to you, asking you to find them. Yeah, that’s what I am talking about.
For me, it happened to be a Wednesday when my day ended rather early, and I felt the itch to see something new. It’s a drive I’ve wanted to take for quite some time but haven’t gotten around to yet. My journey starts on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake and continues along the west arm of Clear Lake. Do you know the peninsula I am talking about? It’s the mountainous arm of the lake that divides Clearlake Oaks from Clearlake. In short, it’s the very long and scenic way from Clearlake to the Oaks.
It’s the heat of the day when I start my excursion. Soon, the familiar view of Lakeshore Drive changes to all-new sights for me. Vacation homes dot the shoreline and banks of Clear Lake, some built in the height of the 50’s, some more recently, but all welcoming to family, friends, and vacationers. I drive slowly, so as not to miss a hidden cove or small peninsula in the waters of Clear Lake.
The view I have seen so often from the Kelseyville Riviera glances back at me, showing its profile as if in a pose to be admired, almost teasing, saying, “You’ve never seen this side of me before.” The tease works, and I am captivated by the curve of the landscape and its lush green foliage, thicker and greener than my view of the distant arm that I am now driving. It is the joy of rediscovery and the excitement of what comes next, making every minute more alluring than the last, as my drive continues further and further out until the road reaches its end. I turn right onto North Drive and slowly make my way to the Oaks side of the Peninsula. Directly behind me is the grand Clear Lake basin, visible at the highest point of the drive. Ahead of me are Clearlake Oaks and Rattlesnake Island. Up the hillside, the edge of a vineyard droops down the edge of the mountain.
A few miles ahead, I turn left onto Sulphur Bank Road, which leads me above the scenic Borax Lake. A few more curves of the road and Clearlake Oaks comes back into view, the twist and turns of the lake etching out its shoreline.
It won’t be long now, and I will have to choose where to have my lunch. Clearlake Oaks has more choices than one might think. Am I in the mood for Thai or Chinese food? Happy Garden serves both! Am I craving Mexican or diner food? Country Kitchen has both of those covered. But then again, there is also Tacos Tio Froy Taqueria for a quick bite, and Mad Mac’s for a traditional burger and fries. Or am I craving pizza? Yep, Firehouse Pizza will more than do.
And because I timed it right, I can enjoy a wine tasting after lunch with three exceptional choices: Just down the road is the opulent Brassfield Estate Winery. And let’s not forget rural Cache Creek and Stonehouse Cellars off Highway 20 heading out of town. So many wonderful choices to be made!
It’s later in the day. I have had my fill of Mexican food, and my car is full of wine when I turn back onto Sulphur Bank Road in the Oaks to do the whole drive again, only in reverse. And in all honesty, I can’t say which is better–driving from the Oaks to Clearlake or Clearlake to the Oaks. It’s as if each direction presents me with all new experiences. It’s the feeling that I truly got away from it all, even though I never once left Lake County. It’s a must-do drive that can not be worn out or dulled by repetition.
And, yes, a Wednesday drive is just as rewarding and fulfilling as a Sunday drive; I promise.
