Interest Rate Update...Marathons and Calistoga!

Rates have hit record lows again! I feel like a broken record saying the same thing, over and over… Suffice it to say rates have hovered at or near record lows the last few months and at this point it appears only an economic recovery to spur inflation will cause them to rise. Here goes:

For 30-yr fixed-rate loans:
3.875% (under $417,000)
4.125% (over $417,000 up to $625,000)
4.75% (jumbo over $625,000)
For 5-yr ARM loans:
2.75% (under $417,000)
3.25% (over $417,000 including jumbo)

Rates vary depending on Loan-to-value, FICO scores, loan purpose , occupancy, and points.

MARATHONS and NORCAL

I flew to the Bay Area to root for my daughter Katie as she ran a marathon in Santa Rosa the last weekend of August. She finished in a very respectable time under 4 hours, but missed her goal time to qualify for Boston. She’d experienced a quad pull earlier in the week, so was happy with her race.

We enjoyed exploring downtown Santa Rosa, but left for the drive over the hill to Calistoga after she recovered --for a little wine tasting.
Calistoga is one of our favorite places to relax and walk. Monday we visited Rombauer for chardonnay and zinfandel tastings, and then drove to the Frank Family Vineyards’ for a picnic and more tastings. Frank Family offers fine chardonnays, as well as champagnes. Both are family-owned and operated with some of the best wines in the valley.

Our dinner Monday was at Jolē, the farm-to-table restaurant located in the lobby of the historic Mt. View Hotel. www.jolerestaurant.com The food was outrageous! We brought in our leftover wines to enjoy with dinner (you can’t take them with you) and they were gracious about letting us drink our wines with their food. Their heirloom tomato salad was fabulous.
We also recommend Brannen’s Grill, named for the founder of Calistoga. www.brannensgrill.com

Although we’ve stayed at the Mt. View in the past, we elected to stay at the recently renovated Stephenson Manor, a Best Western, which was more economical and offered larger and more comfortable accommodations.

SEPTEMBER

The end of the summer has brought us thunderstorms, hailstorms, The Dana Pt. Tall Ships Festival, football…and weddings!
My eldest son Drew is marrying the lovely and talented MaryGrace this Saturday, so I will tell more about that event next time. I will see all three of my children together for the first time in almost two years this weekend. Kenny (best man) flies in from Spain, and Katie (bridesmaid) from Ann Arbor. Never a dull moment!