California Celebration

Day Two - Nappa Valley

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Day 2, June 17th: Napa Valley

Today was the reason I wanted to come to California. We were able t

o go to 5 different wineries and taste some amazing wines while enjoying beautiful weather and laughing a lot. It truly could not have been more perfect.

The day started off with breakfast at the hotel. It was complimentary, so how could we turn it down? We then decided that it was definitely time to hint the wineries. Nothing like sipping wine at 10:00 in the morning. We justified it by telling ourselves that it was really 1:00 to our

bodies, so that would make it alright.

(Just ki

dding, we really didn't need an excuse.)

The first winery we went to was breathtaking. It was called Artesa. It was a winery owned by a Spanish family who brought art deco and the Spanish flair together. The winery itself was located up on the hill so the view was spectacular to begin with. It literally took us about 20 minutes to get from our car to the front of the building because Mom and I wan

ted to take so many pictures. Not only was the view that great, but there were also water fountains, statues, and flowers that seemed to scream to be ph

otographed. We couldn't decide whether we were going to an art gallery or a winery. It was really that beautiful. I guess we knew at this point that we were way out of our league in regards to the wine. We went in to taste anyway, but the possibilities of bringing any of it home were slime to none. . . We were rig

ht. The wine was of the highest quality and once again I rea

lized why people spent so much on good wines. There really is quite a diffe

rence. The thing is I just can't justify $60-$100 on a bottle of wine.

Moving on. . .

We then moved on to a sparkling wine vineyard, Domaine Chadon. It was goo

d i

f you like sparkling wine or champagne. I am not a big fan, so it was not my favorite. We all

agreed that the wines all seemed to taste pretty much the same. Again, it was g

ood. I can check it off, but I do not think I would go back if I didn't have to. I will say the woman who was pouring for us was nice and had a ton of personality. That did make the tasting much more fun. We also got to keep our tasting glasses which I think is a r

eally cool souvenir; I just wish they had been big red wine glasses instead. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers.

After this, we all agreed that it was probably

time to go and have lunch. Drinking too mu

ch wine on an empty stomach is generally not a good idea, so off we went to V. Sattui. This was the one winery that we had heard the most about from all of our friends back home. I was just excited with the idea of having a picnic lunch made of wine, cheese, and bread. :) Yum.

V.Sattui was wonderful. The grounds were so elegant from the building covered in vines to the flower gardens showcasing every color under the sun in a huge variety as well. Once inside the building the food selection was great. Scott and I decided to share a variety of things which included a portabella mushroom filled with sausage and cheese, some Italian aged cheese that was similar to a Parmesan but much better, and a sourdough baguette. We opted for tea to drink with the intention of having wine for dessert. My parents chose two amazing sandwiches to share and some delicious cheese a

s well. We found a quiet picnic table under a huge tree to eat at and happily enjoyed a stereotypical Napa lunch. I w

as in heaven. We then took a self guided tour of the grounds there at V. Sattui. We all agreed that it would be the ideal place for a wedding. Absolutely wonderful. We conc

luded our stay there with a wine tasting. Scott and decided that since it had come so recommended by people that we had to be sure to try it out. Although we weren't big fans of all the wines we tried, we did like the Syrah and bought a bottle for dinner. We also were able to purchase several souvenirs as well.

Once we had finished taking our last picture we moved on to the next great place, Rutherford Ranch. This tasting facility was very nice but wasn't r

eally located on a vineyard per se. There wasn't anyone else at the location, so we got to enjoy it all to ourselves. We really liked this one and recommend it to all our friends. The wines were delici

ous and reasonably priced. We felt like this was a place that was made for us. While we were there, we were able to enjoy a Christmas present that our girls gave all of us for Christmas. At one point when we were planning the trip, we had discussed the fact that none of us had an educated wine pallet and that it would be really funny when we went to all the t

astings using our straws. (We didn't have; we were just joking around.) The girls thought this was funny and gave us straws to bring. While we were at Rutherford Ranch, we were able to use them. The lady pouring the wine said that it was the first time she had ever seen people use straws in during the tasting. It was really funny.

After Rutherford, we didn't a little exploring. We drove up a little hill just to see what was there. We found another winery, but we didn't go into this one. I do not know why; we just didn't. We did take some more scenery pictures. :)

Our last winery stop for the day was for Beringer. I am not a huge fan of the wines, but we thought Mom might really like it here. The Victorian type place with more details in it than I can begin to describe. The windows all had hand painted stain glass in them, the floors had detailing with multi-colored wood, and the walls had hand carved wood panels, and this was all just the beginning. It was an exquisite house. I thought it was definitely worth seeing. The problem is we then tasted the wine. I would be lying if I said that I liked any of it. It was pretty bad. The scary thing was that it seemed all four of agreed on the taste and quality of the wine. I have to admit that I was so proud of my mom because she was beginning to see the beauty of a good wine. (yeah!) The funny part was, well maybe not funny maybe more like awkward, we had coupons for the tastings. In fact we had coupons for the all the tastings we did today, but most of them were buy one/get one free. However, the one we had for Beringer was get two tastings for free. Well, I guess we forgot to tell Glenn this and he decided to be a nice guy and pay for the two tastings he thought we had to pay for, and before we could say anything the lady thanked him for the $20. She thought he was tipping her and he thought he was paying for two tastings. It was a little funny and very uncomfortable. Needless to say, no one was said to leave.

Our evening concluded at Cuvee. It was a great restaurant that served mouth watering meals. Our waiter was a lot of fun and everyone was quite happy by the time the meal was over. Scott and I shared a bottle of wine from V. Sattui and Mom and Glenn decided they had had enough. They knew we were going to back to the wineries tomorrow and they did not want to burn out quite yet.

As usual, the day was filled with a ton of conversation and laughter. We all seem to really understand one another and respect each others wants and desires. I am so glad we are doing this together.

More pictures for day 2

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We made a toast at our first real winery, The Artesa. It was incredibly fancy.

Some of the houses and neighborhoods are built right into the side of a mountain. We do not have any hills in Florida, so this would never happen.

More pictures from day one

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This is a picture of the Rocky Mountains as we flew over them in Colorado.
   Taylor's Fresher. . .Be certain to get the Tuna Burger it is wonderful.
We were just out walking around looking for a great photo opp. Who knew this was it?
   We love each other.
   So do they. . . Awwwww.

The Vacation begins

2009-06-17T22:37:00.000-07:00

June 16, 2009

The day began at 6:00 in the morning. We all got up to

catch our 8:00 flight in order to begin a vacation that has been in the planning for the last 7 months. None of us could belie

ve the time had finally arrived. We got safely to the airport and made it through the 7 hours of flying without any complications or overly

exciting events taking place. Even our layover in Denver was smooth sailing. :)

Once we made it to the airport in San Francisco, we had to make it through a

bit of craziness to

finally get our rental car. We literally had to ride down an elevator, travel a moving sidewalk, go through a parking garage, go up a large flight of stairs (luckily there was a ramp), shove our way onto a tram, ride through 6 stops with people getti

ng on and off in a hurry, and finally fight our way to the car rental desk where we picked up our Saturn SUV. (We don't know what it is called.) It was a greater adventure than the entire flight across the country.

We got ourselves happily situated in the car and immedi

ately headed towards our true destination. . . Napa Valley. Immediately, we were blown away by the change in landscape, housing, and even the bridges. The desire to take pictures became a need, but the problem was I forgot to check my camera before I left and quickly discovered that I did not have any batteries. I was disappointed to say the least. The good news is that after we found the tourist town of Napa and had a wonderful lunch, I was able to get new batteries the documentation began. Yeah!

We decided that since our mental clocks were telling us that it was 6:00 even tho

ugh it was only 3:00 in California, we wouldn't push ourselves too much and we would just drive around the town and take in the sites there. Man, that was a great idea. We were able to first have our first wine tasting at a place called, "GooseCross." It was wonderful. Mom even got an extra tasting for free since she tried to pronounce the word Voigner. (She was

wrong, but the pourer was impressed at her attempt.) The wines there were rich and the reds were definitely full bodied. It was exciting to try wines that I could never usually afford. :) I discovered why people were willing to pay so much for a bottle of wine. They really do taste differently. They are good! No. . . They were wonderful. Unfortunately, we can't afford these wines at home, so we won't be bringing of these home either. :( Sigh.

We then drove around the town and looked at all the awesome neighborhoods. They were beautiful. The houses are so unique and it seemed that the flowers here grow bigger and more vibrant than they do in Florida. It seemed that every other house had an amazing rose garden around it and the others had other brilliant flowers somewhere on the property.

I think this simple drive was the highlight of the day. We loved seeing how other people live.

We did have one other tasting at Gustavo Thrice. This was another quaint place to have a tasting even though it was not a winery. We again decided not to buy anything here and would wait until to tomorrow when we went to the real places to purchase something to take home.

We had dinner at a place called Taylor's Refresher. Scott had seen this on the Food Network as having the third best burger in the country. It was a walk up restaurant with picnic tables and umbrellas all around it to sit. There many people already there and when we left at 8:00 the line was quite amazing. We all thoroughly enjoyed our meals here and Scott got a Tuna burger that was to die for. I think we were all pleasantly surprised at how great the whole thing was. The weather was perfect and we all just truly enjoyed each others' company. (That is why we like to travel together so much.)

We finally arrived back at the hotel around 9:30 California time so needless to say. . . we had had a full day and were ready to crash. If the entire vacation is going to be this fantastic I am not sure we are going to want to come home. I guess it is a good thing that our girls our back home, so that we will want to come back to them. I will say we all miss them.

2009-06-14T12:37:00.000-07:00