San Fran

For the final leg of our trip, we drove back to San Francisco. We ended up staying down near the Airport because it was the only one where we were able to use our Marriott points for the room. The Oyster Point Courtyard Marriott was just fine. It was about a 30 minute drive up to the wharf area. We checked in and had lunch at Siam Spoon in South San Francisco. It was excellent. We had spring rolls, pad thai and pad see u. Nothing fancy, but good food at good prices.

We drove downtown and were amazed to find a spot in free street parking on Bay St. In fact, I asked two locals to make sure we were OK to park there. We got lucky! Keeping with our trend, we decided to to do a Big Bus Tour. Of all the bus tours we've done, we decided this was the worst. It wasn't bad. There was a lot of down time and not nearly as much information as you normally get. But, i don't know of another way we could have seen that much of the city. We got on and did the whole loop. After the tour, we did Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf. I could watch the sea lions at Pier 39 ALL DAY. Andrew practically had to drag me away. We did take-out at The Chowder Hut down at the wharf. Side note, I left this part of the trip up to Andrew because I'd been before. I wish we would have planned meals a little better :( I had Calamari it wasn't great and Andrew had a fish sandwich which he said was OK. We drove back to the hotel for a quiet evening. 

Exhausted from a long trip, we woke up slow the next morning to the daunting task of repacking to go home. We wrapped all of our wine in the Wine Skin bags I ordered on amazon before we left... good choice! Do that! Then, we figured out what had to be checked, carried on, etc. It was no easy task. Thankfully, we traveled with our extra fold up duffel bag which came in handy! 

We loaded up and drove back to the wharf area. We found metered parking near Ghiradelli square. We got our free sample of chocolate and bought a few souvenirs at Ghiradelli. Then we wandered down to the NPS Historical Vessels area. You can buy tickets to go on all of these old ships. We didn't, but it looked like a fun activity. 

We wandered back to the wharf and the Musee Mecanique. It's fun, slightly creepy, and very nostalgic. It's also a cheap way to have some fun at the wharf. After some serious competitive arcade game playing, we walked back down and watched the sea lions some more (happy sigh). 

Then, we ate a late lunch at Pompei's Grotto. I had a crab salad stuffed avacado very fresh and tasty. Andrew had a crab salad sandwich and chowder. 

Then, we decided to give ourselves plenty of time to get the rental car returned, bags checked, etc. and headed to the airport.

I loved this trip and the combination of a few days in luxurious Napa, a few days in exquisite creation (Yosemite), and a fun day and a half in San Fran to top it all off. So blessed for the opportunity to travel and experience new things with the one I love most in the world! 

Yosemite

The drive from Napa to Yosemite was just over 4 hours. At the suggestion/demand ;) of Andrew's uncle, we made a stop at the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield. We stopped to get him two packs of Belly Flops (reject jelly beans). Of course they were having a buy 3 get 2 free sale. We left with 5 bags (10 lbs!!!) of jelly beans. Note: I despise jelly beans, lol. It was a good for a laugh and to make Uncle Jake happy! 

On our way back to the interstate, we saw a sign for Olive Oil tasting. I had wanted to do it in Sonoma but it didnt' work out. So, we stopped at Sepay Groves little tasting room. An older couple who runs the store was very knowledgeable and we learned all about polyphenols and the health benefits of real olive oil. For $20 we decided to buy in. We'll see...

The highlights of our drive were stopping at a fresh produce stand in the "Delta" and the giant wind farm! 

We had booked a room through VRBO for our stay in Yosemite. However, the day before we were scheduled to arrive, the owners called to tell us the sewer line was down. They were gracious enough to point us to the Yosemite Plaisance B & B. What started out as a leap of faith turned into a wonderful experience. We ended up being their very first customers. They were so kind, eager to please, and the food was delicious. 

After a late afternoon arrival, we ended up walking downtown to the Gold Coin. Casual sports bar, great burger, onion rings, and cobb salad. The "walk" back to the B&B was no joke. Hello, incline! I think I would weigh A LOT less if I did that walk after dinner every night. 

We woke up the first morning, had a delicious omelette and salad breakfast and headed to Yosemite. The beautiful drive via Hwy 140 took us 45mins-1 hour. We paid $20 for a 7 day pass and were in the park. We parked, walked to the visitors center and Ansel Adams gallery (Bests studio) where we signed up for a walking photography tour for the next day. Then we went to the lodge to sign up for a open air tram tour of the valley. The Valley Floor Tour was $25pp and well worth it. We had a Zoey Deschanel-like tour guide who kept us laughing and rolling our eyes. We learned a lot about the park and exactly what we were looking at. The trip was 2 hours with a couple of stops for photo ops. 

 After the tour, we hiked to lower Yosemite falls. It was a very easy hike. There is a FREE shuttle bus that takes you to popular trail heads, the visitors center, parking areas, etc. They were VERY helpful and easy to use. We carried bottles of water and trail mix in our mini backpacks. And just took little breaks instead of stopping for lunch. For a longer hike, we took the shuttle to the Mirror Lake trail head. It was quite beautiful and refreshing to stick our feet in the snow melt lake.

 We decided to continue our hike onto Snow Creek Trail. We went from heavily populated to just the two of us very quickly. All in all that hike was about 5 miles, we took the loop around instead of going all the way up. It was beautiful, covered all different types of terrain, and gave beautiful view of half dome, rivers, mirror lake, and meadows. The only downsides to this trail were 1) it was incredibly dusty and 2) it was the same trail they use for the trail rides with horses. aka LOTS of horse crap! Poopoo aside,I would do it again in a heartbeat. Next time, I would really like to hike the Mist Trail. 

Pretty tired, we made our way back to the car and ate our Chocolate chip cookies, prepared by the lovely Helene. We drove back to the B&B and had one of the best feeling showers I've ever had, haha. We got ready for dinner and went to the owners recommended Charles Street Dinner House.  It was pricey, but we got so much for our $. I had a yummy roasted garlic, broccoli, cheese soup and Andrew had salad. I had a filet and Andrew the ribeye, both with potatoes and veggies. Then they brought us dessert for our anniversary (milking it!). We were stuffed. It was one of the best steaks I've ever had. Everything was very freshly prepared and it was a delightful meal. I would definitely go back! 

Woke up the next morning to our first ever experience with crepes. Savory and sweet were delicious! To our delight, she had also prepared lemon bars for us to take with us.

We drove back to the valley and did a free walking photography hike. We stayed in Cooks Meadow and learned all about lighting and shadows and framing and perspective, etc. 

The tour lasted about an hour and a half and ended at one of the only sequoia trees in Yosemite. We headed back to the car and drove up to Glacier Point. It was the most beautiful place I have ever been. I just felt so humbled and small to see all of these giant mountains. I truly felt so close to God marveling in the beauty of Yosemite from above. Next time, I would like to hike Sentinel Dome which is near there. We ran out of time. 

From Glacier Point, we drove down to Mariposa Grove to see the giant sequoias. From what I remember, Muir Woods was a better sequoia viewing experience. But, we still enjoyed a long hike and looking at the monumental giant trees. Our hike was longer and more difficult than expected, especially when we found ourselves off the trail. No worries, we made it out. According to Andrew's app, it was also a 5 mile hike. However, those 5 miles felt much further than the ones the day before. I don't know that I'd go back to Mariposa Gove. Like I said, I think Muir Woods is the better sequoia viewing choice.

That night, we got home, showered and our hosts graciously invited us to join them for dinner. We had a nice salad, sausages, and a feta, onion, fig tarte. We slept well and woke up the next morning to french toast with fruit and fresh vanilla rum whipped cream. You can only imagine how sad we were to go. 

Yosemite is one of my favorite places I have ever been. I would recommend it to anyone. I'm also so thankful our little B&B turned out to be such a wonderful experience. Unforgettable for sure!!

Wine Country

This was a wonderful trip for us! There were 3 parts: wine country, Yosemite, and San Francisco. 

I found http://www.napatouristguide.com/ helpful when planning this leg of the trip. And OF COURSE, the trusty Trip Advisor reviews and forum. 

We used skymiles to fly to SFO. We left home very early and made to to San Fran by noon local time. Upon arrival we decided to split up, I would go wait for the one bag we had checked and Andrew would go get the rental car. Good decision! Getting to the rental car area involved taking an airport train quite a ways, then the long was really long. The whole process took forever. We FINALLY got in our car and on the road. We decided to take a little longer route (still < a 2 hr drive) so that we could drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. 

We stopped for a quick lunch at In & Out Burger. Burger was good, fries didn't taste like they were made of potatoes and rather just "starch." Onward to Napa...

By the time we arrived in Napa it was after 4pm. We stopped at the Napa Welcome Center hoping to gain some helpful information and maybe a discount or two. They told us that all of the wineries were close to closing for the day so we asked about tasting rooms downtown. They convinced us to buy two $30 downtown tasting cards. We were to show our card at 12 locations and receive a "free" tasting. Our first stop was the Napa General Store. When we presented our cards, we felt we were immediately looked down upon. We were each poured a small sip of a red and a white and I convinced the snooty bartender to walk us through the tasting process. Not a good start. We left a small tip (looking back we shouldn't have) and moved to our next tasting feeling let down. (Side note: the General Store had some really cute stuff and I would have like to have spent more time there shopping, but alas not the purpose for this trip). Our next stop was a few doors down at the Vintage Sweet Shoppe. Our expectations were lower and it was definitely a sweet shoppe. But still, they looked at our cards, poured us a little bigger (3 sips) tasting and walked off annoyed. At least these sips came with a small piece of chocolate, haha. 

We were really down after this and knew we had made the wrong decision buying the card. It would have been better to spend our $60 on a couple of bottles somewhere. However, the tasting did get better! We made our way through the downtown construction to NakedWines. We stopped here because I thought I had heard of it (I was thinking of The Naked Grape wines). I am SO GLAD we ended up here. We walked in the door and were approached by Bella. She explained the concept of Naked Wines, essentially they are a winery co-op. Very cool! She told us our cards gave us access to tasting anything we wanted. We were to let her know if we wanted whites and the reds were on a counter for us to pour ourselves. She had a few suggestions, sat down with us to talk, and was all around FABULOUS! In fact, after we bought some wine I ended up hugging her and thanking her. She also looked at our tasting card choices and told us where to go. Her recommendations were Mark Herold (try the Collide she says... it was great!) and the two tasting rooms at Oxbow Market. Mark Herold was laid back, funky, and fun. We made "friends" with a crazy couple from Illinois. By the time we finished there we decided to go find our hotel. First, a stop at Trader Joes to stock up on waters and snacks for the next few days. 

Hoping to save money on the trip, I found our motel through Groupon. We stayed at the Sunburst Calistoga. Our expectations were low, but definitely exceeded. Calistoga is a small town known for its natural hot springs, mineral waters, and mud baths. It was approximately 30 minutes north of Napa, but just fine for us. It was newly renovated and very clean. My only criticism would be the that the walls are very thin.This was only an issue our first night there when our neighbors came in late and loud. Other than that it was great. It even included a small continental breakfast which you picked up at the office building and brought back to the room to eat. We really enjoyed the on-site natural mineral pools and jacuzzi. I would definitely stay here again. 

Our first night we decided against going to dinner and ate poolside (some bread and cheese we had bought earlier that day.)

The next morning we got up and drove to Yountville to the Bouchon Bakery. It is part of Thomas Keller's empire. It was busy but the line moved quickly. We had coffee, pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant) and macaron, both favorites from Paris. They were very good. We then walked around Yountville (a lovely area) and ended up sitting to drink our coffee in a charming public flower garden. 

 We continued wandering and came across a huge garden. It turned out to be the garden for French Laundry. SOMEDAY I will eat there. Not anytime in the near future though. How cool and truly farm to table! 

We left for our 10am reservations at Robert Mondavi Winery. I made our tasting/tour reservations through Cellar Pass a few weeks before we went. Yes, it is a very touristy winery. However, it was what we needed to kickstart our time in Napa. They limit tour groups to 12-15 people. The tour guide does an introduction about the history of the winery, tours part of the property with you, talks to you about the wine making process, and then does a sit down guided tasting of three wines. We ended up buying a 2007 Merlot. 

 After Mondavi, we headed to V. Sattui. Mainly, because it was there and because I had a 2 for 1 tasting coupon I had picked up at the hotel. Here, we were laid back and comfortable. We didn't end up buying anything but it was a good experience.

Oakville Grocery for lunch. It is an old general store from 1881, that has been updated to very trendy-rustic. We had a roast beef and chicken guyere sandwiches. You order at the counter and eat outside. Very yummy!

Several people had recommended we check out the "castle winery." So, we headed to Castello di Amorosa. It was VERY touristy, crowded, expensive to tour, and it really lost its charm when we found out it was built in 2007!! I wouldn't go back. 

After the castle disappointment, we went to Sterling Vinyards. Now, you know I love a good organized production and Sterling wins the award. You pull in, buy your tickets, (I had a $5 coupon from somewhere) and then immediately get on a tram to go up the mountain.

 
When you get off the tram, you stop at your first "station." The person hands you your glass (which you get to keep, thank you!) and pours your first tasting and tells you about it. There is a gorgeous view for you to enjoy as well. Then, you walk to the second stop. It is a patio with another lovely view where a man explains and pours two more wines. Then, you go inside, through the optional gift shop and to a little outside area overlooking barrels where there is a water cooler (thank you) and a video explaining how the wines are made. Then, another room with another optional video, and another porch with your final tasting and incredible views. Sterling definitely wins my prize for the best self-guided tour! 

Then, the tram back down the mountain, past a cute little interactive chalkboard art exhibit and back to the car. Very nice!

From here, we went back to the hotel to lay by the pool and read for a while. Here we met a local with a lot of suggestions. We ended up walking to dinner at the All Seasons Bistro in downtown Calistoga. Service was great, food was OK. We called the FREE Calistoga shuttle to take us back to our hotel. Great idea!

The next morning, we woke up slowly and went to the highly anticipated Chateau Montelena. In preparation for our visit, we watched the 2007 movie, Bottle Shock. I always recommend doing things like that, as it gives you a more personal connection to the winery. We shared a tasting. I wish we would have taken a tour. Maybe next time.. We ended up going home with two bottles of their famous Chardonnay. 

A crawfish?? So random! 

From the Montelena, we went to see the Old Faithful of California geyser. I would NOT recommend this unless you, like me, have a funny inside family joke to make you stop. Or if maybe you were really interested in geysers...

Next, was a long drive up to Geyserville through the Alexander Valley (famous for its Cabernet Sauvignon). We wanted to check out two of our favorite wineries that happen to be right next to each other. 

First, Clos du Bois. If you speak french like my mommy that's Clawz-doo-boze. We didn't do a tour here either, but it may have been neat. They are very big on susatainablilty. I had a winery app that gave us a 2 for 1 tasting. The man behind the counter was NOT happy to hear that. He irritably told me they would honor it because it was there, but that they thought they had gotten rid of all of those. He wasn't happy to serve us from then on. However, I finally caught the attention of a nice woman also working behind the bar. I asked her a few questions and she took over our tasting and was very kind. Side note: In the middle of the tasting, our lodging for the next day called us to tell us their sewer line collapsed. Yikes! So that ruined it it a bit. It ended up working out for the best though. At the end of the tasting, the not so friendly man came back to charge us for our tasting and the bottle of wine we had selected. For some reason, Andrew decided to pay with our Visa (instead of the AmEx we use 90% of the time.) Well, Bam! That changed everything! Suddenly, it was "Oooh. Why didn't you say you had a Visa Signature Card?"

"A what?" (it's just a rewards visa, nothing special) 

"Your card is a Signature Visa card. It gets you two complimentary tastings at most of the Sonoma County wineries as well as a discount on wine."

WOW! I REALLY WISH WE WOULD HAVE KNOW THAT EARLIER! I thought I had done my research well, but that one escaped me. http://www.sonomawine.com/visa-signature-perks/vs-winery-guide

For future information. 

Our last winery was Francis Ford Coppola. I didn't see any info about a tour here. We did walk around the gift shop areas and look at some memorabilia, including Coppola's oscars.

It was very busy. There were a lot of people at the pool. You can rent a "cabine" there or play free bocce ball. We were told that our "signature visa" got us free tastings at the down stairs general tasting room. Those were the wines you could buy in store. Buttt, this is where we had planned to buy my parents a special wine as a gift, so we wanted to taste the reserves. We went upstairs and split a reserve tasting, they were laid back and generous as we compared what we wanted. After we bought the bottle we wanted, we went downstairs to do our free tasting. 

Then, we sat outside on the veranda and had lunch. We split a caesar salad and a prosciutto and arugula flat bread and had some wine (of course). It was quite delicious and the view was spectacular. 

That night we had dinner at Bistro Jeanty in Yountville. It was an upscale bistro. We started with soups. Andrew had french onion and I had the highly recommended tomato soup, topped it puff pastry. A pretty impressive presentation. 

Andrew had steak frites and was not impressed. I had the lamb special which was very good. I marked on our Open Table reservation that we were there to celebrate our 5th anniversary. They brought us out a scoop of homemade vanilla bean ice cream with a little waffle cone wafer. It was nice. I would go back... even if just for the tomato soup and a salad!

On our last morning we slept in, packed up and checked out. We went to the Roman Spa in Calistoga. Knowing the town was famous for its mud baths, I wanted to experience one. However, they are expensive. Luckily, I found the Roman Spa which does a 2 for 1 Tuesday. Our last day in town just happened to be on a Tuesday! If you like traditional, fancy, sterile looking spas, I would definitely NOT recommend the place. We're always in for an adventure though! We pulled up to the spa and it was not impressive. I wish I would have taken a picture. We checked in and signed our waivers and were introduced to Patty, our personal guide through the experience. She also had a shadower who was training. Patty was kind, professional, and informative. First they took us into a room where we stripped and put on our robes a slippers. Then they came in and led us into the room with the mud baths. I'm not going to lie, it smelled a little. The baths are made from natural peat, volcanic ash, and geothermal mineral water. Patty told us how to best get in and that she'd be back to check on us. Giggling the whole way, we got into our mud baths. It was hot! Once settled in, it was surprisingly relaxing. Patty and her shadower came in every 5 minutes or so to put a cold washcloth on our heads and to give us a sip of our water from a straw. 

I'm being a creeper and copying this image from the website: 

 

We only stayed in 15-20 minutes. I don't think you could stand it much longer. While still in the mud, Patty explained to us, how to slowly get out, and use the two shower stalls in the room to rinse off. Then, we were to get into the two whirlpool tubs they had prepared. After a while, they came back in to check on us and talk us through getting out and back into our robes. Once we came out they lead us back into the room with our clothes where we laid on massage tables to cool down. They sprayed rose water on us and put cucumbers over our eyes. Soft music played while we cooled down. Then, we put on our clothes to go. 

Am I glad we did it? Yes. Would I go again? Probably not. Would I recommend it to the average person? No. Would I recommend it to someone who likes new experiences and adventures like we do? Of course... but maybe only on 2 for 1 Tuesday, haha.

After the mud bath experience, we decided to drive up to Healdsburg for lunch. We ate at the Center Street Cafe and Deli. It was very simple. I had California Eggs Benedict which was delicious. Andrew had a sandwich and said it was OK.  We walked around the cute little downtown area in and out of shops for as long as Andrew would stand it, haha. 

Then we went to the La Crema tasting room. I don't think you can actually visit their winery, only the tasting room. Our awesome friends, the Bakers, love their wine and we figured we would stop in. We hoped our Visa card would get us a free tasting there, but it did not. We shared a tasting and bought a bottle for our friends. 

We decided we had enough wine and that it was time to move on to our next stop.