NorCal Road Trip Archives - Portmanteau Suitcase

Sonoma Saturday

SMS and I on the rooftop of Singlethread

What an amazing birthday weekend! SMS and I had an epic few days in Sonoma. We had so much fun together and I’m definitely sad it’s over. But rather than drown in my pinot-tinged tears, let me tell you about our trip!

We started on Saturday morning with an ambitiously scheduled 11 a.m. tour at Preston Farm and Winery. Yes, well, that didn’t happen. We stopped in Oakland for breakfast and even though we passed on the wait at the delicious looking Sequoia Diner, our drive there was a bit more of a detour than I realized. We went to the World Ground Coffeeshop, which was pretty cool.

I called Preston Farm and they told us not to worry, that they’d even refund the tour charge once we got there! Lucky us! Preston is in the Dry Creek appellation of Sonoma. I picked it after researching several Sonoma wineries. I liked the fact that there was a produce farm in addition to the winery. In addition, they grow Mourvèdre grapes, which I really like in red blends. They’re actually releasing a 100% Mourvèdre in a week so I might buy it off their website!

It’s not terribly difficult to get to although the last half mile is on a packed dirt road. The gardens are beautiful and it is an idyllic place to sit. There is a bocce ball court which, if I were to make a Mean Girls t-shirt for Preston, it would say, “On weekdays, we play bocce” since there were several (!) signs saying bocce was not to be played on weekends.

SMS and I each had a tasting. We tried two whites and four reds. We thought they were fine, but not mind-blowing. We bought the white blend “Madam Preston” since it was our favorite of the flight and the tasting fee was waived with a bottle purchase. Free wine!

The wine pourers were all really nice. We got several biking recs and a few other tasting room suggestions. One of the women enthusiastically endorsed our planned Monday tour at Medlock-Ames so we were excited about that!

View at Healdsburg Ridge Open Space Preserve

After Preston, we went to Healdsburg Ridge Open Space Preserve. We parked on a residential street near the trailhead and went on a two mile walk/hike. There were really pretty views of the valley and it was a nice way to spend some time on a gorgeous day!

Rockpile, the tasting room next to Rockpile, the construction site

After our hike, we went into Healdsburg. We stayed at America’s Best Value Inn, which was fine. It was clean and inexpensive, which was our goal for that night’s stay! We walked into town, which I thought would be easy. It was not. There’s a construction zone for a roundabout that the locals, if you bring it up, will immediately start to vent about how long it’s taking and how ridiculous the whole thing is. What was funny though is that there is a tasting room right on the developing roundabout called Rockville, which is very appropriate. I think the name precedes the construction site though.

We went to the Idlewild tasting room, which was recommended to us at Preston. The winery focuses on Piedmont, Italy wines. The flight, which we shared, featured 5 single varietals, 2 white/3 red. We also tried the Rosé, made from 47% Nebbiolo, 28% Barbera, and 25% Dolcetto. Most rosés are made from Pinot Noir grapes so this was an interesting variation. I got a full glass, which was definitely a great choice. We talked with the pourer Scott for awhile! He was very interesting and quite knowledgeable about the wine/restaurant scene. He is a somewhat recent transplant, having arrived from NYC about three years ago.

While the wines were good (especially paired with an incredible cheese plate- Piedmont Sola and a buffalo Camembert), we decided not to buy any bottles. I think we were too lazy to carry them! We headed over to Shed, where we had a reservation. I had wanted to eat there since our last visit so I was really happy to go.

At Shed, we split three plates, which was a lot of food (as pointed out by SMS before we ordered). I ordered the cheese/salumi plate and the ricotta-nettles dumplings. Both were very good. SMS ordered the savory toast, which was excellent. The toast was pretty heavy since there was a lot of butter soaking the bread, topped by pesto and other toppings. I never thought I would say there was too much better on toast but this one was slightly toeing the line.

After a great dinner, we headed back to the hotel. It was time for bed in anticipation of Sonoma Sunday!

Tahoe Thanksgiving!

Balcony view

Happy Thanksgiving! SMS and I took a weekend trip to Lake Tahoe! It’s 4 hours away and it’s hard to muster up the motivation to drive out there on an ordinary weekend. I booked an AirBnb cabin and we headed up on Thursday morning.

The Lake- approximately 3 blocks from our cabin.

The cabin was in Carnelian Bay, North Lake Tahoe. It was a residential neighborhood but there was a lot of space between cabins and the trees made it feel more secluded. Inside the house, it was super cozy and cute. I told SMS, “I want to buy a cabin in the woods!” He pointed out we could just keep booking AirBnBs. Touché.

Thanksgiving Feast, semi-home cooked style- roasted turkey breast, box stuffing, rolls
from a can, cranberry sauce from a can, roasted brussel sprouts and sweet potato
casserole. The heavenly light seems to be favoring the rolls.

Thanksgiving was pretty mellow. We relaxed after our drive and started cooking. We had a delicious feast with a ton of leftovers so it was definitely a successful Thanksgiving!

Inspiration Point with Emerald Bay below

Emerald Bay

The next day, we took a field trip to South Lake Tahoe to check out Emerald Bay and Inspiration Point. It was fairly crowded but we found a parking spot without too much trouble by utilizing one of the road pullouts. It’s legal as long as the car is inside the line, aka completely off the main road. If we had waited for one of the lots, it would have been awhile!

Vikingsholm

Tree along the trail

We hiked down a gravel road to Vikingsholm, a former Summer residence of several rich Californians as it changed hands over the years. Now it’s owned by the State and open for tours in the Summer. Ever since visiting Denmark twice, I’ve enjoy checking out Scandinavian design so it was cool to see here in Tahoe. I recommend checking it out!

Our brief foray outside

On Saturday, we had a leisurely drive back to Mountain View. Our first stop was in Truckee at the very cool Coffeebar. Our drinks were delicious and SMS had an awesome sausage breakfast burrito. We tried to brave the outside in the full sun but we wimped out and headed inside. Our drinks would have been cold in an instant!

The coveted Gose, second from the right!

In Sacramento, we stopped for lunch at our favorite spot, Nido. I had the vegan nut burger, SMS had the vegan steam buns and we split a beer sampler. According to SMS, I drank more than my fair share of the Gose so I went back up to get another sampler. Peace restored!

Then we drove home and traded cars with our friend. We had borrowed his front-wheel car with chains since snow was (remotely) in the forecast. Better safe than sorry! We actually just missed the snow- there was snow on the ground while we were there and on Saturday overnight, 8 inches fell!

Holiday Weekend!

The past weekend was a federal holiday weekend (yay!) and a nice mixture of being mellow and hanging out with family and friends. This post will be scant on pictures. It was a “live the moment” weekend instead of picture-taking, which I know, I know, does not make for very good blogging.

Gorgeous flowers outside of Neiman Marcus.

Anyway! I took Friday off and was pretty mellow while SMS was at work. I ran to his work and we met up for lunch. I spent the rest of the afternoon at the shopping mall trying to find a specific lipstick but had no luck. That night, we went to Tomi for dinner, which was pretty delicious.

ZZZZzzzzz….wake up! The weekend gets more interesting! On Saturday, SMS and I went to run club. Neither one of us had been for awhile so it was nice to see our running friends. Then, we went into the city to hang out with SMS’s sister and brother-in-law. We headed up to Tomales Bay, picked up oysters and had an amazing picnic in Pt. Reyes Station. Afterwards, we drove out to Pt. Reyes lighthouse, admiring the happy cows along the way. Does this sound familiar? It’s because we did the same trip with SMS’ parents and his sister wanted to recreate it.

Smokestack!

After we dropped them off, SMS and I went out to dinner in the city. I hadn’t really thought of a place, so we ended up going to the Dogpatch and eating at Smokestack. I loved the interior and the BBQ and drinks were delicious. Another huge bonus is they had free water on tap- still and sparkling! I love bubbles! I ordered a salad b/c I wasn’t very hungry. SMS ordered some delicious BBQ, sustainably sourced and cooked over a woodchip grill only, of course. I mean, really, we are in San Francisco (ha ha).

The next day, we met up with a friend of ours for brunch. I really wanted the chicken and waffle, but went with a big salad instead. Aiming for healthier eating is not always the most fun, but choices, choices. Afterwards, we went to the American Heritage Museum in Palo Alto, which was pretty cute. It was staffed by a lot of older volunteers, who gave us a tour. We saw several old printing presses, staffed by a guy who had been a typesetter for 30+ years. I really liked the interior of the house, since a doctor owned it and one room was an OR theatre. You can’t tell now, but the skylights were perfectly positioned for illuminating the operative field. I loved it!

Since we had been eating out like kings and queens, we decided to eat at home. I made a version of tacorisu, a Japanese dish that translates into….wait for it…taco rice! It was pretty good so I’ll be making it again.

Fall Weekend!

Yoda mendala outside of Mountain View library

SMS and I had an amazing weekend! It was a great mix of enjoying the area and relaxing at home.

Saturday was our lazy day. We woke up and SMS made an egg-in-a-hole for each of us. It was delicious and accompanied by a delicious from-the-garden heirloom tomato. Yum! There was also an avocado, but that was store bought.

What goes with coffee? Psycho Donuts!

We decided to head out to a nearby coffee shop, Chromatic. We went with our former next door neighbor, which made for nice company. I had the Keynote coffee, part of a Kouign Amann (a caramelized croissant dough pastry) and, finally, a cafe brûlée with almond milk. It was basically a latte with flame torched muscadon sugar on top. It was pretty awesome. I was so entranced by watching it get made that I forgot the coffee beans I bought. Fortunately, they let me replace the bag next day free of charge even though I didn’t have my receipt.

My new little piece of Paradise!

After Chromatic, we were lazy until we headed out for date night! SMS had booked us a private spa at a kind of Japanese-style onsen in downtown Palo Alto. It was amazing! The room was slate, tile and very clean. There was a shower inside and while I hope people rinse off before going in, the water was chlorinated. This is not similar in Japan since most of the onsens are continuously fed by the local springs. There was relaxing music playing and I love it. I highly recommend the place. Next time, I might look into spa treatments too but really, the soak was relaxing enough.

Fountain by the spa entrance

We walked around Palo Alto for a bit and then we went to the restaurant for our dinner reservation. We went to Thyme, which was pretty good. I had a delicious seafood soup. We both got the scallops which were fine. I’ve had better but I’ve also definitely had worse. The decor was nice and I liked sitting by the window during golden hour light. It made SMS look especially handsome!

On the Steep Ravine section of the trail

Sunday was our active day. I wanted to finish a Mt Tam hike we started last year but had to turn back due to sunset. I printed out the instructions (here’s the link!) and we drove up to Marin/Mt Tamalpis. The hike was beautiful and I recommend it! The scenery was quite varied as it included forest, second-growth redwoods, creeks and sun-exposed golden hills. There’s also a bathroom along the way so that was an added bonus!

SMS on Steep Ravine Trail

After the hike, we decided to head home. We were planning on cooking but after we had been driving for about 30 minutes, SMS said he “could use a snack.” Well, my momma didn’t raise no fool! I’ve thought in the past that there was a general idea of a snack at some point in the future. Nope, nope, nope. “Could use a snack” = emergency distress signal. (I, actually we, have learned this the hard way). So, we stopped at the In & Out that has been our emergency stop before (under worse circumstances when I thought it could wait and then we were stuck in 45 minute Golden Gate traffic. Wrong call!). We ordered food and oh my goodness, I didn’t realize how hungry I was either! It really is our favorite In&Out!

Our oasis!

We drove home and got stuck in some Sunday traffic congestion. Maybe a little worse due to a morning Raiders game but I think the roads are just bad around here.

Although I was really tired of walking, SMS tempted me into going into town to get a shave ice. We went to Teaspoon and got a tropical delight. It was amazing! I think it’s a testament to how tired I was that I didn’t think to get my own but hey, I think it was better shared!

Monday morning, I went for a run. My legs felt good considering the hike but my times were a little slow. We went to breakfast at Esther’s German Cafe where I got to flash back to Switzerland by ordering a cheese plate for breakfast- hearty bread, butter, cheese and jam. Delicious!

Janelle Monae and a Great Weekend!

Thornton Beach Overlook hike

This past weekend was a mix of study and play as I worked on a paper for my “Strategy and War” class but also did several fun things with SMS.

Friday night, we headed out to Antolian Kitchen, a Turkish/Kurdish cuisine restaurant. I had the broiled whole fish, which was really delicious. I’m on the tail end of a Whole 30 month so I’m trying to go to places that fit within those strict parameters. I’m sure I’ve inadvertently broke the rules with a tiny bit of added sugar, butter and oils but nothing major. SMS had a baked meat-stuffed tomato eggplant dish that was awesome. I think we’ll be back, even off of a diet!

Saturday was a study/paper-writing day. SMS and I started the day with the I’m taking my course through the Naval War College Distance Learning program and it’s interesting to learn more about military history. Some of the books are very dry so focusing is tough, but that’s what blog entry writing breaks are for!

Hanging out!

The next day was Sunday Fun Day. SMS and I went up to San Francisco to the Stern Grove Festival. It was opening day and Janelle Monae was the headliner. I saw her at Coachella a few years ago and she was fantastic. We were supposed to go with friends but their son was sick so they bailed. The show was amazing with a great setlist:

Suite IV Electric Overture
Dance Apocalyptic
Sincerely, Jane.
Q.U.E.E.N.
Electric Lady
One Fine Day
I Got You (I Feel Good)
I Want You Back
Cold War
Tightrope
Yoga
Let’s Go Crazy Come Alive (The War of the Roses)

Sitting on the stump!

Our concert seats were…interesting. The place was packed! We arrived at 1:15, 45 minutes before the start of the show. We climbed up the hill and found an awesome tree stump. We stayed there through the opening act Midtown Social and then headed down the hill for most of Monae’s set. The sound was better and the energy level higher. It was great!

Thornton Beach

Afterwards, we went out for sushi at a place with a TV so we could watch the first half of the Warrior/Cavs game. It was Game 7 and I think most of the Bay Area was watching! It was a great game- very competitive. We didn’t want to stay for the whole game so we headed back home and listened to it on the radio. I even streamed the last few minutes on Periscope with mixed success.

Thornton Beach

On the way home, we stopped at Thornton Beach Overlook and hiked down to the beach cliffs. It was so beautiful and a good impromptu hike along the Pacific.

Mozart Foundation Museum Tour

Oh my goodness! SMS and I had the best luck on Saturday. Due to serendipity and SMS’ love of racing cars, we were able to take a tour of a private car museum owned by a local developer (who clearly has done very poorly for himself)!

Let me back up. On Saturday, I got up early and went to the old apartment to straighten up before the movers came later in the day. I headed back to the new place to pick SMS up for our Saturday morning run club. We semi-regularly attend the Mountain View Runner’s Club Saturday morning session, which is a 3.5 mile loop on Steven’s Creek trail. It’s a really nice group of people and afterward, we hang out at the Starbucks for a little coffee-fueled socializing.

Not too different from some parking lots in Silicon Valley…

As SMS and I were getting ready to leave, he said he wanted to check out the Corvettes down the street. I hadn’t noticed but apparently, a lot of Corvettes had been driving by including two with racing modifications and vinyl appliques. We said goodbye to everyone and walked down the street. Inside an open gate, there was a mini-auto show in the parking lot that was filled with Corvettes! I estimate there were about 30-40, which was very cool. We wandered around and talked to a few people. We didn’t really know what was going on but then I started talking to a woman who had just pulled up in a more classic car with her husband. I complimented her on her shirt, which was a gray t-shirt with a silver and light blue rhinestone Corvette. She invited us to join them on their group tour of the Auto Museum. I initially declined (what a moron!) because the movers were supposed to come between 11-1, but I fortunately came to my senses. SMS and I each paid our $20 to the Corvette Club of Santa Clara President and with that, we were on the list!

Anteros also avenges unrequited love so maybe he’ll help me get this car?!?!

While we were waiting to get in, we talked to a guy who had extensively modified two Corvettes about 10 years ago as a side project. He had majored in auto design in college but spent his working years designing video games in Silicon Valley. [Aside: We never exchanged names and I suspect that he is really well-known in certain circles but hey, we were there to talk about the cars. Plus, SMS and I are just not super-in-the-know about that industry. But he did mention that he was good friends with the guy who programmed Pong and the guy who hired Steve Jobs at Atari.] Anyway, he had added a Super Charger to the engine to bring it up to 550 hP. He had also taken off most of the panels and replaced them with carbon fiber elements so the car was about 100 pounds lighter than a normal Corvette. He had the tooling done and panels made in a factory in San Diego. He had 14 orders for the car but the factory went out of business so only two were made. What was incredible to me was that the two cars were already committed so he had to deliver both of them; aka, he couldn’t even keep the car he made!! But, alls well that ends well. He bought the car back from one of the purchasers about 7 years later so he now has Production #0001 in his possession now. Incredible. What a feat of design and a display of integrity to keep your word on delivering a product you promise! The car is called Anteros, after the Greek god of requited love I’m guessing. It was absolutely beautiful.

Amazing supercharged engine!

At 1000, it was time for the tour! We went inside the understated, but beautiful building. The outside landscaping was very zen. Inside, the docent gave a brief introduction. They asked for no photography and everyone was very respectful of that request. I did take one picture by accident as I silenced my phone, but it was of the floor so I think it’s ok to display my masterpiece.

I am so funny and bad with my phone! Photo taken accidentally while silencing my phone.

The cars on display were incredible. There were many early cars, like three 1910-1913 Simplexes. There were several Pullmans, Ferraris and Porsches. Most of the cars were one of two/three known to be in existence. My favorite car was a 1934 Bugatti with a deep mustard yellow alligator interior. It was a breathtakingly beautiful car…the informational sign near it said that it drew such crowds, it was once hard for the then-owner to approach it and drive it away at the end of a car show!

Very few pictures can be found on the internet but here’s one from the kitchen cabinet designers. The gray Cadillac
in the middle/left center was in the museum and is a beautiful focal point with the interior design. Credit

Alas, all dreams must end and ours ended abruptly with a call from our neighbor that the movers there a few minutes before 11. Argh! When are movers ever early!?!? Anyway, we rushed off and left, but felt incredibly lucky to have experience such an amazing museum.

Summer Begins!

Our second moving truck!

Phew! At first glance, June seems like it will be more mellow than May, which was filled with lots of great trips. I think, though, that finishing up fellowship and moving will bring its own version of excitement to the month.

SMS and I got a lot done over Memorial Day weekend. His parents had cancelled a trip to visit us so we decided to move instead. Bad tradeoff! But it was nice to get the moving done. We rented a truck and moved the furniture that he’s keeping. Some of the smaller items were moved via a few car loads. The process was fairly painless and our new place is shaping up really nicely.

Main course at Madera

We also went out for a great dinner on Friday night. SMS had a great week at work so we decided to celebrate by going to Madera. It’s at a very fancypants hotel in Silicon Valley and since he’s been doing so well here, we decided to dine among the high-rollers! The food was really good. One of the highlights was the pre-dinner bread basket- great focaccia and light scones. I got a lamb dish that was quite tasty and SMS had a halibut carpaccio that was awesome. Our dessert was pretty amazing and the plating was very artistic. The service was a little on the hands-off side but I think they’re used to people wanting to be left alone. Maybe it’s kinder to say the service was inconspicuous.

Dessert- very impressive!

The short workweek was pretty uneventful. We met up with friends on Thursday night and had dinner by the pool. It was a lot of fun. It’s pretty funny how fearless kids are. Their kid can’t swim but that didn’t stop him from sprinting repeatedly to the pool to jump back in. Self-preservation does not necessarily seem like the greatest strength of the 0-5 years old set.

Pastry Counter

This weekend, we headed down to Newport Beach for some family time. We stayed at the condo with Linda and Rip and hung out with both of SMS’ grandfathers. The weather was in June Gloom-mode but we had a great time. We hung out with family, walked on the beach and had a really nice dinner at home. Yesterday, we had a great lunch at Xanadu Cafe, a newly opened cafe about two miles from the house.

More desserts

I’m about to go for a run and then I think we’re going jeans shopping later. We’re leaving tonight but stopping at the Blue Water Grill first on our way to the airport with Pam and Marty.

Birthday Weekend, Part 3: Napa, Mt Tam, Muir Woods

Cloudy start to our estate tour! The dog is Jasper, annihilator of sticks.

Sunday started off with another round of Bouchon pastries (for the win!), coffee and juice. We all went out to pick our favorite(s) and then ate back at the house. We walked around the estate and saw the horse exerciser- a rotating soft gate that apparently makes the horse move along at different paces in the ring. The horse we saw could pass for a unicorn, sans horn, and didn’t seem to mind nor was it breaking a sweat.

Sunny by noon!

Around 11, Mom’s cousin came over and it was really nice to catch up with him. The day started off cloudy but by the time we all left at noon, it was another gorgeous sunny day. I decided to enjoy the beauty of Marin County by going to Mt. Tam and Dad really wanted to see Muir Woods.

Top left is my favorite piece in the Hess, “The Metamorphosis;” Barrel Room and more art.

First, we went to Hess winery to check out the art museum and tasting room. The tasting room is very cool and we went into their barrel room after the guy noticed us looking through the window and told us we could go in. The modern art collection is varied and interesting even if some of the works make me feel like I can do it too (I probably can’t. Probably).

Close up of my birthday flowers 🙂 and Oxbow Market

Afterward, we ate lunch at Oxbow Market. Dad was craving pizza so we shared three pies from Ca ‘Momi. It was excellent and such a good call! Mom and Dad really liked walking around the market as we waited for our pizzas. We sat outside at a table for four and really had a nice time. Mom got her glass of wine comped by the guy taking our order inside, which just shows she still has it!

The road to the Mt Tam Peak is long but nice in that it eliminates that long walking part that some people don’t like about hiking. There’s a 0.7 mile loop trail that gets a person to the summit so we all went on that. There were some grumblings at the top about why the lookout tower wasn’t open (grumble, grumble) but the views were magnificent and I think overall, we were pretty happy we went for the hike. Someone did point out that the views from the parking lot were about the same as the ones from the top though (One gues- Dad!).

Then we headed back down the mountain to Muir Woods. My National Park Pass got us in for free (yay!) and we went on the 1 mile boardwalk loop that took us past three distinct groves and several other Sequoia sempervirens. It’s pretty amazing and I’m glad we went to Muir Woods on the way back rather than add more time by going to Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve. The trees in Armstrong are larger and the area is slightly less tamed (aka, no boardwalk) but sometimes, it’s nice to avoid too much car time.

Mt Tam and the Golden Gate!

Then, it was time to head home. We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and took the 280 back. I had plans to make food at home but people were hungry and hungry now so we went to the best taco truck, Super Tacos El Conrro! It’s a converted ambulance with four people inside making the most delicious tacos. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend.

We were all pretty tired when we got home but we splurged on dessert and shared some Dolce wine before going to bed. It was the perfect end to a day!

Birthday weekend, Part 2: Napa!

After sleeping soundly in the guesthouse’s comfortable beds, we woke up to celebrate my birthday! SMS and I were up first so we headed to Bouchon Bakery for pastries. We ordered a delicious assortment including a croissant, almond croissant, chocolate almond croissant and pain au chocolat. In order to disrupt the theme, we also ordered two cinnamon donuts that came with the hole. Both were delicious. The cake texture was incredibly perfect- I’ve never had a donut like it!

We brought the pastries back to the house where we ate and got ready for our day of strenuous wine glass lifting. Our first appointment was at Schramsberg Vineyards for some sparkling wine, which seemed like the only civilized option that early in the morning! But before the tasting comes the tour, which was excellent. Rimpel gave us an overview of the winery’s history, including the role Schramsberg sparkling wine has had in international-US affairs and State Dinners. After that, it was time to tour the cave!

Rows and rows of champagne- what a lovely sight! See the pickax marks on the upper left?

The first 1/6 mile of the cave was hand-cut by Chinese workers who were out of work after building the trans-Continental railroad. The pick-ax marks are still there! It reminded me of the cave system in Yokosuka. The caves were pretty awesome, especially now that they’ve been expanded and hold millions of bottles of sparkling wine!

Rimpel reviewed the champagne making process, which is pretty cool. First, the wine is made similar to any winery. Then there’s a secondary fermentation that happens within the bottle when sugar, yeast and wine are added. The bottle is capped with a beer bottle top and left to age fo
r several years. Prior to bottling, the bottles are inverted and twisted in huge holding racks by “riddlers” over the course of a few weeks to get the yeast to settle out right above the cap. At the end, the neck is placed in glycol to freeze the neck, the cap is removed, the ice plug shoots out and a cork/cage are placed. The process was fascinating and Rimpel explained it really well.

Happy frog in the Schramsberg pond!

After all that walking through the caves, it was time for the tasting! We went into a small dining room and had two Blanc de Blanc, one Blanc de Noir and one Rose. They were all fantastic. A nice surprise was the J. Davies cabernet sauvignon in the middle. It was surprisingly delicious. It was full-bodied and really, really smooth. I loved it! Mom signed up for the wine club and I don’t know, I may soon be joining her! (Oh wait, I just did!)

After our fantastic tour, we walked through the gardens which were really beautiful. Napa in the Spring on a sunny day is absolutely gorgeous. Then we headed into Yountville where I had bought tickets for the Taste of Yountville event. The event went from 12-5 and featured a lot of different restaurants and local wineries. There was also a tour of the French Laundry gardens, which three of the four of us liked (Dad!). We had a great time walking up and down the street, grabbing our bites to eat such as shrimp and grits, mini-slider and ribs while washing it down with multiple wine tastings. I think it would have been dangerous if we spent all afternoon there!

View from the Far Niente’s main house balcony

Instead of spending all afternoon in Yountville, I kept an appointment I had made at Far Niente for 2 o’clock. SMS and I are Nickel & Nickel members, mostly for the complimentary tastings! Ok, ok, the wine is good too. But the tastings are so expensive that by joining the wine club, it almost comes out even between the shipment costs and the complimentary tasting benefit. Since SMS and I had been to Nickel & Nickel before, we wanted to try Far Niente.

Far Niente Caves. Old vs new label on the right.

Our Uber drive out there was great because I got some awesome insights as to when you do and do not want someone throwing up in your car. I would have thought you’d never want someone to throw up in your car but how wrong I was. Cornell taught me that you get reimbursed $400 by Uber and the place he uses to clean it up only charges $160. So on a slow night, it really helps you come out ahead. I said I’d be tempted to buy fake throw-up. He said he’s thought the same thing but that the last rider gets charged so someone would probably complain.

Tasting time!

The tour was also amazing. Reed walked us through the winery and described the process. We also walked through the caves, which were among the first in Napa. The caves were really cool although different in appearance than Schramsberg. In the caves, we went into the wine library which was an awesome sight. I wanted a bigger bag so I could sneak a bottle away. I kid, I kid (mostly).

The car barn and a view of the main building

The tasting was great. The highlight for me was trying Dolce, an incredible dessert wine that I have a bottle of but never tried. It is so sweet and delicious! We also had two chardonnays and two cabernet sauvignons. The wines were paired with excellent cheeses and really, it was completely delightful. The balcony door was open, the breeze blew through and the whole scene was so idyllic.

After Far Niente, we headed back to Yountville via Uber. We caught the last hour of the festival and we had a great time. Then it was back to the house to relax until dinner.

Dinner was at Ad Hoc, a Thomas Keller restaurant. It was nice to have a birthday dinner in such a quintessential Yountville restaurant. The short ribs supplement and cheese course were definitely on point. The salad and dessert were also pretty good. The service and ambiance left a little to be desired but no matter, with great food and great company, it was an awesome end to a great birthday.

We got home around 10 and even though we wanted to build a fire, we were done! We all went to bed, looking forward to more weekend adventures the next day!

Weekend: Mt Diablo Hike and Jack London Square

This weekend was a lot of fun. SMS and I were pretty mellow since we have a big weekend planned next weekend when Mom and Dad come to visit!!!! Hooray!

Coffee purchase by SMS

On Friday, SMS made a delicious baked egg dish in our little ramekins. Sometimes I feel like we rediscover a way to cook things and I think ramekins will be showing up with more frequency in the near future!

Saturday, SMS and I went to the Mountain View Running Club Saturday run. We talked to a lot of nice people both during the run (3.5 miles) and afterward at Starbucks. I’m so glad SMS came. We’re going to be doing more running and hiking in preparation for Summer adventures! The afternoon was pretty lazy. That evening, we met up with a really nice couple for dinner at Doppio Zero. I had met the woman at my book club and got along really well so we decided to meet up for dinner. It could have gone poorly but I think everyone had a really nice time.

Flowers along the trail

Sights along the trail- do you see the turkey in the top left picture? We even saw him flying, which looked as
ungraceful as I would have imagined if I had ever thought of a turkey flying.

SMS planned our Sunday adventure. He found a great book detailing local hikes and he decided we’d do the Mt. Diablo State Park Donner Canyon Waterfall Loop. This time of year, the wildflowers are out and it’s not too hot so…perfect! The hike is a little over 5.5 miles with some decent inclines. It was beautiful and we really enjoyed ourselves. There were a fair number of people out but not uncomfortably so.

Waterfalls along the trail

Afterward, we headed into Oakland and explored Jack London Square. The day was gorgeous and we sat outside for awhile for lunch at !!!Plank, a restaurant/bocce ball/bowling alley/arcade. It was a really cool place and would be really nice for a group event. After lunch, we played a couple rounds of SkeeBall and one round of Air Hockey.

!!!Plank

We headed home afterward and have just been enjoying the tail end of the weekend. I have some exciting work research plans in preparation for my next job so I’ll be working on that for the next three months.