On the Road Again: Chronicle Part 8

Friday March 5th

Well, sad as it is to admit, today marked the final day of “Phase 2: Napa Valley” on our journey up and down the West Coast. It was definitely a bittersweet moment, as we had to say goodbye to The Lavender Inn and Napa but also looking ahead to an exciting trip down the coast with MUCH more to see! Checkout time was at noon, so we didn’t have to race around to get ready to go this morning, which was a relief. We slept in a little, rose for our last deliciously free breakfast, and thought about how the day would play out. After some discussion last night, we decided that we wouldn’t try to see any more wineries today, even though there were still two or three that we both really wanted to visit. It seemed like the right thing to just let go of Napa and enjoy the fact that we had a lot left to see in our last days of vacation. Packing more into today would have just been too much. Plus, we had a deadline – we wanted to be able to see as much of the coast before the sun set as possible. We had to get on the road soon to ensure that happened, especially if clouds rolled in and stole some of our light earlier than we anticipated.
After breakfast, we packed up pretty quickly. We took one last look around the room, waved goodbye to the amazing outdoor Jacuzzi, and sighed with regret as we loaded our suitcases into the car and put the key in the ignition. Although we were sad our right hand woman Marion wasn’t at the front this morning to say goodbye, it made leaving a little easier since we didn’t have an excuse to stand around and chat. We grabbed a soda from the fridge and rolled out of Napa.

I remembered that I never picked up any postcards during our time in Napa. So, before we exited the area, we agreed to stop and pick some up in town. I also needed to find the perfect magnet for Kelly, whose only request while I was away was to find her a cool magnet from somewhere on the journey. A wine related item seemed obviously appropriate for some reason. You would never imagine how difficult it is to find postcards in such a place. For a tourist town, I was shocked at how few places had them at all, and how expensive they were in the locations I’d seen them. Luckily, I stumbled upon a great deal in the third place we tried, and we got on our way.

We got as far as Oakland (just outside San Francisco) when we realized that we should probably stop for gas and lunch before we jumped on the 1. There’s no telling when your rest stops will be once you venture onto California’s Highway 1. Ryan spotted a Chevy’s from the highway, which, I have to admit, was not my first choice for food. But he seemed so excited about it and we needed something close and quick to stay on schedule, so I agreed. It turned out to be nice, as the restaurant’s bar and patio looked out over the bay toward San Francisco, so even though the food was less than mediocre, the view was nice. We fueled up and headed toward the 1 with Half Moon Bay as our first destination.

Before getting on the 1, I tried to shape what my expectations were for this part of the trip. I’d heard so many things about journeying up and down this famous stretch of highway and images of it are synonymous with ideas and movies about Californian life. Anytime a movie takes place in California, the director always finds a reason for a driving scene along the high and winding cliffs of the Pacific Coast. It does make for a dramatic effect and the images are part of what make California what it is. It was a little cloudy on this day, so I was worried that our views of the coast would be marred by the lack of sun. This was one of the very few times I ever found myself disappointed in a consistent cloud layer. When we finally reached the highway, though, it was more than I could have imagined. Describing the views and the way the road lays out so unexpectedly before you is futile compared to the real life experience. Shame on me for worrying about the clouds – our view wasn’t marred in the slightest. The first stretch of highway wasn’t as dramatic as I had imagined, but it was no less beautiful. I kept trying to capture it on my camera, but found my efforts impossible because every picture just looked so bland in comparison. There were so many hills and valleys in the road and around us, while off to the right the coast appeared so sharp and within arms reach. There was no gradual development of the view, either; it was very much a now you don’t see it, now you do kind of thing. Not until we reached the 1 did we see any of the coast, but once we breached the highway and got past the trees, it appeared like it had always been there on the right side of the car, just below the guardrails. It was calm here on this part of the higway; calm but expansive. It started where our car gripped the road and extended out to the right for as far as I could see. I kept having to remind Ryan to keep his eyes on the road, because each time I felt a jerk, I’d look up to see us swerving back onto our side of the road from somewhere else. I offered to drive, knowing his obsession with looking out at the waves, but of course was assured that he was fine and would learn to control his urges to stare out my window. I had to give it to him – it was hard for even me to not stare out the window, and my fascination with the sea is no where near the vast nature of my husband’s.

As we continued on, the scenery grew more and more beautiful for each of us, with Ryan’s waves to the right and my beautiful rolling hills of green and wildflowers ahead and to the left. The land became far less populated as we drove, which was reflected in the radio stations being few and far between. We found a really great oldies station, a perfect soundtrack to this part of the journey, turned it on low, and continued to enjoy the surroundings. Ryan started to worry about the time, fretting that we wouldn’t have enough time to see much of Half Moon Bay, but I assured him that everything would work out as it was supposed to and we would see everything we could fit into daylight – no worries.

We got to Half Moon Bay around 4:30 and were surprised at how little there was of the town when we first entered. Our very first stop, and the one Ryan had been excited about the most, was Maverick’s. This is a world famous surfing spot and is a mecca for anyone even mildly interested in the sport. Basically, this spot is at the end of a beach that you can only get to after following this long and windy walking path from a pot hole filled dirt parking lot. Once you get to the other end of the beach, marked by large boulders and jagged rocks, you have to paddle out into the water about a half mile to even get to the spot. The spot itself is marked by these enormous rock cliffs that jut out of the sea and are the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, of the rocks that exist below the water’s surface. These underwater rock formations cause an interesting break that promotes enormous waves at least 4-6 times overhead; basically Hawaii sized waves in northern California – previously unheard of and hence why this is a mecca for big wave surfers. There is this guy named Jeff Clark who has lived in Half Moon Bay all his life; he actually has a surf shop just a quarter mile away from the beach at Mavericks. Jeff Clark watched these waves from the shore for years before one day deciding to paddle out to them in an attempt to surf without getting smashed up against the rocks. He surfed these immense waves for years before anyone figured it out, after which point he became a surfing icon and the spot became a place of worship for big wave surfers worldwide. Needless to say, it’s a pretty intense place to see firsthand and something Ryan was dying to witness for himself.

We strolled down the walkway and across the beach, which was surprisingly full of people for how late in the day it was and how chilly it had gotten with the clouds that had rolled in and the winds that brought them. We wandered down as far as we could go safely and I watched Ryan gaze in awe at the historic sight. Sadly, the waves weren’t nearly as massive as they tend to be, but even for an off day the scenery was still very impressive. We took some pictures and hung out for a little while, playing with a couple of dogs that belonged to a few girls who were sitting nearby on the rocks, passing around a joint. When Ryan had seen enough, we started to head back in an effort to get to the car and see some more of the coast before dark. On our way back to the car, we stumbled across some pretty Californian behavior, watching a man who’d brought his gong to the beach and was doing yoga and praying with a few of his friends.

We continued on our way, watching as the cliffs along the road got more dramatic before our eyes. As this happened, Ryan couldn’t help himself but to pull over at every available vista point to snap pictures of the rocks, the waves, and the sights as they never ceased to be impressive. We also stopped to investigate Pigeon Point Lighthouse, as it was just south of Half Moon Bay. This landmark was very eerie from the highway and definitely seemed like the perfect setting for some kind of scary sea themed film – Ryan wanted to check it out immediately. As we found out when we got closer, the lighthouse also serves as a popular hostel – even more perfect. We continued on our way to Monterey.

The next major town along the road was Santa Cruz. I had marked this on the map as an interesting place to stop, unfortunately we just didn’t have the time. We rolled into Santa Cruz around 6 or 6:30, while we still had a fair bit of daylight left, which offered us just enough time to poke around for a few minutes. There was a surfing museum and boardwalk that I was interesting in checking out, but both of which we closed by the time we arrived anyway. We drove down to the boardwalk, watched it from the car, and continued driving in an effort to get to our resting place in Monterey at a decent hour. I longed to hang out on the boardwalk as it has been an embarrassing amount of time since I’ve been on a rollercoaster or fair ride. I dare not tell my brother, who is my theme park partner, how long it’s been; he’d certainly shake a disapproving finger and scold me appropriately. Nevertheless, the boardwalk was closed and moving on was the right thing to do. Monterey, here we come.

Once the sun went down, the scenery became less interesting. We did open the windows for a little while, though, to listen to the waves crashing on the shores nearby. After another hour and a half or so, we breached a hill over which the lights of Monterey could be seen in the distance. We found our exit around 8:30 and drove toward our resting place at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. I was definitely excited to see our digs for the night, after having spent the last week in the same place. I think that’s one of the most exciting parts about traveling on a vacation like this one – experiencing all of the different kinds of lodgings and restaurants out there. Ryan and I really love seeing different, unique places to stay. We’d never be happy staying in a Holiday Inn every single night of a trip. The Naval Postgraduate School definitely fit into our need for a unique experience. In case you didn’t already know, most military bases not only have housing for officers that work on the base full time, but they also often rent rooms to those who are visiting. A lot of times these lodging options are called VOQ’s (Visiting Officers’ Quarters) or something similar. We have definitely taken full advantage of our ability to stay at any and all VOQ’s along the way, both on this trip and during other trips we’ve taken around the country. Because these rooms tend to only cost between $25-$35 per night, we have been able to see a lot of really interesting places by staying in them. The Naval Postgraduate School was definitely an interesting place. Driving up, the building had a very Colonial Spanish feel to it. The inside lobby, however, felt much more like the lobby of a university – grand spaces, marble floors and walls full of military décor. Down the corridor, out the back door, and up to the tower where our room was located felt like a much more historic building, again in the Spanish Colonial style. The rooms, though, were those of standard VOQ’s. Large living areas with a small kitchenette, walk in closet and bathroom. It was kind of dreary in the room, although we were glad for all of the room as well as the kitchenette to store the leftovers we’d accumulated over the last few days.

Once we got our bags up to the room, we plugged the computer in and tried to find a place to eat. It had been many hours since our last meal, way back in Oakland, and after all of the driving, sightseeing, and picture taking, we were famished. I had a strong craving for Greek, so I set out to find a fun spot. We picked out a little place called Petra Cafe that seemed to have some great reviews. We jumped back in the car and headed in that direction. Turns out the place was quite literally little, just a counter with a see through cooler and a few small tables with chairs. I ordered the gyro special while Ryan ordered the falafel special. Let me tell you, this place did not disappoint and it kept my average for choosing the best spots really high! Especially for food that arrived on Styrofoam, it absolutely hit the spot and was some of the best gyro I’ve ever eaten. We stuffed our faces, then proceeded to order three different flavors of baklava. Ryan seemed to think it would be excessive to get all three but realized the necessity of judging the flavors against each other after we started trying them all. We both loved the pistachio, but I thought the original was amazing as well.

On our way back to the car, Ryan and I decided that we hadn’t had enough relaxing nights with cocktails on this trip. We noticed a liquor store just outside the gate to base, so before we pulled in for the night we stopped in for a bottle of Captain Morgan and a 2 liter of Diet Coke. We settled in to our room nice and early, Ryan played bartender, and I sat down to write in the journal and plan our day. We didn’t plan out this part of the trip in as much detail as the first two thirds, mostly because driving on the 1 can be so unpredictable. In the spirit of this idea, we also didn’t book a hotel for tomorrow until today, so I needed a drink to help me make it through the search for a hotel that wouldn’t drive our budget off the cliffs. Luckily, I was able to find a deal online for a place called The Castle Inn in Cambria, a suitable stopping place after a nice day of driving the coast. We booked the hotel for the next two nights with the understanding that we would drive up and down that part of the coast doing as many of the things on our list as possible. With that accomplished, Ryan and I continued to finish the bottle of rum and laughed ourselves silly watching ridiculous t.v. on our small hotel television screen. A perfect nightcap to the first leg of this part of the journey.

The Longest Day: Chronicle Part 7

Thursday March 4th

Happy Birthday Kristen!!

Today was the day. Finally! Ryan and I woke up to a brilliantly sunny day in Napa, ready and raring to go for a FULL day of winery visiting, tasting, and fun. We hopped out of bed nice and early (ok, not too early) to get a jump on the day. We had a great breakfast, again, in the front room of the main house. Today was a really delicious egg, swiss, and mushroom dish with some homestyle Italian seasoned potatoes. This was the first morning I actually felt hungry for breakfast all week, so maybe I am biased about how delicious today's food was over other days, but I definitely had seconds. It was a big day and I wanted to make sure I fueled up! So, with plenty of OJ, eggs, potatoes, fruit and yogurt digesting away, Ryan and I finalized our plan for the day. We had a lot to see, so we got ready and out the door by 10:30. In Napa, people are actually encouraged to start their tasting/drinking early. All of the wineries open around 10 and you'd be amazed at how many people were already out and about checking out all the wineries and tasting wine before we even arrived at our first place.

We took our 2 for 1 coupon from Castello di Amarosa's tasting last night and called ahead to make a reservation for their 11:30 am tour. They book up pretty quickly, as we were told, so that helped us organize our day a bit. We decided to start about 10 minutes down the road at Franciscan, one of my favorite wineries. I was introduced to their wine at The Ocean Grille via my brother, of course, and was excited to get in for a tasting. We had a coupon for there too (you should be sensing a pattern, here). We arrived around 10:45 and saddled up to the tasting bar. We were served by a very relaxed, almost "dude-like" gentleman who had lots of fun information about the area and the wines he served us. He let us each taste from different menus and share each other's glasses so that we both got to taste all of the wines available. (Don't worry all, I spit most of mine out as I agreed to be the driver today). I think my favorites were the Sauvignon Blanc and the Clos Reserve. Ryan really loved the Merlot and I think has discovered that Merlots are kind of his thing. Our guy threw us a few extra tastings in there, including, both of our favorite, the Port. It was an amazing end to the tasting - a nice full fruit flavor with a twist of brandy on the finish. Yum!

We kind of took our time in Franciscan, so when we were getting back in the car we decided to just head over to Castello di Amarosa instead of make any more stops along the way. There was an Olive Oil Company that was tempting us to come in and try some of their, I'm sure, delicious products - but we had to resist and get on the road. On our way, Ryan said, "Are you sure you want to do this tour? I mean, there are a lot of other places to see and, truthfully, I'm not really a 'castle' kind of guy." I laughed and said, “Yeah, I really want to see it and I have a feeling you're going to enjoy it more than you know.” We got to Castello di Amarosa around 11:15, which was perfect timing to check in and get some shots of the landscape and the castle. Pulling up the long driveway, I hear Ryan in the passenger seat say, "Ok, this is definitely cool. Let's get out and get some pictures!" So much for not being a “castle kind of guy…”

Alright, so let me give you a little story about this place. This guy named Dario grew up in San Francisco in the wine business. His great grandfather was a San Francisco wine pioneer and taught his family everything he knew. Dario, though, was raised as Darryl; that's right, Darryl. Growing up, he always had a love of wine and architecture. So, when he was a big boy, he went to Italy, wandered around, learned more about wine and architecture, then came back and decided to latch on to Napa’s 1970's break in the wine business. He opened up V. Sattui, named for his great grandfather Vittorio. He put all of his money into building, growing, and starting the winery, that there was nothing left for advertising or marketing when all was said and done. He started selling the wine solely out of his winery, never shipping a bottle to a store or a restaurant. He even made his family and employees park by the side of the road to make his winery look busy, until people started flooding in, wondering why this new little place was so popular. This became sort of a tradition, and to this day, he still only sells his wines out of the winery - you can't find his wines anywhere out in the wide world. Well, after many years of running V.Sattui, he decided he wanted to open a 2nd winery and this time, make it smaller and more like a Tuscan villa. He started importing materials from Italy to build this small villa, while he began growing the vines for the winery itself. 14 years later, he ended up constructing a 107 room Italian Renaissance castle, made from hand chipped stone (done on the property) and Italian imported brick. He hired Italian painters to hand paint murals on the walls and ceilings. He included a dungeon, a torture chamber, and a series of caves and cellars that provide year round stable natural temperatures of 50-60 degrees for barrel storage. Even with its size, it's still a smaller winery, producing only a selection of wines that can only be purchased, of course, on the property. He throws Renaissance dinners where everyone dresses up, eats with their hands, and jousts. And he's present every day, overseeing the production and distribution of his wine to the masses of people that come see his 2 wineries, ranked #1 and #2 most popular in Napa Valley. This is how a guy grows up and gets to change his name from Darryl to Dario. In case you were wondering. Love it.

Needless to say, we had a blast at Castello di Amarosa. Our tour guide, Christina, was hilarious and a bubbly bunch of energy. The place is immense and once all of the information really sinks in and you see it all for yourself, you can't help but be impressed with this guy. We even got to meet him! He came down through the tasting room and said "hi" on his way through. I, of course, was busy petting Lancelot, brother of Guinevere - the two castle cats hired to find mice, but are currently just in charge of lounging in front of large fires and keeping the hands of most tourists busy by garnering attention. I was a total sucker. We tasted from each of their wine lists, much the same as with Franciscan. I'm not big into Merlots, so I left those to Ryan - I stuck with the whites and the cabs. They had some really great picnic and dessert wines - best we'd tried yet. I kind of wish we could have kidnapped Christina to tour us through the rest of wine country - she was so full of fun and vibrance. You can tell that she really does love her job and the company for which she works - it makes you realize how much that can change your whole outlook on work itself.

After many more pictures, and a little more exploration on our own, we decided we needed to hit the road if we were going to do anything else today. We headed up the road past Sterling to August Briggs, who offer a FREE wine tasting! We were psyched for that, as well as the fact that it was a much smaller and lesser known winery. The drive up was beautiful, as the mustard grass everywhere looks so striking against the deep browns of the not yet bloomed vineyards. A picture stop was definitely in order after this next tasting. We pulled into August Briggs, whose parking lot was just as big as I expected - about 6 spots. We parked and walked into the very small front room. Ryan did most of the tasting here, as they had a few Chardonnays and a Merlot. I tasted a sip of each, but they are my least favorite grapes, so I just looked around and then tasted some of their other offerings. I took the opportunity to hydrate while Ryan learned more about the wines. Turns out, this was his favorite Chardonnay so far this trip! A shocking revelation and one I intend to keep in my back pocket for later use...

As promised, we stopped just up the road from August Briggs for a little picture taking. It was so scenic and amazing along this back road; it really reminded me of the North Country and how breathtaking all of that untapped natural beauty can really be. Ryan got up close and personal with a slew of honeybees he kind of stumbled into, actually managing to capture one in a photo. It's been an effort on his part to get up close shots of small insects, like bees and butterflies, while on this trip. These were the first honeybees we'd seen yet, so of course, this was pretty important. The entire landscape was so amazing to behold, so we got plenty of scenic shots. Entries into the Napa Mustard Festival Photo Competition really might not be such a bad idea afterall. While Ryan practiced his budding photography skills, I researched some information on the wineries we still wanted to see. Our tummies were grumbling and when I looked at the clock and realized it was already after 2, I couldn't believe it - the day was so quickly slipping by us! I suggested that we stop and get a bite to eat and then head toward Grgich Hills, Miner Farms, and Louis V. Martini. It sounded like a lot to pack in, plus dinner later, but this was our last full day in Napa and we wanted to make the most of it.

We jumped back in the car, as a lightbulb went on over my head - the CIA! I had completely forgotten about the Culinary Insititute of America at Greystone, right up the road! Luckily I also remembered that they serve lunch, so we headed in that direction. As we pulled in, I felt the spirit of Julia Child come over me and I immediately wished I could cook our lunch myself. The building was immensely beautiful and inspirational. It made me think that if I could do things over again, maybe I'd consider a career in the culinary field because who would be able to pass up coming to school here? We walked around the building a bit, poking around the enormous store in the front full of all sorts of amazing kitchenware that I would give my left set of toes for. Then we wandered through an interesting and elaborate collection of corkscrews, which seemed like an odd display, until I remembered that this school is located smack in the middle of wine country; so, maybe it wasn’t so weird. This wandering led us to a classroom that looked like it was straight off of Food Network. It was like a college lecture hall with a Kitchen Stadium (Iron Chef) set up at the front. We tried to take some pictures, but it was too dark and there were people in tall white chef hats eyeing us from afar. We quickly scurried away. We walked around the building for a few minutes, before setting off to find the restaurant. However, by the time we got to the front door and realized what time it was – almost 3 – we decided that maybe lunch at CIA wasn’t quite an option if we wanted to get to everything else on our list. I called it an even break since we got to spend a little time exploring the building; maybe having a meal could wait until our next visit. We jumped back in the car and headed off for a quick bite.

We ended up stopping to grab a sandwich in St. Helena at a quirky little place called the Giugni & Son Grocery Company. It was the first place we saw, it looked quick, and definitely had a lot of character – generally a key factor in our decision making process. The sandwiches were amazing – for such a little deli, they had so many amazing meats and cheeses from all over for such reasonable prices. They had a lot of custom spreads and fillings to add; it was incredible. We scarfed down each of our sandwiches, a bag of chips, and a big water, quickly hustling on our way. After getting back in the car, we reevaluated our course of action. By now it was a little after 4 and time was quickly ticking away. Some of the wineries closed at 4:30, 5, and then 6. We had to lay out our plan accordingly. We decided to hit up Grgich Hills first, since they were the first on the list to close. I really wanted Ryan to taste their Chardonnay, since he is such a fan of that grape and theirs is so historic. Grgich Hills, for those of you who might not know, is the winery presented in the movie Bottle Shock. That movie depicts the comeuppance of California as a world recognized wine producer, especially against France. A now historic blind tasting was set up in Paris in 1976 where international judges blind tasted the Chardonnay of Grgich Hills against the most famous white wines of France. Mike Grgich’s Chardonnay won the tasting, hands down, as the best white wine in the world and put California wineries on the map, so to speak. It’s just one of those wineries you should check out, even just for the story.

We pulled into Grgich with our buy one get one free coupon and saddled up to the bar. As we got into the tasting, we discovered a few interesting things – our personal favorite from Grgich wasn’t their Chardonnay at all, it was their Fume Blanc. Ryan’s solid favorite was still the August Briggs Chard. Grgich did have a nice Merlot, though, which was a pleasant surprise. We didn’t spend much more time there, except to decide that a bottle of Fume Blanc would be the gift I’d take home to thank Katie for helping out with the cats while we were away. As we got into the car, realized the time, and felt the weight of the whole day come crashing down on us, we took a deep breath and decided that maybe this should be our last stop. We still had two wineries on the list, but when it came right down to it, there is such a thing as burning the candle at both ends on vacation; something we definitely did not want to do. We decided to head back to Franciscan while we were in the area to get a few gifts and then go back to Lavender to relax, maybe get in on the wine tasting over at Masion Fleurie, then relax some more over dinner.

As it turned out, one winery that we drove past quite a few times, Alpha Omega, was the featured tasting at Maison Fleurie. We took a nice walk over there again this evening, had a few snacks and tasted their wines. Compared to some of the great stuff we tasted earlier in the day, these didn’t really compare. They were pretty decent, and definitely earned pluses for being free and delivered practically to our doorstep, but not something I would have been disappointed to have missed. I think the most entertaining part of the afternoon was the actual representative from Alpha Omega who, upon learning about our coming trip down the coast, absolutely insisted that we stop in San Luis Obispo. Apparently she is from that area, and although I didn’t read much about it in my research to lead me to want to stop there for any amount of time, this girl would have you believe that San Luis Obispo was where California began and ended. I’m pretty sure she may have been running for mayor, or at least the head of their tourism department. It got to a point of hilarity that we began counting how many times she said the words “San Luis Obispo.” I think we lost track after 16.

On our way back to Lavender, we discussed our plans for dinner. After such a long, activity packed day, getting dressed to sit in a restaurant for dinner sounded less than appealing. We decided to order out for pizza and watch episodes of The Mentalist in bed. It couldn’t have been a better decision, as we came to find out. Kicking our feet up and reliving the day was great and I am always grateful for a delicious slice or 2 of pizza. We enjoyed the comfort of our room, had some cookies and hot cocoa for dessert, and snuggled in before part 3 of our journey would commence in the morning.

Come Rain or Come Shine: Chronicle Part 6

Wednesday, March 3rd

The one great thing about any vacation is that you can plan all you want, but truthfully, you never know really how any one day is going to turn out. Yesterday was a great example of that, for sure, but today was even better. Today, even more than yesterday, I was bound and determined to get out there and see some of Napa’s sights. My body was fighting me every step of the way, though. I woke up several times during the night with that headache I fell asleep with, which was a full blown migraine by the time Ryan rolled over and announced it was time to get up. He figured out the problem pretty quickly and quietly slipped out in search of medicine while I, unknowingly, fell back to sleep. What felt like 5 minutes later, he was back, with a little halo around both himself and the brown bag containing the cure for my ailment. I took three ibuprofen, chugged a glass of water and slowly got dressed while the drugs took hold. When Ryan and I walked out to breakfast, we were pleasantly surprised to see a clear blue sky and sun streaming over the front yard. We strode into the inn for breakfast, feeling great about this start to the day. I was still feeling under the weather, but not nearly as much as when I woke up. I had more energy and, although the sore throat was still present, it was not nearly as bad today. We saddled up to some breakfast in the main room: mushroom and swiss eggs benedict, breakfast potatoes, fruit salad, breads, yogurt and, of course, more Emergen-C. Delicious! We finished up with some hot beverages and, minus one throbbing headache, we headed back out the door to our room, ready to face a wonderful day. When we opened the door, we were greeted with temperatures that were at least 10 degrees lower than when we came in for breakfast 30 minutes earlier as well as grey skies and lots of cold rain. Awesome.

Over breakfast, Ryan and I had decided on a path to follow today to the wineries we had in mind. Yesterday, we had asked at the front desk if there was any good way to get around the valley without driving, so we could drink more at the wineries and see more places. Aside from spending money on a private bus, tour or driver, though, we were out of luck. However, Ryan remembered seeing a bus in town yesterday on our bike ride, and wondered if maybe there was a bus line that went up and down the valley. When we got back to the room, I started researching this idea, finding that there was indeed public transportation for the entire valley and that it would be very cost effective for our budget. That said, with the new rain having come on, I was more a fan of the idea that we drive to the wineries today and maybe I would just sip a couple and spit so that we could get around more easily and efficiently. Ryan was eager to pursue the bus, though, hell bent on getting us both to drink AND stick as much under the budget as humanly possible.

Now, I haven’t really talked much about our budget up to this point, not really because I have been avoiding it, but because I somehow keep forgetting about it. I don’t know how that’s possible, considering Ryan and I refer back to it almost every other hour. Well, the story is that before we left, Ryan did a 24 hour duty at his squadron. Over the course of the night, he put together an excel document, laying out our expected expenditures for the trip, setting goals for each day and the trip at large. It’s something we’ve talked about doing a thousand times for a thousand different things, including the wedding, but never end up doing. Well, with all of his time at work, Ryan put together an exceptional document for us to track our spending. Every night, before I write in the journal, Ryan’s been updating the budget, which is laid out by day with categories for each meal, entertainment, lodging, drinking, gifts, fuel, etc. I was really quite proud of his creation and we have been diligently keeping to it. We decided that our goal budget for this trip was to keep our expenses under $2500. Now, when you think about it, for an 11 day trip, including lodging, 3 meals a day, entertainment, and the kinds of places we were going to visit, this seems like quite a feat. It’s become like a game, though, sticking to the budget. It’s been fun and has actually enhanced our trip more than anything. So, anytime I refer to a budget, this is the thing about which I speak.

Now, back to the scene at hand. I figured out the bus schedule and, after much insistence from Ryan, I agreed that we would forage the countryside by bus instead of car. We packed a backpack full with mittens, Nalgene bottles, camera, batteries, and other necessities for a successful day and set out to catch the first bus. I grabbed a big umbrella from the front room just in case, even though the rain had let up, not grabbing one for Ryan who insisted his windbreaker was enough protection for him. We made the short walk to the bus and got on. We were going to pay $4 each for a day pass advertised on the bus’ website, but about which the driver had no idea. So, we just paid the regular fare and got a transfer ticket for the next bus. We decided to start at Sterling Winery, right smack in the middle of our route, since there was also a winery up the road from it with free tastings as well as Castello di Amorosa just up the road in the other direction. The ride was nice, because it gave us a chance to really look around at the landscape and see what other wineries were nearby, as well as what the distance was from place to place. After about 35 minutes, we arrived at our stop and jumped off. Our stop put us at the end of the road, so we still had about a mile or so to walk to the winery. The weather was cloudy and cool: perfect walking weather. When we finally got up to Sterling, we were pretty much the only people around. We walked up to the ticket booth, bought our two for one tickets, and got on the tram that carried us above the vineyards to the top of the hill, where the tour and winery are located. Even with the fog and clouds, it was a beautiful ride; however, halfway up, the skies opened up and it started to pour. No problem, we still had a long tour and tasting ahead of us.

The winery, itself, and tour at Sterling were both really great. It was a self tour, so we started at a wine tasting station where we had their Pinot Grigio – delicious! We walked around, watching videos and observing the wine making process, really just taking it all in. It was probably the best place to start, in retrospect, because Ryan had so many questions about the process of making wine, and this tour really broke it down for him. I tried to explain, but I could sense him spacing out after about 5 minutes of explanation each time I attempted it. We ended up on the top terrace of the winery, overlooking Sterling’s vast landscape, taking pictures of the view, and enjoying the fact that the rain had let up just like we figured it would. We walked up to the wine tasting room, sat by the fire, and enjoyed the rest of our 5 tasting wines before our continued walk through Napa wine country. We reboarded the tram, for the ride back down to the driveway below, when the skies opened up in full force, once again. I looked at Ryan and said, "So, only one umbrella seems like a great idea now doesn't it?" His response? "Hey, thank God I thought to buy those gloves in San Fran and bring them today! We'd freeze without them!" Totally missed the point.

We got off the tram and began our walk down the driveway, huddled underneath our one umbrella and watching cars pass us with passengers craning their heads in disbelief to look at the odd couple who chose to walk through Napa today. The driveway was so long, that by the time we reached the end of it, we had talked ourselves out of the other wineries in the area. We were soaking wet, freezing, and far from our hotel room - not to mention, I was still sick and developing a great cough from my illness already. It would have been certain death to continue any further. We walked to the end of the road, as I cursed the capillary action that was occuring on my pants and applauded Mr. Schultz, my 8th grade Earth Science teacher who taught me that term so well I remember it all these years later. We stopped to photograph a picturesque egret in the field near the bus stop - a possible entry for the upcoming Napa Valley Mustard Festival Photo Competition. When we got down to our bus stop, we still had about 10 minutes to wait for our bus. We stood in the rain, huddled still under our umbrella, planning out the steps between the bus and our warm bed and fireplace. I won't even elaborate on all of the "I told you so's" that were running through my head, between the lack of umbrella to my insistance that we drive today. It didn't feel worth it and I knew I'd just feel worse to pursue it. But, nevertheless, they were there, taunting me at the back of my throat to let them out.

When we got back on the bus, we looked ridiculous and all of the passengers didn't withhold their looks of astonishment at these two, obvious tourists, soaking wet and freezing from a lovely Napa walking excursion. Turns out our transfers were no good for this route and we had to pay the full fare again. We sat down, defeated, and rode back to town. After the walk back to Lavender Inn from the bus stop, we immediately turned on the fire, jumped into fleecy pajamas and socks, and leapt into the bed with hot beverages and cookies to thaw out. We spent the next hour or so thinking about our options for dinner and relaxing in our room. We decided the day wasn't over yet, and after a good thawing session, we should at least try to hit some more wine places in town. The sister inn to Lavender was hosting a tasting with Alpha Omega at 4:30 and Jessup Cellars, a place we'd been desperate to try in town, was open until 6. We got all dressed and hit the road. The sun had come out by this time, of course, so we walked down to Maison Fleurie for the free tasting hosted there. When we arrived, we were surprised to find out that the tasting schedule was moved around and tonight, instead, we were tasting from Castello Di Amarosa - ironically, one of the wineries we had wanted to see today anyway! We tasted a few of their wines, but weren't too impressed, grateful still for the free tasting. We enjoyed Maison Fleurie's hors d'oevres, some orange mint water, and then some more wine, before walking back to get our car. On our way, just two doors down from Lavender, we met one of the neighbors: a very California type guy, outfitting his Vanangon to be his and his wife's vacation on wheels. They had a pull down bed in the ceiling and he was installing a full on kitchen with butcher block and stove. We chatted with him for a few minutes about his rockstar vehicle, before jamming over to Jessup Cellars for THEIR free tasting before 6. We were super impressed with Jessup, who had an amazing selection of wines. They also hooked us up with a few extra tastings of some of their reserve wines and ports, which were also super delicious. I kind of regret not having bought some, now that I think about it. We snuck in under the gun, too, because a couple came in about 10 minutes after us but couldn't get served because it was closing time. Bummer for them. Oh well, it was time for us to head to dinner anyway.

We headed back to Lavender, driving by The French Laundry on our way to take a picture of the ridiculous place. We mocked them and announced to the building that we ate their cookies (given to us at breakfast by the couples we met yesterday who went to dinner there the previous night) then drove away. We had decided earlier to venture further into Napa for dinner tonight, choosing a highly recommended Indian restaurant called Neela's. We had an amazing dinner and stimulating conversation. It was really quiet in the restaurant, grante it was 7:30 on a Wednesday night. We were seated by Neela, herself, (<-- that's her) and she came and checked on us a few times. She was really sweet and we were definitely glad we decided on this for tonight. Ryan had a lamb dish and I decided on some creamy tomatoish curry with chicken and naan. Delicious! We stopped by the general store on our way back into Yountville, Ryan picked out a bottle of wine for us to enjoy, and we headed back to the inn. We settled in for some hot tub, wine, cookies, and warm beverages for the rest of the night, determined to make tomorrow a day full of exploring wineries come rain or shine! No weather or illness will get the better of us tomorrow, mark my words! We will drive, we will taste wines, we will see everything we want to see! And, with no stress, of course.