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.