Day 3 -- Napa

After a little bit of a rough evening on Friday...I was up and ready to go the next day. First stop...Cakebread!

I would highly recommend the educational/taking tour...I felt like I learned different things on this tour than I did the other tours. The grounds are beautiful and the tasting room is on the second floor overlooking the vineyard.


After Cakebread we stopped by Gott's Drive-In...not your typical "drive-in" but it was great! The food was delicious and Chad's soup was more "gourmet" than your typical "drive-in" soup. It really hit the spot!




After refueling and making one other stop...the last vineyard on our list was Schramsburg...it was fantastic! The only sparkling wine tour on our trip and I'm glad we made time for it. The whole tour was given inside their wine caves which hold 2.8 million bottles at one time...700,000 are distributed each year. The tasting was done by candlelight...if you have time to make this stop, please add it to your list. Thanks to Chad, I will also be getting my Valentine's Day, Birthday and many other "Day" presents courtesy of Schramsburg's Wine Club...YAY!!! :)

This portion of the cave was about 10 feet+ wide and more than 150 feet deep; the sparkling wine was stacked like this the whole width and depth!

This evening we stayed at 1801 First...a little bed and breakfast where we stayed in a little cottage in back on the main house...it was super cute and the breakfast was very tastey!







For dinner we dined at Redd...HIGHLY recommended...both of our meals were superb, we loved it!

Day 4...heading to Jenner for a little lunch at River's End.

Day 2 --- Napa Valley

Day Two started out FOGGY and RAINING (you'll notice that this becomes a common theme throughout our stay) which was not good for our stop at Muir Woods on the way out of San Fransisco.

The large circular cut was tagged to show how old the various parts of the tree were...it was amazing!

The Redwood trees were huge...I didn't really realize how large they were until I saw how small we looked in the photos!

After that quick stop, we were off to Napa...first stop, V.Satttui, a cute little winery with a great cafe (probably should have eaten a smidge more here before out next stop). Andy was our "pourer" during our tasting and was a very interesting/knowledgable guy....he made the tasting that much better and had wonderful recommendations! Chad and I both found winds we really enjoyed. Needless to say...I have a rather large box making it's way to our home as we speak ;)

Next stop (and one of my favorites...THANK YOU MERRY!), Flora Springs. Flora Springs was a more private setting, off the main road a little ways. Jason was our "tour guide" so to speak. We learned not only about the wines Flora Springs made, but got a tour of the vineyard and caves...all rounded out by about an hour of tasting (this would be where the extra food would have come in handy!). I would recommend the vineyard to anyone heading out...make sure to make reservations in advance...this is a can't miss!

In the caves

The grounds were absolutely breathtaking

Wine juice after going through the press

Our hotel was absolutely wonderful in Yountville AND a great deal! Villagio had large rooms with fireplaces, a wonderful breakfast and was within walking distance to several fantastic restaurants. Yet another recommendation for anyone heading out that way.

San Francisco Here We Come!

Chad and I took a much needed trip to San Francisco and Napa Valley last weekend...it was a present to me from Chad for my 30th birthday last spring. I had never been to San Francisco and we both had never been to Napa.

The first day we left bright and early from St. Louis and had only a minor delay in Denver do to fog in San Fran.

First stop once we arrived was Lombard Street to see the STEEP and WINDING path down the hill...I have no idea how in the world peoplel navigate their way down that thing AND pull into a garage! CRAZY!

Yes, you have to navigate through the hedges to get down the street!

Next was Fisherman's Wharf for a YUMMY lunch at Scoma's...the clam chowder was great and the crab cake sandwich even better! I had so much to eat at lunch that I was too full to participate in the ice cream at Ghirardelli Square...Chad made room though! :)

YUMMY!!!

We didn't have time (or warm enough clothing!) to make it out to Alcatraz

We stayed in a little boutique hotel right near Union Square and we spent that evening walking around the streets looking at all the shops (my idea, NOT Chad's!). None of my clothes seem to fit well at all lately, so I was in desparate need of a holiday dress...managed to get that marked off the list! Merry Christmas to me early! (Photos to come of the too cute dress...wearing it to a wedding this weekend).

It was an early night since the time difference and a 6am flight out of St. Louis left me a little tired...day 2 we're off to Napa!

And...We're Back...

After no posts since Halloween...we're back!

Since Olivia's one year birthday is 3 weeks away we are in full party planning mode! First on the list were photos for her invitation! The only problem during that time period was a nasty little cold...Olivia couldn't breathe through her nose so she constantly had her mouth open and just didn't look right, BUT we were able to snap a few good pics that worked just great!

Beautiful headband is courtesy of Olivia's Great Grandma Kamman

Olivia is changing every day it seems like. She's growing like a weed and seems to always be hungry! About two weeks ago we made a trip to the doctor and she was 31" and 21 pounds...not too bad! She's standing on her own in the middle of the floor and is walking better with assistance every day...her confidence is growing all the time and I feel like the first steps are just around the corner!