Wine and the West

Finally, the Napa post :)

We just got back from a long weekend in Northern California with several good friends. We visited San Francisco (a first for me!) for a couple days and then drove up the valley for some wine tasting. We took over a local bed & breakfast with nine people Saturday and Sunday nights, and that was one of the highlights of the trip - getting to all stay in the same place, and have breakfast and coffee together in the mornings. We took a limo between wineries (visited four each day) and that was awesome, just laughing and catching up in between stops. There are a million pictures, so bear with me. Hard to narrow it down! :)

The ADORABLE Craftsman Inn in Calistoga, on the far north end of Napa Valley. It was our first real b&b stay, and I can't wait to go back. We loved it. The staff was just amazing. And Price Family - you would have LOVED all the details of this little 1920s bungalow.
Our whole crew. It's been a long time since I've laughed so much! We all had the best time together. The Eddys joined us from Santa Barbara, and Erika joined us from Davis CA. Between Jen, Erika and me - we had 2500 pictures. We were camera happy but hey - we have a lot to show for our trip :)
A great shot by Miss Erika. We loved the vineyards!
Mike goofing off in the limo, which was a bus!
Love this picture E took of Brandi, me and Jen.
She also took some great pics of me and Jen for our website.
Jess in action :)
This particular wine was aged in barrels made of oak from the Lake of the Ozarks forests!! Small world.
We did lots of story telling. This is around the counter in the kitchen of the b&b; we felt like the staff there were old friends. They were awesome!
Love this pic Erika took of me and the Hubs.
And this one too.
The girls (minus Amy) with the winemaker at Saddleback Cellars, our fave!

Jim and Mike. It was so good to see the Eddys!!
The FoCoCo boys :)
Love this shot of the whole crew bellied up to the tasting bar!
Love this shot of the wine pour I captured!
Erika doing her thing.
Jen and Mike Brandi and Jeff
This winery was so cool - it was in a cave underground! This is the long hall of wine barrels.
E & me.
Jim and Amy
The wine country is so beautiful.
We loved having a picnic lunch at the wineries both days. It was in the 90s but comfortable in the shade.
Love this picture!
More wine tasting....
Love them both!
On our way back to SF from the valley, we stopped and spent a couple hours walking through Muir Woods which is a national park. The trees were HUGE. We stood next to a fallen one on the trail for comparison.

On Alcatraz Island, with the SF skyline behind us.
Alcatraz prison was unbelievable. And scary.
We happened upon Hotel Huntington while walking around the city one night.
At Ghiradelli Square - the chocolate was a highlight :)
Of course we had to ride a cable car!
The Koepps at Ghiradelli Square.
Loved the Golden Gate Bridge despite the fog!


We loved walking around a bunch of cute neighborhoods of SF with Traci one morning. It was SO fun to meet her finally! I already knew I'd like her from her Hammer endorsement :) She took us to many an awesome boutique, and a great little bakery. It was a really fun girls morning. And p.s. I don't have a picture of her yet, waiting for Jen's pictures.
Cute store front.
Oh my goodness - best place we ate. Frjtz Fries. And crepes. We were in heaven!!
The boys at Frjtz with beers.
In almost every boutique store we went in, there were "house pets" that were just hanging out. Jen and I loved all over them!! I particularly loved this 9 week old German Shepherd :)

So there's the update, whew! We had such a fun trip though. And it's good to be home now :)