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Ah, it is so fun to go to Napa with a designated driver! Although just freeing me up to drink wasn't the most fun of the weekend.
Drove up early Friday evening. Had dinner at an Indian restaurant in downtown Napa. I am told Riesling goes with spicy food. Seemed okay to me. :-)
Took a look at the Napa Valley Wine Train and discovered they were sold out for the weekend. Must come back and do that some time. Picked up a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle of some vineyards with the train going by them.
Hung out at Napa Airport briefly. Picked up a pair of earrings shaped like biplanes. Most people won't be able to tell they're not precisely Pitts biplanes. :-)
Next big event: Jelly Belly factory tour! That is whimsical and fun. Slightly regretted the fact that the factory doesn't run on weekends, so we toured a very quiet factory and saw some videos of how the jellybeans (and taffy) are made. I absolutely had to try various flavors at the end. I wound up spending a big wad of money on various candy things -- from some "Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans" to some pectin fruit candies -- and a book of various factory tours available in the USA. Then we ate in the cafeteria: one Jelly-Belly-shaped pizza and one Jelly-Belly-shaped cheeseburger.
I was really getting pretty sleepy by this point, so we headed back to the hotel, lit a fire in the fireplace, and started to assemble the jigsaw puzzle. It was maybe half done when I absolutely had to crash.
Wandered around town a bit, finding (oddly enough) a Frankie Johnny & Luigi restaurant where we ate lunch. (I know, I know, all the way to Napa Valley only to eat at FJL? I'm incorrigible.) Poked into shops where we saw some pretty things, some amazing things, some useful things. I didn't go crazy buying stuff; proud of self!
The sidewalks roll up at 5:30 or 6. Everyone is supposed to be eating fine dinners and drinking the lovely wines they have purchased. We sat in the hot tub at the hotel until we were hungry enough for dinner. Unfortunately, by that time everything was closed... except FJL again. After dinner, we finished the puzzle. Perfect timing! 1000 pieces is a great size for a weekend.
Then we definitely needed breakfast. Remembered a good breakfasty cafe in St Helena. It has moved a few doors down, but we found it. Mmm yum. :-) On the way out, glanced at some opals in a shop across the street. Didn't buy anything. Yay. :-)
Up the valley to Sterling Vineyards, the one on the top of a hill with an aerial tram. Enjoyable self-guided tour. Pretty views. Tasting, at the end, surprised me. There was a Sauvignon Blanc I really enjoyed! I haven't liked any of those for a while now. And there was some kind of white, "off-dry", fruity wine that is meant to be paired with spicy food. I bought a bottle of that and am going to force![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
joedecker to share it with me.
Snacked in the parking lot. Visited "Old Faithful Geyser of California". It sure did look fake, but it smelled almost real. Last time I was here there was a friendly cat; I didn't see him this time.
Sidewalks rolled up now, so we headed to Napa itself to sit in a park somewhere. We found the ugliest park in the entire town. Free-yow. Then we made our way to quite possibly the prettiest park in the entire town, and sat & talked for a while. I got a backrub :-) :-)
Not much else to do but head back to the Bay Area. Dinner at a late place.
At home, Duchess came to greet me but Jackie didn't, and Duchess seemed a little distraught even though the food and water were okay. I started to hear vigorous meowing noises from upstairs, and I knew I wasn't going to like this. Jackie had been locked in Rob's office all weekend! It's not unknown for Jackie to sneak in there while Kim is working, and Kim is scattered enough that she doesn't check before shutting the door, but this is the first time no one came home to free the kitty the same evening. It would be just my luck that the one day Kim showed up last week was Friday, and I didn't know she was coming, and I didn't get home again after that to check that the cats were okay. SIGH. Fortunately, Jackie had had water; Rob has a desk fountain. But she'd had no food. She used the center of the carpet as a litterbox -- fortunately easy to clean up. The carpet was shredded over by the door. Poor thing. She was SOOOOOOO happy to see me. I guess I would've been too.
Now my nose is a little stopped up and my throat is a little odd-feeling. I hope I don't have a cold.
Drove up early Friday evening. Had dinner at an Indian restaurant in downtown Napa. I am told Riesling goes with spicy food. Seemed okay to me. :-)
SaturdayFirst off: A balloon ride! Wheeeeeeee! Very pretty, much WARMER than I expected (I didn't realize how close we'd be to the heat source), and with a really cool sorta-bumpy landing. :-) Definitely worth doing, even though it means being out and dressed and at a meeting place by 5:30 in the morning. Drove back via Lake Berryessa.
Took a look at the Napa Valley Wine Train and discovered they were sold out for the weekend. Must come back and do that some time. Picked up a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle of some vineyards with the train going by them.
Hung out at Napa Airport briefly. Picked up a pair of earrings shaped like biplanes. Most people won't be able to tell they're not precisely Pitts biplanes. :-)
Next big event: Jelly Belly factory tour! That is whimsical and fun. Slightly regretted the fact that the factory doesn't run on weekends, so we toured a very quiet factory and saw some videos of how the jellybeans (and taffy) are made. I absolutely had to try various flavors at the end. I wound up spending a big wad of money on various candy things -- from some "Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans" to some pectin fruit candies -- and a book of various factory tours available in the USA. Then we ate in the cafeteria: one Jelly-Belly-shaped pizza and one Jelly-Belly-shaped cheeseburger.
I was really getting pretty sleepy by this point, so we headed back to the hotel, lit a fire in the fireplace, and started to assemble the jigsaw puzzle. It was maybe half done when I absolutely had to crash.
SundayLounged in bed for a looooong time Sunday morning. Mmm, it was nice to catch up on sleep!
Wandered around town a bit, finding (oddly enough) a Frankie Johnny & Luigi restaurant where we ate lunch. (I know, I know, all the way to Napa Valley only to eat at FJL? I'm incorrigible.) Poked into shops where we saw some pretty things, some amazing things, some useful things. I didn't go crazy buying stuff; proud of self!
The sidewalks roll up at 5:30 or 6. Everyone is supposed to be eating fine dinners and drinking the lovely wines they have purchased. We sat in the hot tub at the hotel until we were hungry enough for dinner. Unfortunately, by that time everything was closed... except FJL again. After dinner, we finished the puzzle. Perfect timing! 1000 pieces is a great size for a weekend.
MondayUp and checked out of the hotel in time for an 11am pinot noir tasting at Franciscan Estates. This is the most educational wine tasting I've ever had. I tasted five different Pinot Noir "clones", created my own blend, and tasted their blend. (Theirs is better.) Bought a couple bottles of their Pinot Noir and a Chardonnay Sauvage too because it was so fun.
Then we definitely needed breakfast. Remembered a good breakfasty cafe in St Helena. It has moved a few doors down, but we found it. Mmm yum. :-) On the way out, glanced at some opals in a shop across the street. Didn't buy anything. Yay. :-)
Up the valley to Sterling Vineyards, the one on the top of a hill with an aerial tram. Enjoyable self-guided tour. Pretty views. Tasting, at the end, surprised me. There was a Sauvignon Blanc I really enjoyed! I haven't liked any of those for a while now. And there was some kind of white, "off-dry", fruity wine that is meant to be paired with spicy food. I bought a bottle of that and am going to force
joedecker to share it with me.Snacked in the parking lot. Visited "Old Faithful Geyser of California". It sure did look fake, but it smelled almost real. Last time I was here there was a friendly cat; I didn't see him this time.
Sidewalks rolled up now, so we headed to Napa itself to sit in a park somewhere. We found the ugliest park in the entire town. Free-yow. Then we made our way to quite possibly the prettiest park in the entire town, and sat & talked for a while. I got a backrub :-) :-)
Not much else to do but head back to the Bay Area. Dinner at a late place.
At home, Duchess came to greet me but Jackie didn't, and Duchess seemed a little distraught even though the food and water were okay. I started to hear vigorous meowing noises from upstairs, and I knew I wasn't going to like this. Jackie had been locked in Rob's office all weekend! It's not unknown for Jackie to sneak in there while Kim is working, and Kim is scattered enough that she doesn't check before shutting the door, but this is the first time no one came home to free the kitty the same evening. It would be just my luck that the one day Kim showed up last week was Friday, and I didn't know she was coming, and I didn't get home again after that to check that the cats were okay. SIGH. Fortunately, Jackie had had water; Rob has a desk fountain. But she'd had no food. She used the center of the carpet as a litterbox -- fortunately easy to clean up. The carpet was shredded over by the door. Poor thing. She was SOOOOOOO happy to see me. I guess I would've been too.
Now my nose is a little stopped up and my throat is a little odd-feeling. I hope I don't have a cold.
no subject
Glad the cat is ok. Moxie was locked in a walkin closet for a few hours once. When we found him, he wasn't upset, he seemed more disturbed we woke him from his nap.
no subject
Moxie was locked in a walkin closet for a few hours once. When we found him, he wasn't upset, he seemed more disturbed we woke him from his nap.
I can just picture that. :-) Kitties are great, aren't they?