Anne & Don in California: Napa & the GGB

Disclaimer: Some of the following photos were taken by Anne.

Today Anne & Don and I headed up to the Napa Valley and wine country. It was again a lovely day for sight-seeing. We stopped off first at the Visitors Center to pick up some ideas of where to go.

We decided to start at a big name so drove up the road to the Robert Mondavi Winery. The tours were a bit pricey for our taste so we just looked around. It's a beautiful place. As you enter, a statue of St. Francis welcomes you.

(detail of statue)


The parking lots are surrounded by fields of vines.


Colorful flowers...

...and a lively fountain beckon you inside.


We strolled around (some of us hand in hand) enjoying the sun and manicured vineyard.




Since I'm not a fan of wine I was hoping to find somewhere to taste some local olive oil. Just up the road from Mondavi we saw a blackboard sign advertising "Local Olive Oil Tasting". How lucky were we? Soooo lucky. The fun, off-beat store of the St. Helena Olive Oil Co. was offering tastes of not just olive oils but balsamic vinegars, fig compote, barbeque sauce, honey, pesto, and mustards. The flavor of olive oil that caught my fancy was lemon. It was so fresh tasting I just had to buy a bottle. I also got some Italian pesto and some local barbeque sauce. It was great place.


Anne & Don aren't big wine people either but they've had some and they knew they liked one from Sutter Home so we stopped at their store after seeing the sign for "Complimentary Tastings". As I was browsing I saw these funny flip flops that seemed to be sized for small round feet. Turns out they are coasters for wine glasses. I'm not sure why they need to wear crazy looking flip flops.

We then crossed the valley to a less-travelled road where Anne spotted a field with some grapes left on the vines.




Then I spotted a bunny.


We were not anticipating just how many wineries are in Napa Valley and just how concentrated they are. We drove by one after the other after the other after the other.



We were going to go to the geyser at Calistoga but I had read online that it costs $8 so we decided to skip it. We also choose to forego the petrified forest, so sorry, you'll have to wait for pics for a couple weeks until Mom & Dad and I visit it. We crossed over the hills to the west then drove south through the Sonoma Valley and landed in Sonoma for a late lunch at the awfully, unbearably cute and tasty Black Bear Diner (pot roast for me, ham steak for Don, chicken avocado club for Anne).

As we drove south on the 101, we spied the Marin County Civic Center which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. (better photos)


We paused at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge...


...crossed over it...


then paused on the south side and walked out on it for a bit.


It was getting darkish and I still had to drive back home so we headed over to Fisherman's Wharf and Anne & Don's hotel where they checked in, I used the facilities and we parted. I started home only to be stopped by a jam of cars trying to go home the same way as me.


I eventually made it across the bridge and home.

Next: Anne & Don visit San Fran without me (sniffle) then Yosemite with me (yea!)