Slept in… Had two cups of coffee… Read half a book. Took a little swim and jacuzzi… Grabbed a beer. Read some more.
Had a great dinner. Chicken kebobs and a wonderful Far Niente Chardonnay.
Finished my book and started another. Went out for ice cream (Oh. My. Goodness.)
Mini golfing…
Night time swim.
Perfect decompression day.
So, several months ago we won a condo at a charity auction. And by won, we bid with another friend and paid for it. But it was a super cheap deal. I had buyers remorse for the first 30 days and then I really forgot about it. Today? Best. Purchase. Ever!!
The condo is amazing… 4 bedrooms, pool and hot tub on a screened-in porch… Grill… Audi convertible to drive… Gated community… Ridiculous! And we’re here to relax for the week.
Some shots of the trip:
After we arrived and scouted out the place, we went to Target for a massive grocery shop. Somehow we managed to fit two carts into the trunk of the Audi convertible.
And here’s a shot of the living and doing room. I’ll share more throughout the week.
We saw two service dogs just kickin it in first class today. Maybe something for Diohgé to consider?
Today might have been one of the better days… We woke up, ate some breakfast and then headed to the spa for massages. The nice thing about the spa is that you have access to the whirlpool, showers and sauna all day. Amazing!
We relaxed before and after the massages. Then we headed back to our room, packed up and headed out. The drive back was gorgeous… 80 degrees, windows down, flowers or vineyards at every pass. It was also nice and relaxing because we left so early and gave ourselves plenty of time.
On the way, we stopped for lunch at In & Out Burger, Dave’s first time. Delicious! He loved it too… Then we went to the Golden Gate Bridge for some quick photos.
Now we are sitting at the airport where my balsamic jelly was confiscated by TSA. Bastards.
But I’m excited to go home and see this boy!
We splurged a bit today (yes, more than we have so far) and rented a town car/driver. Kevin was great! I would highly recommend it to anyone.
The experience allowed us to go a bit further to go to some of our favorite locations that are a bit north of Napa. BUT, before all that, we hit Schramsberg, a champagne house that’s the second oldest winery in Napa. The tour was fantastic with a ton of history and then a tasting in their caves. Yum! We ended up joining the wine club — the only one all week! (If you don’t know me, that’s a HUGE accomplishment.)
Afterwards, we drove to Geyersville and visited my #1 favorite place Meeker Vineyards. Julia is ever the hostess with great conversation and delicious wines. She even opened a special bottle for us since we are members and it was my birthday!
Heraldsburg was our next stop… They have a ton of tasting rooms in a small walking distance. We hit 3 of them… Murphy Goode (a Minnesota based family and we’re members), Williamson Winery (great food pairings!) and then ParTake by KJ. The food experience at KJ was ridiculous! I was in awe at how much the wine and food change when combined.
That was the end of our touring. We came back to the hotel and relaxed in the hot tub for awhile before enjoying dinner. And we did a little check in on our pooch’s vacation! Looks like he’s having fun…
First, a quick shout out… I miss my pups!
Today was fantastic! It was very scheduled, but with a ton of fun places. After having an amazing breakfast at the hotel, we headed to our first stop: Domaine Chandon. When we were here last time, we took off for a hot air balloon in their field, but didn’t get a chance to taste. We fixed that!
Then we headed over to Dean & Deluca’s to pick up some lunch for later. I love that store and had some fun playing around.
Our next stop was my most anticipated and favorite of the day… Far Niente! It’s a gorgeous property that’s by appointment only. They didn’t disappoint.
We then went over to their sister winery Nickel and Nickel. It was fun to taste there because we have several of their bottles at home, but hasn’t tried them. Now we know what’s good! The photo is of soil because this winery only produces single vineyard and each area is extremely different.
Our last wine stop was to Robert Mondavi. A great tour… Fun to learn that he grew up in Minnesota!!
And to cap off the day, we had a great dinner at Cole’s Chop House… Steaks!
DAVID'S PHOTOGRAPHS 