this post has been hanging in limbo since march 14, 2006... nearly 2 weeks ago. c'est la vie. here it is now:
... be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
both caitlyn and i arrived at oakland airport on friday evening. at danielle's dorm room that night (almost like old times - except no cassie! :( ) we perused a catalog of vineyards in preparation for our trip to napa valley.
we woke early the next day, despite the loud japanese girls living down the hall, without too much trouble (hooray 3 hour time difference - 8am feels like 11am). after a quick stop at starbucks we were on our way.
the day was sunny enough as we made our way to our first winery, the hess collection. located at the end of a long and winding road it had a small collection of modern art, beautiful views, and of course wine tasting. next we headed to darioush. the outside was beautiful, the entry way was flanked by columns and fountains, the view was scenic. but on the inside the wine was pricey and the whole atmosphere was a little too posh. after a lovely midday meal at pacific blues we went to provenance, which we had been given free tasting coupons for from hess. here we learned a little about wine growing and grapes in napa valley and i tasted my first sip of my newest obsession - port.
the next winery on our list was v. sattui. this place had lots of people, like darioush, but was very down to earth. we took a place at the tasting bar and were served by an older guy whose name tag read george sattui (though he claimed it was a coincidence). we made our purchases and headed to our last stop of the day - hall. this place was small, but the staff were funny and the the other tasters amusing. we closed the place down with a glass of sparkling california wine and headed back to hayward.
the crew at hall winery
sunday was our day to explore big sur. big sur is a coastal region of california, with dramatic oceanside cliffs and redwood filled forests. after the long drive we started with some sandwiches and hot tea at the nepenthe restaurant. then we did a short (but steep) hike to an unimpressive waterfall in the pfeiffer big sur state park. we followed the coastal route 1 home.
the beautiful big sur coastline
on our third (and my final) day in the bay area we spent in san francisco. early in the morning caitlyn's dad (mr. man) arrived for a few days visit and they went off to breakfast. after danielle and i got ourselves together we all drove into the city. after checking into their hotel, mr. man took a nap while we girls headed off to japantown for lunch. a seemingly straight route from the hotel was nearly all uphill (*big* hills too) and after a short descent we arrived at our destination.
danielle and caitlyn in japantown
we had some lovely sushi at a shop proclaiming to have the best sushi rolls in san francisco (and they were pretty darn good). after a little shopping (and the discovery of one of my obsessions from my time in japan - rice crackers) we went back to pick up mr. man. after dropping danielle at the bart station (she had work to do, it was a weekday afterall) we drove down lombard street - twice - which was big fun.
then we walked down to the wharves to see the excitement and the sea lions. after wandering around and poking in and out of some shops we chose a restaurant for dinner with a view. sadly there was not the beauteous sunset we had hoped for - it was still quite cloudy from the afternoon rain. my time in san fran was coming to an end. after a little post-dinner tv i was dropped at the airport with my crate of wine bottles and a ticket home.
good times. :)
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