Last two days!
Today we got up a bit slower. Shocking I know. I think we may have drank the city
yesterday. But surprisingly enough with
good wine and well paced drinking throughout the day with food, you don’t have a
hang over the next day! Yay!!!
When we finally did roll our asses out the door,
todays plan was to head northwest to the Russian River Valley area. I was pretty excited about this since I had
never been past Calistoga. Lisa and her
man stayed up in Guerneville in the Russian River Valley area and she wanted to
show me the area.
First we decided to stop in Healdsburg though to
check out the town and have an early lunch.
We found it quite easy and even easier found a parking spot. The place seemed to be jumping so I was
actually surprised how easy it was to park!
Sweet! There were lots of fun
little sculptures here and there that I tried to catch on my camera and the
city was super cute!
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| This horse was made of all metal and wood! |
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| Really cool sculpture - all spoons and water dripping through them making the sweetest sound! |
It was a darling
little small town and this area was really pretty. A lot of the shops I think my mom would
actually love, so I was making a mental note to make sure to tell her to get up
here at some point.
We wandered in and out of a few shops checking out
the area then our stomachs instructed us to eat. We landed at Costeaux Bakery.
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| Breakfast of Champions |
What a great little find! Lisa
ordered a spinach omelet and I got a turkey cranberry sandwich on this amazing
multi grain bread. So good!!! I also got myself my 1st adult
beverage – a hibiscus! Yum!!
Around this time we also noticed that the service
everywhere we have been is somewhat slow.
We’ve never been in a hurry so it’s never a big deal but I find it kind
of funny that it seems to be a Northern California thing – slow service. You just come in, chill for a while then
eat. Don’t get me wrong – I fucking love
it and I do wish our Southern California folks would slow the hell down but its
something to muse on for sure.
As we got ready to leave I actually bought a loaf
of the multi grain bread. I hope it
keeps because it’s so friggin good!!!
Of we went.
Back on the road and after a few missed turns we were on our way. We ended up driving through a pretty windy
road through the redwoods. Just beautiful!!!!!! I really just could not
get over the scenery. So green! So gorgeous!!! The road was a bit hairy at times and I drove
like a gramma trying not to get us both carsick and we ended up passing a bunch
of wineries. We decided to just pull
into one that looked pretty and or inviting.
MacRoste it was!
It was up a bit on a hill overlooking gorgeous vineyards.
As we walked up we were greeted by a very
perky girl with two glasses of wine in her hand. “Welcome!!!
She squeaked. “Glass of our
Chardonnay?” Um hell yes!!!! Who greets you at the door with wine?! She told us a bit about the winery, telling
us they have been making wine for 28 years but just opened this winery 5 months
ago! So brand new!! We came into this beautifully designed
building that had a panoramic view of the vineyards through huge open
windows. Um gorgeous. We were sat at a long table and had an option
of 3 different tastings.
Lisa and I
chose different ones so we could taste more varietals. Our gal was super nice and believe it or not
– I loved the Chardonnay!!!! What the
hell is wrong with me!! Yes I bought a
bottle! Of WHITE! I’m a shell of my former self. Anyway, a really great experience and they
had some really great wines! I’d love to
come back here but will call ahead to make a reservation so we could sit
outside! Gorgeous location!
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| Hello beautiful! |
We drove along the beautiful redwoods and
vineyards for a while then landed at Korbel Winery and Delicatessen.
By this time we were kind of hungry again so
we opted to grab a snack. It was
perfect!!! They had a tasting room, but
we wandered into the Deli and ordered a couple of small salads. We then grabbed a table outside under the
redwood trees. It was such a beautiful
setting I couldn’t get over it!!! I also
ordered myself a pomegranate bellini which was so yummy!!! We snapped pictures, munched on our salads
and sipped the sparkles. So beautiful.
So peaceful. An absolutely perfect
stop. Defiantly going to return!
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| Our view |
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| My view when I looked up |
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| Again...could die happy |
After this we drove awhile more and landed into
the Guerneville area Lisa was wanting to revisit and show me around. We drove through the tiny town, then drove to
the Bed and Breakfast they stayed at last time.
It was so cute! The whole place
reminded me of Big Bear. She then showed
me the little off beaten path where you can go and lay on the river! Now this floored me. I didn’t realize the Russian River was like a
little River town. We saw folks floating
around the river, laying out on the beach, relaxing out there like it was
Havasu! I had no idea!!! There were a bunch of different areas you
could do this and I’m so coming back here!!!
I plan to stay up this way so we can enjoy the river beach aspect of it
as well as the wineries! I’m so excited for this find! Thank you Lisa for showing me!
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| I may paint Herbie this color |
After that we decided to hit one more winery
before we headed back to our motel. We
didn’t have a very good idea of where we were, and it was getting near winery
closing time so we opted for Old World
A little tiny winery we passed that I liked the name of. It ended up being like a little farmhouse
with a very nice little gal that did a cheap tasting.
I was a bit worried at 1st because
the first couple of wines I tasted were not good. But she explained some issues they were
having with some of the harvests, etc and boy could you taste it. But then the Petite Syrah she poured for me
was really good!! There was another
blend that was yummy as well. Then there
was this weird grape called the Abouriou that she said was usually a hit or
miss with people. I guess it's not common here in the US, more of a European thing. I didn’t care for it
but it was certainly a trip to taste. I
bought a bottle of the Syrah – it was onsale!
And after we stopped and hello to the chickens (I told you it was a
farm) we hit the road.
We shot back to our motel way quicker than I
thought and relaxed for a bit. In fact –
Lisa passed right out! I caught up on
some emails, chatted with mom, read one of my magazines then my stomach won out
and I woke Lisa up so we could get dinner.
We walked back into town and decided to hit up the Calistoga Inn & Brewery. They
had beautiful outdoor seating and a guy was playing guitar and singing and it
ended up being the perfect last dinner of our vacay.
I ordered the special steak and it was
fantastic! It had these caramelized
onions all over it that were soooooo good!
Then I had fun purple potatoes which apparently are Peruvian
Potatoes. So trippy! Lisa got a yummy
basil pizza (Oh I miss cheese) and I had a really great Russian River Pinot
Noir called Romililly. I want to
remember that because it was quite good!
We then split a Blackberry Crisp that was also delicious!
Back to our room we came, early enough to hit the
hot tub for a bit, and now back in our rooms tired and happy. Oh...and here's my haul:
Lisa just purchased one bottle from Tedeschi but it was her 1st purchase at a winery ever and I was so proud - so I had to capture it!
The next morning we got up, did our usual coffee and stumble, shower, packed up and out the door. I said goodbye to the Cottages and goodbye to another rad vacay as we headed out.
We opted to head home via the 101 again since it was so beautiful and it's really only like an hour longer than the 5. The 5 is just so ugly and depressing. So again -a few missed turns and we were on our way! We pretty much did a straight shot to Gilroy. As you may have read, I was super interested in stopping at the Garlic Capital. Well, sadly this did not live up to my expectations. BUT - we still of course enjoyed ourselves. I think I was picturing some sort of garlic mecca, with many garlic stores and yummies, etc. Well - it's really just a run down little town that has a lot of boarded up stores and interesting folks roaming around. But - still cool and interesting.
After checking out our food options we landed on the Old City Hall Restaurant for our lunch.
It actually ended up being rad. We sat out on the patio. It was the only place that wasn't crowded. It was nice and chill and the poor little waitress was running around like crazy and very happy when she realized we weren't in a hurry. Plus there was a cat! This little cat was running around the patio and so cute and friendly. I named him Gilroy.
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| How can you resist those eyes! |
We made another stop at the Madonna Inn - because...well...it was so rad. This time we actually popped a squat at the copper (yes copper) bar and got some wine and cake! I also decided I needed to purchase a set of those gaudy water goblets so I did! A purple one and a green one!
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| Peace |
Back on the road (But I have made a mental note of this vista point) and after a very long drive home we made it! I dropped Lisa off to her lovely boyfriend and happy dog. Rob greeted her with a kiss and a beer and I had a little twang of loneliness which was quickly curbed, as I was still on such a high. I got home at around 10pm and unloaded my car in the rain. The kitties were so happy I was home!
This trip has been an absolute ball! I probably spent almost as much as I did last
time I was up here and don’t have one regret.
This is my once a year vacation and dammit I’m going to enjoy it! The place we were staying was perfect! The town of Calistoga has treated us
well. I’ve found some new places up here
I want to explore and some new ones I want to revisit! Lisa and I make good travel buddies and I’m
sure this won’t be our last trip together! I do want to bring Libby back up to Russian River as well...I know she'll love it!
As always I’m so grateful for opportunities like
this! Taking the time to get away for a
few days is really something I’m so glad I’ve worked into my life. I’ll splurge sometimes and not feel bad. That’s what vacation is for!!!!
I'm home now, back to the real world, but with some awesome memories and adventures under my belt as well as a shit ton more wine!
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