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Nearing the End

After seven wonderful days in the fine state of California, our trip has ended with a bang. Our time in Napa has proven fantastic, and we have the pictures to prove it!

First, however, we must share with you the spectacular journey as we left San Francisco. Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge is quite a spectacle, and we were fortunate to make the trek in beautiful weather. We stopped at the vista points on both sides of the bridge just to take it all in!

After San Fran, it was time to hit the wine country. We made our way through Sonoma and into Napa County, where we're staying at the Napa Inn Bed and Breakfast. It's a great little place, with wonderful evening wine tastings and amazing morning breakfasts. And it's a short walk to downtown, where we've eaten at Pizzeria Azzurro, Uva Trattoria, and Angele. Each place has been wonderful, with (of course) great wine selections.

Adam and Molly enjoying a barrel tasting at Bourassa

Dan, Molly, and Adam at Hopper Creek

We didn't just eat though--there's wine to be had! On Thursday, we took a bus tour with Platypus. If you ever had to Napa, we highly recommend this tour. They took us and six other couples to four very small, boutique wineries--O'Brien Estates, Bourassa, Elkhorn Peak, and Hopper Creek. We had an absolute blast at each winery. The largest produced only several thousand cases annually (versus some of the larger wineries that will do 100,000 plus per year), and we were able to chat with the very candid owners, operators, and winemakers at each location.

We were all having so much fun that the tour went two hours over! Much of this was due to Dan, our new best friend at Hopper Creek, however. We were his last group of the day, and he used the opportunity to offload his remaining open bottles while we talked about Napa food and culture and played fetch with Chili, his dog, in the vineyard.

And to top it off, completely randomly and without our prior knowledge, we had some friends on the tour with us! Laurie--Adam's former roommate Chris's sister--and her fiancee just so happened to be in Napa at the same time, and also thought to join the Platypus tour! It's a small world, after all...

Silver Oak's Napa Vineyard

On Friday, we decided to hit a couple larger wineries on our way over to Sonoma (just a short drive from Napa) for lunch. We first stopped by Silver Oak, one of our favorite Cabernet Sauvignon growers in the valley. Apart from the wonderful tasting, we learned something we probably already should have known: founder and owner Roy Duncan is a Notre Dame alum. In fact, the school's newest men's dorm--Duncan Hall--is named after him.

After a winding trip through the mountains to Sonoma, we stopped by Chateau St Jean, one of the valley's larger wine producers. There, we sampled some more wine and the company's spread of mustards, grapeseed oils, and vinegars while enjoying the beautiful grounds.

We did lunch in downtown Sonoma at an Irish Pub (got to stay close to your roots, even in wine country!) before heading over the Napa Outlet Mall (such deals!). And continuing our small world coincidences, we managed to run into another winemaker at dinner on Friday. We ordered a bottle of Renteria Pinot Noir with our meal at Angele (a restaurant with dozens of wine selections), and family patriarch Salvador Renteria was dining at the restaurant in celebration of son (and current business head) Oscar's birthday! The sommelier sent them to our table, and we were able to briefly meet the family to add a personal touch to our wonderful dinner.

In all, we've had a terrific vacation to California. We'll provide a few more posts over the next couple of days with some final thoughts, pictures, and videos, but in the mean time: cheers!

Pre-Update Update

Molly and I went on a fantastic wine tour today, where we stopped by four boutique family-run wineries. As you can imagine, we're quite fatigued. We promise to update again in short order!

A San Francisco Treat

And no, I'm not talking about Rice-a-Roni. We saw a lot of the city today, and we have the blisters to prove it.

We started with a cable car journey to Fisherman's Wharf. The cars move at just 9.5 mph, but you really have to hold on over some of those hills! While on the car, we chatted with the brakeman about the history of the system and its evolution, but we still had to jump out of the way when it was time for him to crank the brake. In all, not the most economical or practical form of transportation, but a unique one nonetheless.

At Fisherman's Wharf, we discovered one of our favorite San Fran landmarks: the sea lions at Pier 39. As we learned, we were somewhat fortunate to see them, given their sudden departure earlier this year after 20 years using the docks as resting places--it seems many, though not all, of the creatures have since returned after finding Oregon a less suitable habitat. It was still quite a site, however, with the animals constantly barking and jockeying for position. That said, you should feel fortunate that our camera doesn't have smell-o-vision...yikes.

Other notable sites at the Wharf included the Golden Gate Bridge (which we'll be driving across tomorrow!) and Alcatraz. After exploring the rest of the tourist trap that is Pier 39, we ventured over to Ghirardelli Square (the same as the chocolate) before heading to Alamo Square.

For those have seen the TV show Full House, this section's for you. Alamo Square is the site of the opening credit's picnic in front of the Painted Ladies homes.

Though commonly thought to be the home of the Tanner family, they are not--the actual Full House house is about a mile north, at 1709 Broderick Street. Rest assured, we went there too.

We hit a couple other terrific San Fran landmarks today: City Hall and Lombard Street. City Hall was somewhat close to Alamo Square, and offered some terrific insights into the city's history. A two mile hike away, Lombard Street claims to be the windiest road in the world, with eight hairpin turns down an incredibly steep hill. And believe us--walking up the hill is no picnic!

We rounded out the day with wine at our hotel and a nice dinner at Restaurante Milano, a charming place in Nob Hill. Tomorrow, it's off to Napa, where we'll be seeing yet another side of California (hopefully one that is a little warmer...). Until then, we leave you with a picture from lunch today (we just couldn't resist).

The Coldest Winter...

...I ever had was a summer in San Francisco. We rolled into town yesterday and discovered temperatures in the mid-50s! In August! In California! But our short visit thus far has proven quite lovely, and the trip in was even better.

We departed SLO early yesterday morning, but not before discovering more of our hotel's expansive property. After breakfast, we wandered down to the beach to embark on a photographic tour. Quite an adventure along the rocky coastline!

Then it was time to again hit the PCH. As it turns out, the road is even more treacherous north of SLO. And we found it even harder to resist pulling over every half a mile to take pictures--simply gorgeous terrain.

We stopped for lunch in Big Sur at a restaurant called Nepenthe. The food was pretty good, but the views were incredible. To top it off, the waitress mentioned that we were lucky--it had been foggy and overcast for the prior month and a half. The picture to the right is nearly from our table!

After lunch it was back to the highway for another three hours of beautiful driving. We continued along the coast through Santa Cruz, before rolling into the home of the cable car, San Francisco!

The city really is amazing, and not at all like Southern California. Beyond being much colder, it's hillier, more densely populated, and more European feeling. We're staying at the Inn at Union Square, a cute place right in the heart of the action. We met up with local friends Phil and Aileen for dinner last night at Osha Thai on 2nd Street, and the food was terrific. It was great to catch up with more friends, and our local bottle of wine reminded us that we're only a few short days from Napa!

Today, we're off to Fisherman's Wharf via cable car, and then to the Golden Gate Bridge. Beyond that, it's anybody's guess--we have the whole day in the city!

36 Hours Later

We haven't been here long, but we're about ready to pack up and head west, Fievel style. The weather has been a beautiful 72 degrees without a trace of humidity, the people are terrific, and the cuisine is wonderful.

And the scenery's pretty nice too.

But I digress. First, last night. As previously discussed, Molly and I enjoyed sushi at Katsuya with local friends. What a spot! The food was incredible--I don't even know where to begin. We ordered about eight different things, ranging from simple sashimi to scallop-covered sushi rolls, and everything was delicious. To top it off, some paparazzi were waiting out front after we ate. While no pictures were snapped of us, we're pretty sure that was some sort of error on their part.

After dinner, Molly and I headed to the poolside bar of the Roosevelt Hotel, where we enjoyed an evening drink while lounging in one of Hollywood's most historic venues. We didn't grab any photos ourselves, but here's what it looks like:









After a whirlwind opening day in L.A., we were ready to hit the road and begin our road trip. Our first stop was not too far away, however, as we drove through Beverly Hills to the Santa Monica Pier. We also resisted the urge to again grab In-N-Out Burger, and instead ate at a great hole-in-the-wall Mexican place, Taco Por Favor. Then it was time for the PCH!

The Pacific Coast Highway is a winding, often narrow, road that darts in and out of little towns and communities, but also offers the opportunity to pull over for some instant R&R. Here's Molly and me frolicking at a road-side beach.

Along the way, we drove on both Highway 1 and the 101 freeway, and ended up in Pismo Beach, a resort and retirement community about 15 minutes outside of San Luis Obispo. As it turns out, SLO is a fun, quirky college town (Cal Poly is here). We ate at a local pizza favorite and are currently enjoying some wine from the central coast. And our hotel has quite a view! (see picture to the right)

Tomorrow it's time to hit the road again, with San Francisco on our minds. Until our next post!

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