Napa Wine Train

After another day of sleeping in - I am LOVING having no alarm clock! - we dawdled on the backyard deck, sipping our coffee, trying to coax the curious neighbor kitty, listening to the birds, and enjoying a mild sunny morning. We finally roused ourselves because we had reservations on the Napa Wine Train. We got to the station and had two very pleasant surprises. The first was that instead of typical plastic chairs or wooden benches, the station was full of comfy couches and tables with padded chairs. What a nice way to wait for our train! The second surprise was the granddaughter of the winery we were heading for (Grgich) conducted a wine tasting for us. We sampled a chardonney, pinot grigio, and a cabernet. What a lovely way to start the trip! We boarded the Wine Train and were seated at tables that were set with lovely linens and place settings.
The 18 mile trip through the Napa Valley was beautiful with many vineyards and wineries. The train traveled slowly enough so that we could enjoy the scenery in a relaxed way. We ordered from a menu. I had a beef filet, Joyce had salmon, and Nancy had swordfish. All meals were plated beautifully and garnished with watercress - I love that mild peppery fresh flavor! I think we were on thr train for about an hour which gave us plenty of time to savor our food. And of course, we took pictures of each - we're being such good foodies on this trip, taking photos of all our meals.
At the winery, we were greeted by our tour guide who was very energetic, chatty, and fun. Grgich is a Croatian winery and it did have a Eastern European feel to it (or maybe it's the feeling one gets from a lot of wineries, not sure). Our guide explained that they have a bio-environmental, sustainable vineyards and winery. They have lady bugs to eat the spiders and mites, owls to eat mice and keep snakes away, dogs to chase the racoons - all of whom love the grapes, especially when they begin to ferment. We got to taste the tiny wine grapes - they were tart-sweet with thickish skins. He had us suck the pulp from the grapes and then spit the seeds into our hands. If the seeds a green, the grapes are not ready; if they're brown, the grapes are ready to pick through and crush. After visiting the fermenting room, the waiting room, and the bottling room, we were led into the tasting room where we tasted 5 wines. We were given some time to buy wine if we wished or visit the flower gardens and fountains. And we were given the lovely wine glasses to keep, a nice touch.
After a friendly All Aboard, we found ourselves in a different type of train car where we were served dessert. I had chocolate mousse, which was lovely; Joyce had creme brule; Nancy had a refreshing fruit plate. And we had some delicious coffee. We were offered alcoholic coffee drinks, but we figured we'd had quite enough to drink by then!
We returned to the house for a well-deserved nap - hey riding on a wine train, wine tasting, and eating fabulous food is exhausting! We eventually got up and when our landlord stopped by to see if we had everything we needed, asked him for a recommendation for an inexpensive Mexican restaurant for dinner. We got what we asked for. It was our least favorite meal of the week, but even so, it wasn't bad. We had standard American Mexican fare: Nancy had a taco salad, Joyce had enchiladas, and I had crispy tacos.
Tomorrow, we're going to travel the Napa Valley by car from Napa to St. Helena, stopping at wineries and interesting shops, and of course, the CIA Greystone (Culinary Institute of America). Gotta get some rest tonight - it'll be another busy day.

Sonoma Summer

We have decided to do a couple of short road trips this week to explore what's beyond Napa. Today we went to Sonoma, just a few miles over in the next valley. It's very different from Napa - Napa is green and lush while Sonoma seems more high desert. We tried to find a restaurant for lunch that TripAdvisor folks had advertised as "a great burger and fries but surly service." One said he bet anyone anything if they could make the waitress smile. Apparently, the "service" is what attracts people to this place. We couldn't find it and ended up elsewhere with perfectly good food. On the way out, we spotted the other restaurant across the street in the same building as a car repair garage. I guess the ambiance matches the service!
On to shopping. There were lots of cute little boutiques around the main square in Sonoma. Last of the Big The Spenders, I bought Randy a dozen "taco proppers" - little holders that hold your tacos upright for filling and serving. He'll be delighted as he's tried several different things to achieve the same thing. Randy: Please forget that you read this and act surprised when I give you these taco proppers!
It was very hot in Sonoma - I felt a little faint and overwhelmed in one shop and had to leave. And I quite liked the shop as it had really different items from all over the world, the majority of items were hand crafted. I had hoped to find a cute bag for my computer, but the ones I really liked were either too small or too large. The hunt is still on. While waiting outside for Nancy and Joyce, this older woman came and sat next to me in the shade and after a few minutes chatting, told me that I was much nicer than her sisters who refuse to talk to her any more because she keeps leaving rehab (!) before she's supposed to. Sometimes, I can really attract 'em! Nancy bought an adorable butter / cheese spreader with a Westie on the handle in another shop that was fun - lots of different serving pieces, dishware, flatware, candles, linens, etc.
For dinner, we went to Uva - an Italian restaurant. I had an excellent pasta with Bolognese, Joyce had yummy cheese ravioli in marinara. Nancy had a pizza on super thin and crispy crust. Joyce and Nancy had wine, and of course, since we're in wine country, I had another Margarita. Those are really hitting the spot with me this week!

Lazy Day in Napa

We slept in this morning and then had a long breakfast on the deck. While sipping our coffee, we noticed that a kitty was up on the roof of a storage shed and was peeking at us over the fence. We tried coaxing it, but it just wanted to watch us. We explored the backyard, tried to figure out how to turn on the water fountain, which we later discovered didn't work. We eventually got dressed and went to do a little shopping. I was on the hunt for two specific items (Crabtree and Evelyn's Wisteria and a cute computer bag); no luck, Napping and reading, we spent a couple delightful late afternoon hours and then headed out for dinner. Nancy always likes us to go for an excellent steak, so we went to Cole's Steakhouse. When the waiter came to get our beverage orders, I said, "Well, in honor of being in wine country, I'd like a Margarita!" Nancy followed suit with a Cosmo. Joyce - our much less rebellious sister - ordered wine and pronounced it delicious. The steaks were tender, flavorful, and delicious! We ordered one side order of hash browned potatoes and it was enough for 8 people. Delicious, but couldn't eat even a third of it! Back at the house, sipping more wine, we read, knitted, watched tv, chatted before heading off to bed. Another glorious vacation day - just what I wanted!

After a great night's sleep in my sleeping compartment, I was awakened by my cell phone. It was Tom Hancock (a work colleague). I demanded "Who is this!" and he replied, "Tom!" I said, "Who are you and why are you calling?" Turns out that they had heard of an Amtrak accident in California where some passengers got hurt, so he was calling to see if it was my train and if I was OK. Love you guys!!!!!

The sleeping compartments on Amtrak are considered First Class. In my opinion, they are well worth the cost, especially on a multi-day trip. You can have total privacy when you want, and when you decide to socialize, you can join others in the First Class Lounge, in the Observation Car, or in the open-to-all Cafe Car. Dining is communal - they seat 4 to a table, so unless you are part of a party of four, you'll be seated with strangers. The convention is that everyone at your table orders their meal from a menu and then someone starts the conversation by asking where the others are from, where they're going, the reason for the trip. That gets the ball rolling for some interesting and diverse conversations. For example, as I mentioned before, last night we got into a deep conversation about China. This morning at breakfast, we all got a little silly and played a game of naming all the breakfast cereals we could come up with, adding little stories - true or not - about an experience we've had or what they're made of, or how they were invented. As I said - you never know where the conversation is going! But it's always a fun trip.

I rented a car in Emeryville and headed across the Oakland Bridge to pick up my sisters at the San Francisco Airport. I had 90 minutes to get there, so thought I had no problem - until I hit a major traffic jam at the toll booth. But I finally got clear of that and was driving along the bridge when all of a sudden, I found myself in a tunnel. Wait. A tunnel??? I was on a bridge! I later discovered that that was Treasure Island, a "mountain" right under the bridge, and thus the tunnel.

Finally, I picked up my sisters, who by that time, had scarfed down most of the Ole Piper Inn pepperoni and sausage pizza they had brought from Minnesota (an old family favorite). My Mean Evil Sisters made me drive all the way through San Francisco and across the Golden Gate Bridge before they let me have a piece. But it was worth the wait.

Napa wasn't much farther and with our dueling Android Navigator and Tom Tom, we found our rented house.  After a little struggle unlocking the door, we piled ourselves and all our stuff in. And took a nap. We ARE on vacation! Cute little house - 3 bedrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen, 2.5 baths and a sweet back yard with a deck. And a neighbor's kitty who climbed up on a shed to peek over the fence at us.

We ate dinner at an upscale pub named Norman Rose in downtown Napa. It is amazing how many restaurants there are in Napa - it seems to be Foodie Heaven. Back at the house, we enjoyed some wine and after dozing while reading and watching TV, we stumbled to bed. Loving this!

I'm Off!

And I'm off! I spent most of Saturday getting all spiffed up for my Great Adventure: pedicure, facial, hair. Then Sunday, Randy and I played our usual weekly 2 hour water volleyball game. Purely recreational and fun, but we do a fair amount of teasing and trash-talking. Sunday evening, good friends Sandy and Bob came by and we went out to Gateway to India for a fabulous Indian dinner. Bob and Sandy spent the night, which annoyed our kitties, Wyatt and Quimby. They were annoyed that strangers occupied the guestroom and the bed - both of which they believe to be theirs. They did come purring into our bed, though, so obviously they weren't too traumatized. They are generally scared of anyone who comes to the house and tend to hide in Randy's closet. This time, though, they both tore through the living room a couple of times, as if daring the boogieman to get them. Weird animals.
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The next morning after a leisurely breakfast, Bob took Sandy and me to the Amtrak station. Sandy rode with me in my train compartment from Tacoma to Vancouver, WA while poor Bob drove I5 by himself. Sandy, I should explain, is long-time friend of mine - we met in Brownie Girl Scouts in the second grade. A few years later, Sandy was the one who introduced Randy and me on a blind date. As soon as we boarded the train, the attendant offered us champagne - a bubbly beverage that neither Sandy nor I ever turn down! After lunch, we arrived in Vancouver and Sandy had to get off while I continued my trip to Emeryville (Oakland/San Francisco). It was so pleasant and relaxing, I just let my mind relax. My Great Adventure has begun.

After a few hours, I had dinner with 3 retired professors of history and geology - they got into a deep conversation about China. That's one thing I love about the train - you meet such interesting people!

Finally - here we go!

OK, everyone. Thank you to those of you who are still reading this blog - I appreciate your extreme patience! So - where have I been since my first (and only) post? I bought this new little computer so I could blog during my trip. Got it just a couple of days before I left. I downloaded all the software I needed and thought I was all set. When I tried to post from the train, I couldn't get on the internet. I decided that I could wait a day until I got to Napa, but when I tried it there, I still couldn't access the internet. I was doing a mighty battle with Bing and just couldn't get past it. During my 3 week trip, I periodically tried to connect, but couldn't. Finally, after I got home, Randy tried and after struggling with it, finally managed to load Firefox and got me a solid internet connection. So, my lack of postings were totally operator-error. HOWEVER - I still wrote my blogs and so I am intending on posting them one at a time. We'll just all pretend that it was 3 weeks ago . . . with me?
Next up: figuring out how to get photos from my Android to the computer so I can post some.

So, my first real learning on this trip was that long ago I chose the right career - working with people rather than working with computers.