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!