The rest of the Napa trip!

Gah!  I haven't had any time to sit and write out the rest of the Napa trip report.  It was a fantastic trip, and I wish I could get all the fun details in, but here's an overview:

We started Friday with bubbly!  Muum Napa had some delicious sparkling wines, but the Santana (yep, as in Carlos) was my favorite.  It was a beautiful winery setting (actually most of them were!) and it was a solid start to the day. 

From Muum, we traveled to BV, which was fine -- nothing too extraordinary there, and then grabbed lunch at some run-down mini mart.  That was not so fine.  We were tight on time, so we had to grab something on the go to make it to the next winery on time.  The mart had a kitchen where they made Mexican dishes -- now, I have nothing against Mexican food, but it often doesn't like me.  I settled on a basic rice and beans burrito, and hoped the rest of the trip would allow for better wine pairings :)

The rush was well worth it when, after climbing and twisting our way up the mountain, we arrived at Chappellet.  By far, this was the best winery we visited.  The grounds were gorgeous, the hostess was fabulous, the wines were delicious.  We got to taste the wines while seated at a grand table right alongside the wine barrels.  It was chilled in there, so they provided us with comfy coats to keep warm, then invited us to tour the grounds with our wine.

 We even got to taste the grapes!  They weren't ready -- they were sour.  :(

After Chappellet, we made our last stop at Clos Du Val.  This winery had beautiful gardens, but the hostess left a lot to be desired.  We eventually made our way back to the resort, freshened up and enjoyed the view from our deck for a bit, and then headed to the riverfront area of downtown Napa.  We didn't realize everything would be closed by 6, though, so we did some window shopping and ended up (shocking for this group!) at a tavern.

 I wished the running store was open -- it would've been fun to see how theirs was set up!

After dinner at the Greystone Culinary Institute, which was good but the atmosphere seemed better out on the porch than inside, we called it a night. 

Saturday was a day off -- which was great for me.  I got a solid run in in the morning, then took a yoga class at the fitness center, then got a long swim done in the outdoor lap pool, and then lunch and some lounging time with my friends at the regular pool.  Got my nails done at the spa, then we were off to dinner.  Saturday's dinner was at Mustard's, and it was another good meal. I have to say, I really wasn't blown away by any of the meals I had -- but they were all good restaurants. 

Saturday night was hilarious -- a few of us ended up back at the resort's main bar where there were a whole bunch of men on a business trip golf weekend partying at the end of the day.  It was a shark tank, for sure -- but no harm done. 

Sunday was another day of wineries, but this time in Sonoma -- and we enjoyed mimosas on the bus on the way there!  We went to Chateau St. Jean, Coppola, and then Ferrari-Carano.  Ferrari was my favorite there.  By the end of the day we were silly and happy and having fun playing around.  This picture sort of sums up the trip in all its wine and silliness and fun:

That's my friend A on the ground.  She took her part of the picture seriously. 

Sunday night was our last night in Napa.  We had dinner at Bistro Don Giovanni, seated at a great table on the terrace.  I had one of the best dishes here -- a beet and asparagus salad -- and we all enjoyed our last night together.  Until a spider fell out of the rafter onto our table.  Then we were ready to wrap up the desserts and hit the road.  But it was a great night and a couple of us stayed up late, the music playing and our non-stop laughing at the events of the weekend. 

Monday morning I got an easy run done, with a short stop at the fitness center in the middle of it for a half hour on the stationary bike.  We all showered, grabbed coffee and hit the road.  We tried to stop at Muir Woods (whoa!  Lots of twists and turns -- not good for our hungover people!) but the parking was impossible, so off to the wharf we went.  We had a fun lunch on pier 38 (39?) and then walked around a bit. 

A few hours later, a couple of my friends and I were on red-eye flights home.  What a trip.  I did get a little sleep on the flight, but it would take me a few days to get caught up from the time difference and all the energy, excitement and fun of the long weekend.  That was a trip I'll long remember with a great group of people.