Bla Bla Blog: Napa over the 4th of July

Over the 4th of July weekend, Bill and I flew out to visit Dave and Jackie in Napa. We had a great time! We got late Thursday night (especially for us 2 hrs ahead) so it was mainly just a little hanging out and straight to bed. Friday we got up and Jackie and Dave made us a fantastic breakfast of Huevos Rancheros and Honeymoon Bacon! We need a good breakfast to take on our day of wine tasting. We first stopped at Joseph Phelps winery which was very laid back and had a great view! We then went to Schramsberg and got a tour of the caves and got to taste some of the delicious bubbly. We then went to Sunshine Foods (one of the greatest grocery stores ever) and picked up some cheese, meat, bread, olives, and raspberries for a picnic lunch. After lunch we went to Folio (where Dave's Friend, Mike works) and enjoyed a relaxing time sipping wine on the back porch of the winery. After that we went back to Dave and Jackie's to rest up and meet John for our next activity, a BBQ at their friends house. We had lots of great food, met great people, and watched some fireworks at the end of the night.

On Saturday, Jackie and I took the dogs for a walk, and then we all got ready and went to Rutherford Grill for an early Birthday Lunch. Since it wasn't quite open when we got there, we were able to do a tasting across the street at Elizabeth Spencer Wines. The wine was delicious and we were able to purchase one for our lunch at Rutherford Grill, which is one of my favorite restaurants. We had a incredible lunch, and then Jackie gave us a tour of the Grounds of the Westin in Napa, where she did the Landscaping. We followed that up with some organic ice cream from Three Twins. In the evening we went to a Jazz Concert at Mondavi Winery with about 20 of Dave and Jackie's friends, were we had a BBQ Picnic (tons of good food), wine (of course), music, and fireworks over the vineyard at dark.

Sunday, we drove to Tomales Bay and Point Reyes, where we stopped and got some cheese at the Cowgirl Creamery, and then went and got Oysters at a place where we could sit right on the Bay. It was so beautiful there and not very built up there yet, which made it very peaceful. We then went back to Dave and Jackie's place and I helped Jackie make her Chicken Cacciatore and Risotto, and Bill made his famous Artichokes! It was perfect way to end the trip! John joined us again that night for dinner, and then kindly offered to get up at 3am and take Bill and I to the Airport for our flight home.