Apologies for the last cat-related blog...this one will definitely be better! I hope you guys got my emails from San Fran...if not, Justin and I took off two Saturdays ago to San Francisco to visit his college roommate Tyler and his girlfriend Maren. We had a blast...two days in Napa, three days in the city, and two days for Carmel and Monterey! Here are some pics...
Below are Maren, Tyler, Justin, and myself at a small vineyard called August Briggs. They are a small winery that only really sells to local restaurants and wine shops so we will never see the likes of it around Memphis (unless you pack some painstakingly carefully in your checked baggage - as I did - with a prayer for its safe arrival). The guy who gave us our tasting showed us around the cellar and even let us taste wine right out of the barrels - pointing out the difference between wine that has aged for different lengths of time.
We proceeded on to Frog's Leap which was a favorite among our stops. They had stopped giving tours for the day but we walked in anyways, and they opened a bottle of their 2005 Merlot and sent us out on our own tour. If you are ever in Napa, it's a must-stop...the wine is delicious and the grounds are breath-taking...
After two days in Napa and one in the city, Justin and I headed off to Carmel, about 2 hours away...we enjoyed seeing the Pacific Ocean and shopping around Carmel and Monterey. The night we ate at Casanova Restaurant, one of the best in the area. The next day, we took a scenic drive down Highway 1 (yes, in a Saturn Vue) and almost made it to Big Sur before turning around to get back to San Fran in time for dinner.
At dinner in Carmel...
At the Monterey Bay Aquarium...
The pic below is at Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc - where we ate southern fried chicken, mashed potatos and apple pie dessert...and I thought we were in California!! (Ad Hoc has a fixed menu...it takes a couple of weeks to get reservations and you don't know what the menu is until that day when they post it online...an interesting but evidently lucrative way to run a restaurant - it was packed on a Wednesday).
On Thursday, Justin and I headed back into the city, first to have breakfast with my college friend and sorority sister Allana, who has lived in San Fran for almost three years! After breakfast, Justin and I toured Alcatraz, walked Fisherman's Wharf, barked at the sea lions, and enjoyed a free piece of chocalate in Giradelli Square (yumm).
Friday, we headed over to Muir Woods for our final sight-seeing adventure before coming home Saturday...
On the way home to Walnut Creek, we stopped at the Golden Gate bridge for pics and then over to the beach for a beautiful sunset...
We can't wait to go back...we needed a few more days to squeeze in another day in Napa, some time in Sausalito, and a little more time for Big Sur/Carmel/Monterey, but all in all, we did so much in the week we had there. Don't worry, this is only a smattering of the 260 pics I took out there, so we have many albums to fill and share.
Hope you are all doing well...
Kathy
