Monday Musings - April 12, 2010

1. Vacation weeks end too quickly and it seem the drudgery begins creeping back into life before the vacation really ends.

2. Winter's grip has really finally departed the area--after a week of 80 degree temperatures and light rains, I had to mow the lawn again yesterday, and I still enjoyed it.

3. This one is for Chris, Tina and Patrick: I love my new iPhone. Yea--it drops calls, but the mapping app is awesome and all last week I was able to do things my Blackberry coundn't even dream of doing--like finding a Starbucks near where I was and then interactively guiding me to it.

4. I am still going over everything I learned and collected during last week's jaunt to the west coast, I guess that is really one of the high points of weeks away--when they stay involved in life and don't just slip into the fond memory category.

5. I missed Makayla last week and was crushed when she seemed underwhelmed to see me. Dogs really know how to put people in their place.

6. Wine is rapidly becoming a hobby. I met a couple while in Napa last week who are living the dream--their hobby became their livelihood--what a neat thing. Don't worry, I don't think I'm going to go into wine making anytime soon.

Safe Return and Fond Memories

Well, it is over.

Thanks to a relatively uneventful trip on Southwest Airlines our Napa adventure came to a safe conclusion early this morning (about 1AM) when we pulled into the driveway and unloaded our treasures and dirty laundry.

During the trip we saw natural wonders including geysers and giant redwoods; and we saw grape vines and wineries and mountains and so many things that it just really can't be all told.

These pictures here kind of give the variance of the week--from looking at the new leaves sprouting into the warm sun, to bottles of champagne lining the cave walls at Schramsburg--to works of art and a Persian Palace Winery at Darioush.

There are so many things to see and do. We even got in a little shopping and antiquing.

The high points of the trip were walking among the giant redwoods and talking to the winemaker of Parador Wines.

We spanned quite a diverse set of wineries from the opulent at Darioush and Rubicon, to the modest Buena Vista (in Sonoma).

We experienced a wide variety of wines and were able to sample some wines with incredible price tags--$165 per bottle. And found that they were OK. But we also found some great wines for much less.

I continue to be unhappy to be living in Maryland--where the legislature has no problem regulating things like cell phone use in a car--but can't see to get its act together to "Free the Grapes." Come on--it will increase state revenue! That we lived in Maryland almost always was a source of discussion at the wineries and I was told many, mostly illegal, ways to circumvent the Maryland liquor shipping laws--most of which require the commission of a felony! Here is a real good question--how can something be absolutely legal in most states but yet be a felony in others?

But--all in all--the trip was awesome. We saw art--and we saw nature's beauty.

And now I'm home where the lawn needs to be mowed and I get to return to the reality of daily life. But always with the memories of a great trip.

Stalking the next big adventure

And so we aren't even home yet from our current spring fling adventure
and are already talking about next year. Somewhere in the Carribbean
seems to be the leading contender.

And as I sit here on the plane in Las Vegas, I am wondering why
aircraft wind up sitting on the tarmac waiting for a gate to open when
I have vacations to plan and things to do?

A sandy beach sure sounds nice right now.

Ah. When is spring break 2011 anyway?

Sent from my iPhone

Saturday Morning Insomnia

I am sitting here in the hotel room at the end of a great trip with
insomnia. It is like 3am and there is packing to do later and then the
journey to home.

It is hard to believe the week is over.

It was a great week. We visited some 15 wineries as well as seeing
some great sights.

We met a lot of really cool people along the way and I'm sure we had
such a great time because of the really nice people we met. That and
it is off season meaning cooler temperatures and fewer tourists like
ourselves.

I have a lot more to write about the trip and the things we did. But
in one area I feel we really were successful and it was a highlight.

As corny as it sounds, we really wanted to discover a winery that not
everyone knows about or has heard of.

Yesterday in what was the culmination of something which really began
with our first dinner on Monday evening, we met with the winemaker and
his wife and really cute 3 month old jack russel terrier of Parador
Vineyards. We sampled six wines at their home and this was in adition
to the two wines we had enjoyed during the week.

They are all fabulous. He is a small wine maker and makes a very
special and unique Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempernillo blend.

We talked about grapes and wine and wine making for the better part of
almost two hours.

Talking with them really helped put into perspective the differences
between the big production wineries and the small literally two person
operations.

To say it was great is an understatement. But more later. I'm
thinking I can finally roll over and get some much needed sleep.

Travel days are always hard on me.

See you soon

Sent from my iPhone

A Walk Among the Giants

We had the opportunity to walk among giants as part of our vacation to the Napa/Sonoma area of California. We went for an early morning walk (after over an hour drive) in a redwood grove at the Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve.

It was awe inspiring and I sent a couple updates on the jaunt--but it really is something beyond words.

The trees, and I confess, this was the first time I had been in a no kidding full grown redwood forest, are so big they cannot even be comprehended when you are looking at them.

I enjoyed the smells of the forest in the morning and it was cold--only in the low 40's as we arrived--but the walk was so worth the time to get in touch with these old and magnificent trees.
They are that big.

And did I say, old. 1400 years some of these giants have been growing. There was one exhibit which really put the timeline in perspective. It was a cut piece of trunk exposing the growth rings. And most of the things we consider as history--were in the very outer rings. I was awed to think that that tree was alive and pretty tall in 1066 AD--dating from the Norman invasion of Britain. The tree was already almost 400 years old when that occurred.

All in all--we really couldn't see the forest for the trees.

Tasting at Gundlach Bundschu

Cave tasting and a great tour. The wines are just average though. But
for the educational perspective this is a great winery to visit.

The winery is located in Somoma, CA. The tour guide was great.

Recommendation: visit and enjoy the tour and the views and the close
up view of the vineyards.

A football field in the air

Really. 300 plus feet tall. Big around too. And dark on the ground.
Redwood trees are awesome.

Deep in a redwood forest

From the redwood stand our intrepid travelers venture our.

Sterling Winery: A Review

The first winery we visited, right out of the barrel was Sterling.

Sterling is located in Calistoga, near the north end of Napa Valley.

Although I had read mixed reviews about this winery, we still wanted to visit it because it is just plain neat--with the cable car ride up the hillside to the winery.

We upgraded to the reserve tasting, so the admission was $30 per person. That is pretty standard around here for tours and tastings. The basic tour and tasting was $25--so we really only had a minor upgrade.

The gondola ride was beautiful and provided a nice way to see the valley in the morning sunlight. It was a beautiful way.

The tour is self-guided--but the positioning of tasting stations along the tour route was really nice and creative. The winery is beautiful. The tour is great and fun to wander around the various stations. Although the tour is not informative about the history of the winery.

Here is the real thing: the wines are not that good! They are so-so wines. Fun to taste, but even though it was our first winery, we knew that these were not the great wines of Napa County. They are OK--and over priced OK. There are much better wines out there.

But the winery is fun and is a must visit kind of place.

Recommendation: Visit this winery. The gondola ride is fun and the construct of the tour is unique. The winery is beautiful and definitely with the visit. Use the wine tastings as a baseline for other wineries.

How to combine two of my favorite things

I love palm trees. And I love barrels used to age wine.

Who would have thought to combine the two?

Well, the Schramburg Winery, that's who.

What a great idea! And here are two examples. Wow!

Decorating tips! Who woulda thunk?

On the road with Bob and Chris--decorating, winery style!