Yesterday, my father-in-law and I drove up north to wine country. My wife and I wanted to treat him to a day in Napa Valley for his 60th birthday. The wife didn’t go with us since she had to watch the kids. Besides, she and a few moms from our son’s school had already gone there a couple of weeks ago. It was our turn, she said.
We first headed off to Calistoga, a city known for its hot-spring spas. We got there just in time for our massage appointments at Golden Haven Spa and Resort. We opted not to do the mud baths. Too icky.
The massage did such a marvelous job in relaxing our muscles that the rest of our day was like “a walk in the clouds” (he-he). We had lunch at the restaurant on the grounds of the Culinary Institute of America.
Next, we stopped at Grgich Hills Winery where we sampled their fine wines. The next winery down the road was the one owned by Francis Ford Coppola. We skipped it since we had to go home. It was a great day. Glad we went on a weekday. No waits. No traffic. Perfect.
More pictures here.
6 Comments
Lovely pictures. =) I haven’t been up to Napa yet, but I might thanks to this post!
Thanks, Rhesa. You know, there’s so much more to do up in Napa than I’ve mentioned here. Let’s see, you can ride a hot air balloon or tour around on a bike. Then there are sites like the Old Faithful geyser, the Petrified Forest, and Safari West, a mini wildlife preserve. Last but not least, there’s a couple of shopping outlet centers. Give yourself about two days here.
Haven’t done Napa, but we did do Sonoma. We didn’t do any wine tasting (weird, huh?) but it was nice to walk around the old town plaza and visit the shops. Oh, and eat! We stayed at a B&B called the Thistledew Inn, which was wonderful.
Oooh, gotta check Sonoma out too. Will bring the wife and kids this time.
Hi Daniel – ran across your blog by fluke.. but it’s neat to see what’s up in your end
. The Napa pictures look great. Next time you’re up there, stop by V. Sattui too. Great wines and their madeira is the husband’s favorite. See you guys soon!
Hehe, hi Pepper! Welcome to my blog. See you at Inna’s party!