mommy's trip to wine country

If you have never been to the Napa Valley, and consider yourself either a "foodie" OR a "wine-o"... then i suggest you GO... NOW.a little history on the trip i just returned from. (My first overnights away from Liam!!)
In 2005 my dear friend Tonya got married, and her bachelorette party was just a trip to Napa w/ her oldest friend Daphne, myself, and Clare - a mutual co-worker from back in Seattle days. Since that first trip, we have taken a year off for Tonya to have a baby... then gone again... then took another year off when i was pregnant w/ liam.. now that Nobody is knocked up, we got to go again!

here is the trip in photo.

These were the signs we looked for :)

we found THIS villa the last time we went... there is no need to stay ANYWHERE else! this place has it all! super cute, a hot mineral pool on site, totally private... call me if you want the contact info - you will LOVE IT. The owner even set out fresh roses for us!

this is the front porch of the villa where we chat and drink coffe - and wine of course

these two courageous beasts protect the property. someone please remind me that i would like a set of lions just like this for my own home - and to BUY them, if i ever come across some

lots of pretty flowers everywhere

here is the pool - probably runs about 100-102 degrees! naturally! it gets drained every night and refills naturally from the calistoga hot springs - how cool is that?

we had lots of feathered house guests who enjoyed drinking and bathing from the many fountains

Meet my friends!

Here is Tonya - the catalyst of this whole extravaganza - the straw that stirs the drink... she is tasting grapes off the vine - thats so her.

meet Clare - she is one of the most REAL people I have ever met - her last name is tucker!

meet daphne, she is a triathlete and mom of 2 who thinks she is a soccer mom... i think she is a supermodel waiting to happen!

the girls... this was the last winery stop of the day - can you tell from the look on our faces?

sauvignon grapes getting harvested at cakebread cellars

we found a chef out in the garden picking herbs for that nights dinner for an event at cakebread... talk about farm to fork!

our table at cakebread

yummm - mozzarella bar at v. sattui

we toured some champagne caves - schramsberg - napa's very first winery. also the only american sparkling wine served at the white house! look for blanc de blanc - yum! good sparkles - creepy caves! yes, i believe that stuff hanging fromn the ceiling is a mixture of mold and spider webs.

since i can't leave you with spider webs and mold...i will leave you with the ancient indian blessing tree... this was pretty cool - we found an olive tree where you could write a blessing and tie it on - there were blessings from YEARS ago!

Now... go book your trip to Napa - NOW!

you wont regret it!