Aunt Cyndi flew into Napa on Friday, June 10th, and we started off our weekend with her by grilling some salmon kebabs, frying some crab cakes, and serving up a homemade cheese cake prepared by Katy. It was a wonderful evening and we enjoyed sitting outside with a nice breeze and good conversation.
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| Bennett Lane |
Saturday we got up and headed north up Napa Valley. Our first stop was in Rutherford at the St. Helena Olive Oil Company where we sampled all different kinds of olive oils, balsamic vinegars, and pasta sauces. It was a delicious way to start our day and we walked out of there with all kinds of goodies. We then headed to the town of Calistoga where we grabbed lunch at Brannan's Grill before heading to some wineries. Our first winery we stopped at was Bennett Lane, also in Calistoga. A lot of the wineries in the valley offer a Napa Valley Neighbors discount for their tastings, and so most of the places we went we were able to show proof that we lived in Napa and then receive our tastings for free. This was a huge benefit and even more reason for people to visit us in Napa as we are allowed guests for this discount!
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| Frank Family Vineyards |
After going to Bennett Lane we stayed in Calistoga and went to one of the most well known wineries in the area, Frank Family Vineyards. Cyndi and I tasted their reserve selection, and even though I am a huge novice when it comes to wine, you could definitely tell a difference in the quality of their wines compared to other places. Most of the wine is exceptional in Napa Valley, so it is hard to compare the quality when you are constantly drinking top notch wines...but I do hope through some of these tasting experiences that Katy and I are developing more of a sense of what is considered "fine wines."
Our third stop was a boutique tasting room in St. Helena called A Dozen Vintners. Here we were able to sample a bottle from 12 different smaller scale wineries in the Valley. Our host was actually the co-owner of one of the vineyards whose wine we were sampling and was very friendly and knowledgeable, which made this an enjoyable stop.
Our next winery we ventured to was Markham, also in St. Helena. We were really having fun by this point and Cyndi actually gave our host a big hug at the end, and he in return gave us some posters of their winery, which is now hanging in our house. To top it off, they had good ice wine, which Cyndi purchased for us!
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| Beringer |
Our last winery we visited was the largest producer of the day, Beringer. Beringer is actually located in Napa, and is only a 15 minute drive from our house. We had no idea how close these vineyards were to our front door! After visiting Beringer, which sits on a gorgeous (not to mention huge) estate, we started to head home.
On our way home I started not feeling well, and (I will spare the details) spent the rest of the evening cooped up in the house. While I admit that I had consumed a lot of wine, this was not being drunk but rather some type of food poisoning as the main thing that bothered me was severe stomach cramps. Cyndi and Katy went into Napa that evening and did a little shopping, but after a long day of wine sampling they kept it low key and called it a night early.
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| Andretti Winery |
The next morning I was still not feeling 100% so Katy and Cyndi decided to go out and enjoy a few more wineries. They went to three, Etude, Robert Biale Vineyards, and Andretti Winery. All three of these places are in Napa and under 15 minutes from our house. While driving to the first stop Barlow, who went along for the ride along with Colby, decided to give Katy a heart attack as he jumped out of the car window in the middle of an intersection. Luckily there were people who stopped to help and held up traffic, because that could have been a very bad situation. Once safely back in the car Barlow acted as if everything were normal and it was just another sunny day. He has never done anything like that before, and we'll ensure he never does again, but it was quite a scare to start off the day!
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| Robert Biale Vineyards...Cyndi's favorite because of their Black Chicken Red Zinfandel |
Sunday evening Cyndi cooked an incredible dinner for us, something that seems impossible for her to avoid whenever she visits. She cut some twigs off our rosemary bush and used them as skewers for some mammoth scallops we had bought, and then grilled them along with some zucchini. We also had a nice salad with a homemade dressing made from the balsamic vinegar we had purchased the day before. After enjoying another gorgeous evening outside and another wonderful meal we helped Cyndi get everything packed up and headed to bed. 
After spending the previous three weekends on the road it was nice to have a weekend at home with one of our favorite people. Cyndi is very knowledgeable on wines and so was the perfect companion for our first experience enjoying Napa Valley for what it is most commonly known for, wine! I can now say we have the most impressive wine collection we have ever had in our lives thanks to Cyndi!
Cyndi left Monday and I began my marathon week of work. We have a staff of 30 and I helped lead a three day training for our counselors and then Friday was our camp set-up. The week flew by as I was too busy to let it drag.
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| Bradley playing third base |
On Saturday Katy and I headed to Fresno to visit Aunt Sue, Tod, and Bradley (Uncle Jack was off on a road trip driving his Harley up to Oregon). Saturday afternoon we went to watch Bradley play some baseball, and we were able to see Austin, Bradley's half-brother, whom I had not seen since he was 6 (he is now 18). It was very nice to see him and catch up. He is now a firefighter and just landed his first job. After watching some baseball in 95 degree weather we went and ate dinner at Japanese Steak House...delicious!
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| Me with Sue and Austin |
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| Roxy giving me a kiss |
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| Toby |
Saturday evening and Sunday morning we spent a lot of time just visiting, which was very nice. Colby and Barlow joined us on our trip to Fresno and had a great time playing with Sue and Jack's two dogs, Roxie and Toby. It was another nice weekend with family and a great way to see a different area of California. Seth and I spent a summer living and working in Fresno while we were in high school, and so I have many fond memories of that area and it was very nice to be back and be with my wonderful family. This week Camp begins and the craziness continues, but then Katy and I will take off for Los Angeles on Friday to see our close family friend, Philip Holbrook, and enjoy another exciting weekend trip!
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