Post winery tour

Hiring a driver wasn't all it was cracked up to be. We returned to Napa and I declared to my friends....I could have driven. We could be at Chandon right now! It is such a great tasting room.

Next time, our next Destination Race, I will drive.

Probably not, but I felt fairly certain about my capabilities.

On a side note, I think we are going to do the Virginia Race, June 2011. I am going to sign up. I know Sipper is in and believe that the Goddess and Sara Jo are both interested, too.

Our wine tasting ended at 4:30. There was still too much of the day to explore. We had stocked up on snacks, in Sonoma, and so I cracked one of the bottles of wine that we purchased. I think we drank the Benziger wine while eating cheese, crackers and some of the sausage that Lindsay insisted we buy when we stopped at a gourmet shop in San Raphael. Lindsay bought a pound of sausage and we put a major dent on it through the course of the weekend.

After our mid-afternoon snack, we walked into the downtown area to continue to enjoy wine. We stopped by the waterfront. I had dined at a few of their eateries on earlier visits. Somehow, I had never been to The Bounty Hunter. We ordered a bottle of champagne. I wanted it. I felt we must since we were unable to get to Chandon. The Bounty Hunter is a lively bar, but with no tv's. Since there was a World Series Game on, we changed venues to watch the game.

Joe's was packed with many costumed people hoping to watch the Giants win another game. While in California, everyone was making baseball references, wearing attire of the Giants and happy/lively in general. It was awesome to see the energy of the area.

We returned to the Bounty Hunter to dine on bbq. Isn't that a ridiculous amount? Still, we devoured it with cole slaw and pickles. Those were awesome. I could still taste the cucumber aspect of it.

At this point, my night was done. We walked back to the house and I went to sleep. Somehow, I got smart. Typically, I continue to open wine bottles to keep the party going.

The next morning, my friends were thanking me for going to bed instead of opening another bottle of wine. And since I was "smart" we now had two bottles to utilize in San Francisco instead of none.

We packed up, everything, stripped the bedding, and did a walk-thru of the property. The Box was perfect for us. Two bedrooms/one bathroom and the location was ideal. We walked everywhere in Napa and were intelligent about leaving the car there instead of driving aimlessly around the Valley, high on wine.

Yes, the Box was ideal. My friends were not high maintenance or demanding in the lodgings or sleeping arrangements. I was fortunate that they all got along and have become friendly, individually, too. Isn't there a saying--3 days, max, to stay with friends or family since they are like fish...after 3 days it starts to smell?

We spent 3 days with Sipper and then she dropped us off at our hotel in San Francisco. Megan had to return to her life in D.C. Lindsay, Sara Jo, and I had opted to spend one day in the city. In a way, it renewed us. Being in a new location seemed like beginning the trip again. Or, perhaps, there is something magical about San Francisco.....