Napa Valley Part 1

For the past nine months we have been planning a get-a-way trip with two of our dear couple friends. Leaving town rarely happens for me so to leave the kids 10 days out of the month of September was A LOT!  It took all hands on deck and lots of help from my parents and Adams' mom and dad while we were gone.  We are so thankful for grandparents who enjoy being with our kids and are willing to step into our crazy, in order for us to take this trip.

We started off early Wednesday morning, landing in Sacramento before lunch, it felt like we gained more then two hours, which meant we had time to grab lunch, lounge by the pool a bit and head to our first tasting at Inglenook.  Copolla's movie equipment and even a car are archived inside the estate which is breath takingly beautiful!  We enjoyed all of their wines and pairings.
Pulling up to the huge gate and tree lined drive to the winery was breath-taking for sure.

The vineyard was beautiful, we'd never been to Napa at harvest so seeing the clumps of grapes was exciting.

That first night we ate at Grace's Table which had a fun open air feel and amazing tamales according to Adam.

We made a quick snack stop into Trader Joe's and a fun dessert shop that sold all kinds of yummy goodness from pink champagne cupcakes to colorful macarons.

On our first full day we chose to do a hot air balloon ride with Balloons Above the Valley.  Adam and I had ridden with them before and thought the experience was done well.  The Livers nor the Spenst's had ridden in a balloon before, though Carol and John had tried to do a ride multiple times in the past, but due to weather problems, hadn't been able to up til then, so we had our fingers crossed that the weather would cooperate and that we would go up and come down safe and sound.  Thankfully, it lived up to the hype!  We woke early, which wasn't hard since we were still on central standard time and made our way to the pick-up point at 6:00 am.  We got checked in, enjoyed some coffee and pastries then headed to the launch site.  They tell you to wear layers and to bring a hat if you are tall or bald...let me just say, though it was early in the morning and cool on the ground, by the time the sun started rising and the fire from the balloon started blowing...it got pretty hot up there.  There was absolutely no need for beanies, gloves or fleeces...we were all down to short sleeves by mid flight.  Floating over the fruit and nut trees really was fun and seeing that Chad, our pilot could actually steer the balloon exactly where he said he would, was amazing to watch.  We all had a good time and were thankful to land safely back on the ground.

Take off was easy.

The flames were smokin' hot right above our heads and thanks to Chad, our pilot, who took a couple of in-flight pictures for us.

The stark contrast of the green fields and the ones with tall dry grass, where we took off and landed 

was pretty spectacular to see.  I'd give my two balloon flying experience a 10 out of 10 for the safety that I experienced as well as the views, I'd highly recommend it.

Our first winery was Chateau Montelana, which is one of mine and Adam's favorite places.  It has rich history that is actually what helped put Napa Valley on the map for wine making.  It started with Jim Barrett in 1976 when a blind taste test in France chose his Napa Valley wine over the French Chardonnay.  If you haven't seen Bottle Shock, its a great movie to watch if you're headed to the wine country to help you understand the history of the industry.  I'm a huge fan of all things french, especially the architecture, so seeing this exquisite chateau up close and personal again, was thrilling as before.  It is lovely no matter what angle you are looking from.

For lunch we stopped at SolBar which was probably my favorite meal while we were there. A small fire sparked to life while we were on our way there so we heard lots of sirens and saw planes flying over head and because of the the disturbance, the power was knocked out which limited the food items that were available, so you'd think all of that would've put a slight damper on the enjoyment of this establishment, but for me, the heirloom tomato and mozzarella salad could not have been any better! It's located at a resort and has a very relax feel and 360 degrees of beautiful scenery to take in.

Our last stop was to Castello Di Amorosa which is a site to behold.  From the fortified castle walls to the torture chamber deep in the caves, a tour here is always fun to take in.  

We rounded out our first full day at Celadon in Down Town Napa.  The conversation that evening was hilarious and kept us in stitches until the very end.  Time with these dear couples really was a blast.  Check back for our next days of fun.