One of my WA BFFs, Heidi, called me one day to say that she’s heading south for a visit! What to do…what to do…
She was on a standby ticket and had hoped to get in late Thursday night, but that did not happen. She did, however, make the first flight out on Friday. I picked her up at the airport and after a little tour of our new digs, went to SF Boudin for lunch. We met up with a wonderful young woman named Kelly. She and her husband worked for our WA state church after we had moved. They recently moved this area and our mutual friends keep telling both of us that we needed to meet each other. Since Heidi is friends with Kelly, this seemed a good time to meet.
Heidi and Kelly
The three of us…’A’ took the shot…
After visiting a while, we parted ways and went back to our place. We dropped the boys off at a “Nerf Gun” birthday party, then Heidi and I took off on a road trip!
First stop….Chik Fil A. We had to fuel up for the long (one hour) trip…
We made it to Napa as the sun was setting…
We stopped at the CAbi Outlet Store, where there was a BOGO free deal! Needless to say, I scored….
The Peju winery hosted an open house. We spent a lovely evening there, with a sampling of all their wines and yummy appetizers.
After the open house, we headed for our hotel. I used Google maps to get us there. It took us on the craziest, “windeyest”, “over the river and through the woodsiest” road! We were the only ones on this road, except for the Porsche who sped up behind us and impatiently waited for me to find a place to pull over so he could fly past.
We checked into our adorable historical boutique hotel, The Sonoma Hotel.
It was getting late and we were tired. Especially Heidi. She’d been up since 4am. So, we called it a night and went to bed.
Here’s where the “fun” begins…I broke out in a big case of hives and my whole body was itching like crazy, especially the soles of my feet and the palms of my hands. I thought I was going crazy! However, as bad as I was, it was nowhere near as bad as poor Heidi. She was sick from about 2am to 6am . It has been something that she has had inconsistently over the past few weeks (she is being tested for gallbladder issues now). Anyway, the next morning looked promising , but she had to take it easy.
I was up early, so I walked through downtown Sonoma to pick up some ginger ale for Heidi. This is a picture of one of the main streets of Sonoma, our hotel being on the left….
We decided to drive around Sonoma Valley a bit, and enjoy the lovely colors of a quiet morning…
We stopped by a neat little store that makes homemade chocolate truffles. Wine Country Chocolates The owner/chocolatier, had just placed two sauce like samples out. They were still warm! These samples were what goes inside the truffles. One was “pumpkin pie”, and I don’t recall the other. Definitely delicious chocolate!
The chocolate machine. It would have been more impressive on video, but I can’t figure out how to make video work with this new format…
First winery stop of the day: Kunde Family Estate. My friend, Betsy, had suggested I check out their reserved tasting.
We arrived just in time to go on a free, 20 minute wine cave tour. The host packed a ton of information in such a limited time. It was a real treat.
At the end of one of the wine caves is about five stairsteps leading to a lovely long table. This is used for parties, dinners, and other events. At the end is a small “stage” and a decorative backdrop that is a piece of the existing earth to show what the land is like.
This is a view of the reserved tasting area. You sit down at the tasting and try select wines, accompanied with a chocolate at the end.
This is the view from the reserved area, looking at the regular tasting bar…
I love the rolling hills of Sonoma Valley, with their patchwork quilt of vineyard colors…
We found some fields of old vine zinfandel. Some of these vines are still producing grapes and they are over 125 years old!
Next stop: Imagery Estate Winery. This place was hopping. It had a festive party atmosphere compared to the casual and mellow of Kunde. I should have taken a picture of the tasting room for you to get a sense of what was up, but I just took one pictue the the outside picnic tables…
I took these pictures of my cell phone’s weather app at the same time of day. Heidi called Craig to check and see if it was really that cold. He said it was warmer by 15-20 degrees. I think he’s in denial.
We drove back to downtown Sonoma and shopped a little while waiting for our table for lunch. Heidi bought us a housewarming gift at a kitchen shop. It’s a fabulous picnic kit for four. What I love about it is that it is more compact than some other kits I have seen before. It is perfect for us! Thanks Heidi, you complete me…
We had a delicious lunch at the Girl and the Fig. I ordered their du jour, a three course meal. The soup was an incredible roasted chestnut and prosciutto soup. I could eat that for the rest of my life and be happy. The second course was a chicken pot pie with puff pastry. YUM! My final course was a choice between a dessert or cheese plate. I went for the cheese plate. There was a green tomato marmalade on the plat that was perfect with the feta. SO good!!
Walking back to our car, we caught this comical sight….this man is walking his shetland pony through town…
Our final stop on our whirlwind Sonoma tour was to Jacuzzi Family Vineyards. This family were the actual inventors of the Jacuzzi! I love their logo. This property is a great find for Italian varietals. The tasting is complimentary, which is a nice bonus. They also have a shop called The Olive Press, where they make their own olive oil.
King Triton is wearing sunglasses. I can’t tell if that adds or detracts from this photo… 🙂
We left Sonoma in the wake of this gorgeous sunset…
Two words, Heidi: DO OVER
