Sunday, June 08, 2008

The Valley


After spending a few days with my brother, we drove into Napa/Sonoma for a romantic retreat.  I was amazed at the beauty of the hills and vineyards!  It seemed every acre was covered with either flowers or vines.

We spent our first afternoon touring and ate lunch outside at Etoile restaurant. The food was incredible and we loved sitting outside in the cool, DRY weather.  


The next day we drove to St. Helena, where we saw this statue on one of the estates.  Adam said this guy was clearly wearing fruit-of-the-loom...I had to take a picture. :)
We drove around in this green Bug all week long.  It was so much fun!  I kept trying to figure out why the light green exterior and black interior seemed so familiar, and then I realized they are the colors of my guest bathroom.  Ha!  We called the car Granny, Smitty, or Granny Smith, depending on the mood of the moment...Adam and Smitty got along quite well.  :)
While in St. Helena we dined at the restaurant connected to the Culinary Institute of America (CIA).  The food was delicious, and it was fun watching the chefs cook as we ate.
I had a plate of "small bites," and the cauliflower soup in this little cup was one of the best things I have ever tasted.  When something is really good, and I mean REALLY good, I tend to stop and praise the Lord for it.  This was definitely one of those times 
where some praise was necessary...
Our final day we stayed at a bed and breakfast in Healdsburg.  The breakfast was made with herbs and fruits from their own garden!  I was really excited about the popovers they served--my grandma from Canada has made popovers before and I had to take this pic for her.
We also drove to Muir Woods and hiked around a bit...the trees were HUGE!  I was taken aback by the beauty of the trees and loved the way they grow in "families," with different trunks using the same root system.
This is a tree stump that fell in the woods years ago...it dates back to 900 A.D!
I have one more post about our trip to San Francisco.  As far as the fitness challenge goes, we made it!  With all the walking in Berkeley, San Francisco and Muir Woods, we finished the challenge with 55 miles.  Woo-hoo!

3 comments:

Cindy said...

You two are so cute, and Laura, I love your hair. What a great vacation! I love SF. It sounds like you two "did it up right."

M & M said...

What an incredible trip! The blogging is also particularly fun to read. :) You should write travelogues!
Have a great time in Chicago. Praying for you...

Katie said...

I love Adam's "tough guy" face as he stands outside the bug car. I also love how you are pondering the popover-as if you are thinking, "Will this be as good as the ones my grandma makes?"

So fun Laura-I'm glad you had such a great time!