Girls Weekend, Part 3

Still Winetasting Day - Silverado Vineyards

After sampling the bubbly at Mumm Napa, which was fantastic, we headed to Silverado Vineyards.
Thanks to the lovely and talented Jen, we got a fabulous rooftop terrace wine tasting of all these fantastic wines including a $100 bottle of reserve Cabernet. Fabulous!

As an aside, when I returned to my mom's house and told her of the wonderful time we had at Silverado she said "Oh, shut up!"
My mom is an avid wine taster and took me on my very first trip through wine country oh so very many years ago. Let's just say, she was quite jealous.
Anyway....back to Silverado.

The view was incredible. We were overlooking acres of vineyards and blue skies and it was just gorgeous. We couldn't have picked a better day to enjoy the scenery and the fruits of Napa.
Chelsea and I managed to commandeer the chocolate cabernet dipping sauce and a small package of thin breadsticks. Ha! Then somehow Chelsea commandeered the bottle of Cabernet from the tasting basket (not the reserve, but just as nice). We were quite sneaky...or everyone else was quite tipsy. Either way...good times were had.
The sun started setting and we all decided to move on to our next stop. Thanks Jen!
I took home a Sauvignon Blanc, a Sangiovese and a Cabernet that I'm saving for my actual birthday day. This cost less than a spaaaaa treatment and I'll enjoy it much more I'm sure.

We were the last people to leave the winery, we actually left AFTER it had closed to the public. It was surreal and strange to be there alone in front of the beautiful buildings. It was especially surreal when Rahna got a headache and laid herself down in the middle of the lawn in front of the winery...something I don't think she would do if we weren't alone up there!

We traveled from Silverado to a restaurant that Jen's husband works at. I can't remember the name of the place. I'm not sure I ever knew it! I don't think there was a sign out front either. Regardless, everyone in there was sort of snotty and wearing all black.
One woman asked me how old Ben was and I told her "He's two months old."
"Ah, and you're just bringing him out partying?"

Uh, what? I suppressed every urge to kick that woman in the shin and instead went outside onto the restaurant patio where Ben got fussy so we went to sit in the car while the rest of the girls had a martini.

What a bitch lady huh? Oh well.

When we returned to Roman Spa we started setting up our barbecue dinner. There was fish and chicken, corn on the cob, a big salad with feta cheese mmmmmmmmmmmm, it was great. We sipped yet more champagne and feasted under the stars in the hotel's picnic area.
After dinner we had strawberry shortcake (from the farmers market strawberries) and more wine and we all sat around talking and laughing like it was 1999 and we were all still in school. It was great....

...until the guy in the room next door decided he had enough of listening to us have fun and poked his head out of his door and yelled at me...

"You guys are partying WAY TOO LOUD! This isn't a party motel!!!!!"

I didn't laugh at him, but I really wanted to. He was just SO DAMN PISSED!
The lady heading into the room on the other side of ours piped up to say "Yes, too loud!" and scurried into her room.
It was 9:30 at night and we were "so loud" that Benjamin was sleeping in his carriage in the middle of the room without any problems at all.
Hmm.
I told the nosy neighbor to call the manager if he had a problem and to have a nice night. He slammed the door and we giggled. He never did call the manager!
I realized later that he must have thought we were all college girls since he tried to yell at us like he was our father or Dean Wormer or something like that. It didn't really work.

I went inside and told the gals that our neighbors hated us because we were being loud and Monica responded "Reaaally" and turned up the volume on the iPod speakers. At least we weren't blasting Tupac or Easy E....anymore!

It wasn't even 11 pm when Mer, Andrea and I (the moms) adjourned to our quiet room to go to sleep. The other girls, besides Crystal who fell asleep, went out dancing in the streets of Calistoga...

The morning after....coming up next!

Girls Weekend, Part 2

Winetasting Day!

Our room was all moms and Julie "Insomnia" Pepper, we all woke up early.
Meredith brought us lobby coffee and we went over to our kitchenette room for breakfast.
I was handed a plate of scrambled eggs, chicken sausage, fresh fruit, yogurt and granola and ANOTHER cup of coffee.
HEAVEN!
On a plate.
(With two olives on a fork in the corner) <== Is that right?

Anyway...
Breakfast broke up around 9 and we scattered again to shower, dress and (for some) get spaaaaaa treatments. I opted out of the spa treatments, having the baby with me and all and not REALLY feeling like having anything rubbed or exfoliated!

Instead I took a nice long walk around downtown Calistoga with Ben. We went to the farmers market and bought strawberries. We peeked into all sorts of little shops and wineries and even saw a working beehive lodged in a wall. I swear!

Mostly I just strolled along and got some exercise and enjoyed the peace and frickin' quiet. I tell you, there is a BIG ASS DIFFERENCE between having one kid and having THREE kids. And that difference is VOLUME.

After the spaaaaaa treatments were over I met up with Rahna, Meredith and Andrea by the poolio, foolio. We had turkey pesto sandwiches for lunch and kicked it.

Half past noon we all met up, all dressed up fly and sexy, to go winetasting. Meredith and I were designated drivers. Me because I had to drive MY car with Ben's carseat and Mer because, she's preggotastic.

Our first winery was Sequoia Grove. This is where the baby spit out his binky and it rolled UNDERNEATH a giant wine barrel. I had a heart attack.
Thank GOD it rolled right back out. Covered in spiderwebs, but still OK.
This is also where I learned that I have EXPENSIVE taste in wine, having preferred greatly the $60 Reserve Cabernet as opposed to the less expensive regular Cabernet. Sigh.

We then moved on to Mumm.
Mumm Napa is frickin' heaven on toast. It's fantastic. I want to live there.
We had champagne samplers and toasted to our 30 years on the planet.
If anyone out there really loves me and wants me to know it, send me Mumm Blanc de Noirs. Lots.


The last and best winery was Silverado Vineyards.
So great and amazing, it deserves its own post....
And your wait for the next chapter begins!

Click to read the next installment here!

Just a quick update!!

We made it safely to SoCal.
The kids are having a blast with their Nani and Uncle Greg and Miss Krisy.
Last Friday I drove with Benjamin up to Calistoga, Calif. with a brief stopover in Davis, Calif. to pick up the inimitable Julie Pepper!

Julie, Ben and I then ventured to the fabulous Roman Spa Hot Springs Resort where we met up with seven other of our college gal-pals for our eight-year reunion/30th birthday party en masse.

The weekend kicked off like this...magnums of Mumm champagne. Need I say more?

The answer to that question is obviously, yes! The time for that answer is later gators!
You'll have to wait for Part 2 of the weekend vacation, wine tasting day!

Someone is not paying attention

All this chatter between me and my fellow Aggies is probably confusing to you non-Ags. Long story short, a bunch of us college gal-pals are getting together next month in the California wine country to sit and chat about this and that.
Fun times!
Naturally, we've got to get worked up for this by reliving our college days...so, please forgive us for taking over seemingly random posts and Aggie-fying them ridonkulously.

So last night I was talking to my mom about the trip up to NorCal and how I would be stopping in Davis on the way back to breath the Davis air and get run over by a few hundred bikes and see toads in a tunnel...that sort of thing.

Mom said:
"That's a good idea to go on the way back, at least then you wouldn't be driving out of your way to go to Davis while you're on the way up there."

Me: What are you talking about? Davis is right on the 80.
Mom: I know, but you're going to be driving to near Calistoga, so you won't be going that way on the way there.
Me: What??? Davis is right on the 80! The 80 goes right through Davis!
Mom: But I take the 29 to get to Calistoga.
Me: And how do you think you get to the 29? From the 80!
Mom: But Davis is a right turn OFF of the 80.
Me: No mom. The 80 goes right through the middle of Davis. I'll be driving right through Davis on the way there AND the way back.
Mom: Really? Are you serious?
Me: Yes mom. I wouldn't lie to you about freeways.

Ah, moms.

***My mom who is clever and kind and ALWAYS right (dammit) and who is now reading this blog (eek!) would like me to let you know that she was in fact correct since if you live in North Davis you would turn off of Interstate 80 onto Highway 113 to get to your part of Davis, so though I am correct in saying that Davis is accessible by Interstate 80, she is also correct in saying that it is a right turn off of I-80, and onto Highway 113 to get to Davis. End of important message. Mom was right.***