Napa: Day Two

Morning
We woke up in our hotel room and were quite surprised to see the fog rolling around the field just outside our hotel.  Made us feel a little like we were in a mythical land.  It was a gorgeous way to start the day. We checked out the continental breakfast... which was Sara Lee bagels, some hot coffee and really cold "hot" water for tea.

Instead of driving, we decided to walk into town... mostly because I forgot there was a parking garage right next to the place we needed to go.  Colin wouldn't let me live it down.  "All that walking - just to walk more on the tour!"

We had signed up for the Napa Walking Tour, but got there a bit early.  So we grabbed a nice breakfast at...

Sweetie Pies:  Website
Colin had a breakfast sandwich on a croissant, which I don't think he was a huge fan of.  I had a croissant.  My only complaint was that they didn't initially bring it to me at the table.  I told them that I had never received it, and they said that they had brought it.  I pointed to the table - clearly, no croissant.  They did apologize and give it to me - and I thought it was a nice treat for the morning.  Freshly warmed too.  And their OJ was freshly squeezed.

Napa Valley Walking Tour:  Website

A gorgeous mural in Downtown that George explains

George Webber was a whole bunch of fun.  For only $20 a person (you should probably add a tip in there), it was lovely.  He brings you around, shows you the Napa jail (right in the middle of the city), tells funny stories, shows the old Captain's houses from when Napa used to be a major importer/exporter.  He makes recommendations for wineries to go to and restaurants.  I learned so much on that tour in only two hours - and oh, beer tasting included!  What fun!  He also told us a little known secret about Napa:  Only buy exclusive wines - because wineries will jack up their prices when you buy them directly from them (as an industry, wine is unfortunately not doing so well right now).  Colin and I took that information and only bought winery exclusive wines.  Luckily, the Malbec we had gotten at Rutherford hadn't been distributed either - so we lucked out!

Downtown Joe's Brewery and Restaurant:  Website
Friendly staff, decent food, and really good beer that they will let you taste before you buy - it's a really nice place to grab a quick bite to eat.  This is more of a bar than a high-class place, mind you, so don't expect people to be wearing suits or ties.  Most of Napa is actually laid back with dress code, which is really nice.  Colin didn't like the reuben sandwich he got - it had cabbage instead of the traditional sauerkraut, which he says made it pretty tasteless.  I had the margherita pizza, which was served on a sort of flat bread - and I actually liked it.  For a quick bite in downtown with tons of beer choices, it's a good choice for the beer lover (or just a different taste of Napa Valley).

Castillo di Amorosa: Website
This place is beautiful - and I will talk about it in more depth, because we actually traveled there on Platypus Wine Tours.  But every single staff member was extremely helpful.  We told them we had a time limit of 15 minutes to taste - and Gary S. actually was able to get us in, convince us to buy two delicious reds, and get us out within our time limit.  We made it to our next tour just in time (and they have sheep!)

Beringer Vineyards:  The Taste of Beringer Tour
The hour-long tour options.  We were lucky enough to be on a tour with just two other people!  We had a very informed tour guide.  I forget her name (will post if I remember) - but she pretty much just gives tours for a living.  As she put it, she "moved up to Napa and this is what she wanted to do."  People there are very passionate about their job and their love for wine.  We had a delicious tasting of three wines - reserves and some exclusive - and our guide was very up front as to whether you could buy them outside of their winery.  I think only one was distributed.  They were also paired with delightful food - to demonstrate how the taste of wine changes depending on what you pair it with.  It's a beautiful place, their wine caves are enormous, and it's the only winery that worked all the way through prohibition.  Definitely a "must tour" vineyard!

Skies on the way back to Napa after wine tours

Ubuntu:  Website

We made reservations at Ubuntu, and since it's also a "yoga" studio, we weren't sure exactly what to expect.  Being (mostly) vegan at this point in my life, I wanted to include some crunchy, healthy restaurant.  And this place had great reviews.  We looked at the menu and Colin looks at me, "Where the HECK did you take me to?!"  The menu, as we've discovered, is written in some kind of English-food language we didn't study in school.  I tell our waitress, who is more than understanding, that we're completely overwhelmed by their menu.  We kind of have a laugh - I say that we're in the mood for a semi-light and semi-heavy dish.  She describes some of them and we order.  Let me tell you, the food was absolutely exquisite.  Their staff is friendly and great, and though their menu is some up-scale thing that we couldn't decipher, we enjoyed everything once we got our food.  This place fills up fast - so definitely make reservations!

On day three, we took the tour on the wine train and restaurant hopped.  Look for that in the upcoming week or so.  Hopefully photos to be added to this entry soon!

Napa Valley California: Reviews Day One

Getting There
As we traveled up the five, we were met by magnificent landscapes, white capped mountains, and a fog that hung over the green rolling hills.  It's the things you hear about in books, and even though you are going 70 mph, it feels like everything is standing still.  One of the things I've missed so much about living in Los Angeles is the greenery - the trees, shrubs, grass.  Los Angeles grass doesn't even feel real, much like the city itself (too Hollywood).

We left at 8:30 in the morning, an hour later than I would have liked, but it's vacation, you aren't supposed to rush.  We made our way out of the city, into the desert, then into the green rolling hills.  And at 3:30 in the afternoon, we arrived at Rutherford Hill Winery.  Here's the part where I wish I could tell you about Rutherford Hill in more detail.  However, Colin and I, like most people after a 7 hour drive, got into an argument over forgetting to pack a suit coat for him.  To sum it up:

The view from Rutherford Hill

C gets angry that R forgot suit coat (R volunteered to pack so that C could make a play list for the drive, in which he drove all the way).  C and R exchanged very hurtful words.  R yelled "I'm going home!"  And started walking down the hill.  As she was contemplating how to stop the silly argument, she noticed something beautiful.

R - Come see!

R yanks C out of car and pulling him down the hillside to see the Napa Valley view. They exchanged apologies and held each other, watch the fog settle over the valley.  They discovered C's nice sweater in the suitcase, and all is well in the world.

It was just long enough of an argument that we were unable to join the tour group, though, it might have been full anyway, who knows.


Rutherford Hill Winery
We did get to do a fabulous tasting at Rutherford Hill.  And for those who have never been there, I highly recommend it.  The woman who was helping us - I wish I knew her name - was very pleasant.  After getting a two-for-one deal on tastings (talk about a lot of great wine for cheap), I freely admitted to her that we had never been to a proper wine tasting before.  She gave us a quick Wine Tasting 101 - what to look for, what to smell, how to aerate the wine, how to taste it.

The winery is located on a hillside, their picnic area outside has a great view of the valley below, and the inside of their tasting room resembles a warm, cozy cabin.  I didn't even realize at the time that they had filmed Top Chef at their winery - one of my favorite shows to watch with only a slightly guilty pleasure.  After tasting ten of their wines for only $20 - some reserves, some up to $70-80 a bottle - we decided to get the Malbec, a wine neither of us had ever tasted before.  If anyone ever finds the Malbec in stores, please do let us know.  It was probably one of my favorite wines from the trip.

We decided that since the location was so beautiful that we would like to come back.  So we signed up for a tour on New Year's Eve morning, and headed to the hotel.

Tuscany Restaurant
There are a load of bad reviews for this restaurant - and neither Colin or I could tell you why.  I had a delicious butternut squash dish and Colin had some kind of creamy, spicy shrimp noodles.  It might be because it is next to the number one rated Italian restaurant in Napa, but I still think that this place deserves a try.  They are very attentive, bringing loads of bread.  The butternut squash ravioli was floating in some amazing oil thing that was sweetened with sugar and cinnamon - who needs a good dessert dish when you have something that delicious.  There was, however, only five raviolis.  But with such a great sauce to dip bread in, I was full by the time dessert arrived!  We got their creme brulee, which was fantastic, however - a little overdone on the top.  But if you like a thick top on a creme brulee, you'd love it.  Our waitress was very nice, attentive, and we really just had a great time.

Napa Discovery Inn
This was an interesting place.  The manager's first language isn't English, but getting over that barrier wasn't too hard.  My last name is hard to spell, I admit, but it's really annoying repeating how to spell it seven times over.  He was nice enough about it.  I don't really have anything negative to say about this place - except that it's right next to a busy road.  There's nothing "special" about the Discovery Inn, no amazing history or anything that you can get at some of the more expensive hotels.  However, we were on a budget, and $60 a night didn't seem that bad.

watch the fog settle on a little grassy patch out our bathroom window at night.  That in itself was gorgeous.  The room itself is small and the rather large bathroom only had a shower, no tub.  We did receive complementary breakfast, but it was just packaged pastries.  So instead we headed out to a smaller bakery...  But that's Day Two.

The New Leaf

Recently, my boyfriend and I got engaged in Napa, California. And now we are having all kinds of crazy ideas about our future. As a writer, I've decided that I want to create this blog into more of a travel log. As such, I will be posting about our time in Napa, the places we visited, reviews, what everything was like. Possibly a little too much information about restaurants, wineries, tours, etc. But if you are trying to book a once in a lifetime event, maybe the extra information could help you plan it out... Who knows.

Anyway, I look forward to posting about: the Napa Valley Wine Train, how my boyfriend proposed (it was really, truly beautiful), the Walking Tour, Platypus Tours, and a whole bunch more to mention about some neat vineyards with some fantastic drinks that you may have never heard of. Over the next few weeks, I will add photos, details, and descriptions of each place that we went to.

Struggling

I feel like I am falling, drifting into a seemingly endless void.  Like my motivation and desire usually does, it comes in spurts, moments in time that I never want to end.  The creativity and momentum that I had has seemed to drain out of my fingertips with no recharge station to be found.  I need an adventure.  A mental break, something to stimulate my mind, prick at my neurons and convince me that I am, in fact, still alive.  I had a great weekend, and I don't know what is causing this feeling of helplessness, and I suppose I should be used to these emotional surges by now do to my constant shift in birth control due to problems with the previous.  I can't tell what normal feels like any more, not that I would ever be happy with normal.  I just wish I had one day where I could feel content, satisfied, not feeling like something was missing.

My love life is perfect.  My cats add great joy and frustration, but always bring something new to my day.  The food recently has been equisite.  But I still feel like there is something missing.  Maybe it's Star Island, maybe it's nature, but whatever it is, I need to find it.  If I lose my way with writing again, I worry I'll never be able to get it back.

The shallow dream

Gets me every time

The beauty of a dream

Bodes the heart and begs the crime

And here it is

Lost and alone

The shallow dream

Empty promises

and I let it lie

The Mortal Tragedy

I'm not entirely sure if being mortal is a good or a bad thing yet.  Eventually, like vampires, you would probably lose all humanity, witnessing everyone you once knew and loved dying, disappearing, never to be seen again.  I imagine that it will break anyone, make anyone impervious to death, but isn't the fact that we are mortal make life so unbelievably amazing?

The tragedy in life isn't that we are mortal, it isn't that we will eventually die, it is that we only have so much time.  If you want to learn everything you can, explore everything you can.  You could spend your entire life traveling and still never experience what it's like to live somewhere else, you couldn't take in all the culture, get to know every single person.  So we have to pick and choose, and that's the tragedy.  I chose writing, and have continued to do so.  While pursuing this career path, I am at a job that isn't bad, but it isn't the promised land for me.  And even if I do become a successful author, I still will never experience being a zoologist, a researcher, a marine biologist, rehabilitating lions for reintroduction into the wild, working to save the panda population.  The whole other side of my brain, the one that wants to save the world, has gotten thrown to the side while I march forward, pen and paper in hand, probably destroying the environment more with ink and paper usage than helping it.

So here I sit, looking at a photo I took of an orangutan, and the soft reflection of my forehead appearing in the bottom right corner.  I titled it, "Reflection of a Human."  And it really is human.  Eyes looking up at the sky wondering, nose wrinkled while he chews, all the lines going across his face.  I live vicariously through Animal Planet and other television shows all of the lives I could lead.  I realize I am still young, but even if I do end up getting a degree in Environmental Science, I wouldn't know what to do with it.  If anything, I'm probably safer to spend my time volunteering, especially if I can become a published author.  That way, I can learn on the job, pour my money into some non-profit, and continue writing.

It's the mortal tragedy.

My Spirit's Home

Every year since I was seventeen, I have been going to this magical place in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean called Star Island, part of the Isle of Shoals. Since moving to California, it has been hard to be separated from all of the people that I have known and loved from there, but it is even harder to not be there with them this year. I aged out of YRUU Week last year, and I don't really have the heart to start going to YAC (not to mention that I don't have the vacation time). I'm too attached to my younger brethren at YRUU Week, and though I know a lot of people that attend the Young Adult Conference, it is hard for me to finally admit that this is a goodbye.

But that's what it is. A parting of ways, a growing up, and I still refuse to let go. Some things are too good to forget, and this week that was a part of my life for so long is one of those weeks. This probably explains why the background to this entire blog is Star Island.

I watch from Facebook and see everyone growing up, getting in and out of relationships, I feel like an observer on what used to be a part of my life. I have kept some people close at heart, but it is still hard to long for that sense of community.

Wrote three pages yesterday, not of Anthony's story like I intended, but of Jessica's. I guess I'm in the mood to be a somewhat snotty, self-righteous teenager who is really completely lost and confused.

Kittens, Cats, and Ferals

Cici, the scaredy cat

I have spent my time in Los Angeles getting to know the cats in my life. I think it's funny, and my boyfriend commented on it too, that I can be so positive about cats, kittens, ferals, and be so pessimistic about everything else.

Cici, the scaredy cat, the girl, and the little calico with bright green eyes, has finally gotten used to me. She stops hissing when I tell her to. She waits at the door, looking up through the window until she catches my eye and prays that I will come out and feed her. She's had one kitten in the time that I've known her. I've gotten a trap, to hopefully catch her, and fix her, so that her singular kitten will be the only one.

Lance, or Lancer, her violent brother, is a loud one. He's not fixed either, and yes, you guessed it, the kitten is his as well. They have the same eyes and the same face, so it's possible that they are just distant cousins because their patterns are so vastly different. He's just a tabby, with a huge bulky tail.

Lastly, there are the elusive Dragon and Toothless. Toothless is named after the dragon in How to Train Your Dragon, and honestly, it fits him well. I have seen him twice since moving in. All black, yellow eyes. Dragon is a fluffy grey ball that has the perfect cat mouth. It does the downward triangle: ^ and his face is almost flat, making me think he has some sort of Persian in him. He has yellow eyes and, currently, is suffering from a huge bite on his forehead. Remember how I said Lance was violent? They don't get along, both being males, they fight for territory. Currently, Dragon has been hanging around Cici more, so there might be a cat-drama fest going on with the little hussie.

I am going to try to get Dragon too, so that I can get him a shot of anti-biotics. I only have time on weekends to get them fixed, which means I'll have to drive down to Long Beach and pay 70-80 dollars for each one at the SPCA. I can only do one at a time, and since it's going to cost so much, I'll probably have to spay them weeks apart. But, if I can get Cici first, that would be ideal. I think she is the only female in the area. Of course the males can wander, but she's my priority. I can get to the others in a month or two.

Any and all suggestions on how to spay them all cheaply, on the weekend, would be great.

Then there are my two domestics. My cat, Rusty, I received mostly as a foster. I intentionally did not want to adopt, because, well, it's time and money. Though, the love bug somehow convinced me on keeping him. Maybe it was the way he woke me up in the morning by purring in my face and staring at me and waiting until I fed him. Maybe it was the way he needed help and was sick, but I couldn't just give him up, not without trying.

And my kitten, Munster, newly adopted from one of my friends. It's tragic really, she did a favour for a neighbor, took in one of her "fixed" females, and she ended up having kittens. She's getting them fixed for free, at either the Amanda Foundation, or FixNation. Munster is the typical kitten, though very sickly himself (why do I pick sick cats?). He loves to play, run, attack himself in the mirror, and is a tabby with a twist. His face has the exact markings of a wolf. It's pretty cool, bright white fur around his eyes, his eyes match his coat, but still have a slight dark blue around the outside of them. Absolutely gorgeous kitten. Unfortunately, he probably has feline herpes, though we can't know for sure until he's older. He has tongue ulcers. Antibiotics cleared up everything out (conjunctivitis), but I just noticed that he might still have intestinal parasites last night. So it's off for another vet bill today for him. I love the little guy, but he's cost me about $300 so far, and that appears to just be the beginning.