Cali Vacay Part 1: Family & Wine

Wow, I can barely believe it's been almost a month since I blogged last!  Time flies when you're having fun...and that we have definitely been doing!  A couple of weeks ago, Chad and I headed West for vacation.  We chose California for vacation based upon a conference that Chad needed to attend in Lake Tahoe.  So we opted to add on a few days in Wine Country beforehand.  So sit back, relax and experience our vacay in pics.

We flew into Reno airport, grabbed a car and headed West!  Just outside of Reno we stopped for lunch at Mellow Fellow in Truckee, CA.  If you're ever out in the Tahoe/Truckee area, I completely recommend this little hole in the wall - good food & excellent taps!  After lunch, we drove the remainder of the way to Sacramento - our first stop on vacay - to visit with some fam.  We spent the evening with my Uncle Dale & Becky - good food & good company.

The next morning we headed further West - Wine Country!!!  I've been wanting to experience Sonoma/Napa for years now.  So I was quite excited for this portion of the trip...and even more excited when this was the first site that I saw!

We had the pleasure of staying with John's sister, Laurie, and George, who own a vineyard right in Sonoma!  How awesome is that?!?!?!  Here's a few pics of their ranch...

I promise that I'm happier than I look...and yes, that is beer in my hand!  Chad was excited to get some Russian River Pliny the Elder while in the area.  So I had to partake!

 

That afternoon we headed into downtown Sonoma to check out the plaza and have a quick bite to eat.  We found this cute place on the Plaza and lunched on mussels and bubbles!

We had the best time walking around the square and checking out all of the shops.  We stumbled across Westwood Winery, one of the many wineries/tasting rooms in the square and decided to stop in.  It was a lovely tasting, and we were the only ones there.  So we had the proprietors full attention - awesome!  Check out this gorgeous, quaint "tasting" courtyard!

We couldn't wait to check out a full vineyard/winery.  So we headed South a bit to Jacuzzi Winery, which came recommended by a few in The Lou.  I can't say we were big fans of their wine, but they sure had a gorgeous Vineyard...and the tasting was free!  (That isn't very common in the area.)  We were definitely loosened up a bit at this point.  LOL!

We ended our first evening with dinner and the ranch...and of course, a bit more Pliny the Elder & George's wine!

The next day we headed out to Napa for some more wine tasting.  Our first stop was Sterling Vineyard - mostly for their aerial tram!  Again, gorgeous surroundings!

We stopped for lunch at an awesome roadside burger stand and then headed on to Domaine Carneros.  Bring on the bubbles baby!  This placed was more gorgeous than the last!  We opted to take the tour at this venue - definitely the right decision!

We ended the night at the ranch, and George cooked us an amazing Wild Alaskan salmon.  Fabulous!

Our last day in the area was spent with a drive to San Francisco to see the Golden Gate Bridge.  (I wish we had time to spend in the city, but we decided it would have been too much.  Next time for sure!)

...then a drive up the coast stopping in Stinson Beach...

...a stop at Fisherman's Cove in Bodega Bay for the best Salmon Tacos you've ever had...

...a quick stop at Bodega Head - amazing view...

...with the final stop being Russian River Brewery in Santa Rosa!  This was another "must" on our trip, since the brewery doesn't distribute anywhere near us!

We chose the massive sampler, which (if you're wondering) if only 1.5 beer each - believe it or not.  :)

Love their coasters, so that no one takes your place while you're gone.  LOL!

What an awesome first half of our trip!  
A huge thanks to Laurie & George for letting us stay with them!!!
Cheers!