Napa Valley Doesn't Like the Knights Who Say Ni

Napa Valley wasn't solely about the wine. It was about adventure too - adventure thousands of feet above the air in a hot air balloon. Can you imagine the first time a guy said," why don't we fire up a balloon and fly wherever the wind takes us?" And what idiot said," hey that sounds like a good idea," and crawled into the basket with him?

 And I mean literally crawled into the basket - because there are no doors to get into a hot air balloon basket. A few little holes that you can stick your feet in to help you get up into it - but it is a little like the rock climbing wall at the gym - or swinging up onto a horse. 

I didn't have much of a problem getting into the basket. But let me tell you - it was an awkward 5 minute ordeal trying to get OUT. I should also mention that in order to get OUT of a hot air balloon basket, you have to do it one at a time. So everyone else who rode with us was standing there watching me try to heave my way out, while losing shoes, falling, and overall looking like a hot mess. 

I have no idea how the 85 year old man climbed out - I'm pretty sure he got some assistance - but I guarantee he probably did so with more grace then I did. Just an FYI: don't wait until you are old and feeble before checking "ride in a hot air balloon" off your bucket list.

So they fired up the balloon - and off we went. We were the first balloon up in the air - which we later discovered meant we were the guinea pigs because our pilot would get caught in the air drifts at different heights(which would send us all over the place - and not necessarily where our pilot wanted to go). So our pilot would tell the other balloons what directions the winds were at each heights so they could plan where - and where not - to go.

He was a GREAT pilot though - funny, had an accent, and good at flying. And yes, had an accent does factor into his status as a great pilot. If we were spiraling to the ground, at least he could say "Brace for your death" in a cool voice.

It was B-E-A-Utiful flying over the Napa Valley vineyards in the early morning.

The challenge of landing a hot air balloon in Napa is the obvious - there isn't a lot of unused land. Everyone is trying to capitalize on every inch of fertile soil to grow grapes - and their wine sales.  The few non-grapevine-covered patches of ground, either a) we weren't blowing by them - not a lot of steering in a hot air balloon - or b) were apparently owned by an old bitty who hates hot air balloons and will chase you off her land with pitch forks and attack dogs.

 So we decided to land on this road - because that's where the wind was taking us.

 Our balloon chasers caught us and pulled us down - a perfect landing right there in the intersection. And then they had to drag us down the road to a clearing so we could deflate the balloon. We hit a speed bump or two along the way. (Literally).

A champagne brunch at the Napa General Store followed our hot air extravaganza. Napa is a cute little town, but to anyone heading to Napa Valley, FYI: there isn't much in the town of Napa. A few stores, and a hotel or two, but the majority of the wineries are farther north - St. Helena, Rutherford, Calistoga. (Ironic, considering the famous wine valley is called Napa.) We stayed in a bed and breakfast in St. Helena.

While we were in the area, we went to see one of the world's old faithful geysers.

First, let me say, I wasn't aware that there were multiple Old Faithful Geysers. I only knew of one, in Yellowstone National Park, but apparently there are three with that name. These are the geysers that perform at regular intervals. I guess they are faithful in their water spouts.

The average interval for the Old Faithful Geyser of California is 30 minutes. When we were there, it was spouting about every five.

Its interval can be a predictor of earthquakes:
"From two days to two weeks prior to an earthquake, the Old Faithful Geyser of California gives warning by delaying its regular performance from the average thirty minutes to a longer interval. During this prolonged interval, it may send up "splits," small eruptions to no more than two or three feet in height, every few minutes. Finally, after the long delay, a 60-foot column of water and steam shoots upward." 
I'm glad it was spouting regularly while I was there. I didn't really need an earthquake in my last few weeks in Cali.

It is a pretty impressive sight to see.

The scenery itself was beautiful too. And in case you wanted to take any foliage home, be warned, "No cutting or taking shrubbery. Violators will be prosecuted." No Shrubbery for the Knights who Say Ni here at the Old Faithful Geyser. (It's a Monty Python movie reference, mom).

Too bad the knights aren't seeking fainting goats. Because of a hereditary genetic disorder called myotonia congenita, the Tennessee fainting goat's muscles freeze for roughly 10 seconds when the goat is startled. Though painless, this generally results in the animal collapsing on its side. (Why there are Tennessee goats in northern California is an entirely separate topic).

Painless or not, I couldn't bring myself to startle the little guys. I'm a sucker and bought the grain pellets and corn you could get for a quarter from the petting zoo dispensers. But look how cute he is. Could you knock him over without a guilty conscious? 

 

Now transitioned from California to Texas... So begins a new chapter of adventures.

Bottle of white, bottle of red, perhaps a bottle of rose instead

Was Billy Joel singing about scenes from an Italian restaurant.. or a Napa Valley winery?

Over the course of Valentine's Day weekend in Napa Valley, my sister and I tasted wines from a lot of bottles of white, red, and rose, but I'd have to say mostly red. Or at least the red were the ones I liked the most.

Even though it was February - the off season obviously for growing grapes - the landscape was still beautiful because of the mustard plants that grow between the vines.

 My first sip of Napa Valley wine was at Rutherford Hill, best known for its cave aging system. "Year-round, 8,000 wine-filled French and American oak barrels age in an ideal wine-storage environment of 59ºF/90 percent humidity." 

 We sipped wine as we toured the caves. Rutherford is apparently best known for its Merlots because the grape growers who founded Rutherford Hill selected climate and soil conditions in Napa Valley that closely resembled those of Pomerol, the small but distinctive Merlot-growing region of Bordeaux.

My personal favorite at Rutherford, however, was the Cabernet Franc. Mmm mm I brought a bottle home with me, in a nifty bubble wrapped wine skin in my suit case.

 

We even got to taste wine directly from the fermentation tanks.

 The best, most informative tour was at Mumm Napa. They specialize in sparkling wines.

What is sparkling wine, you may ask? Or how is that different than champagne?

Good question. In fact, it is one of the first I asked. Sparkling wines and champagne are the bubbly version of wine. They have gone through a second fermentation stage and the bubbles are from the carbon dioxide.
All champagnes are sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wines are champagne. Why? Because champagne is a name legally protected in many countries, reserved only for sparkling wines grown in the Champagne region of France.

My favorite part of Mumm was the photography exhibit: Yesterday and Today by Art Rogers. He would take photos of individuals or families in the same spot - but 10 to 30 years apart. Unique - to see the evolution of those people over time - and to celebrate the generations. An example of his work that was featured in Range Magazine is below.

One of my favorites - the circle of babies. (Sorry it is so off center and not a great shot - I wasn't sure if we were allowed to photograph the photographs.)

In case you wanted to drink too much wine and stumble into a swimming pool, you can do so at Francis Ford Coppola's winery.

 

On the winery's website, in words of the famous director, screenwriter, and producer, the winery is “a wine wonderland, a park of pleasure where people of all ages can enjoy all the best things in life – food, wine, music, dancing, games, swimming and performances of all types. A place to celebrate the love of life.” Intrigued, we went to Francis Ford Coppola's winery - but skipped the swimming in the wine wonderland.

 We browsed Coppola's memorabilia from his notable film career.

And checked out the bottling line and the chemistry room (where the scientists concoct and test delicious wines). I'm pretty sure if they taught the science of wine in chemistry class, more people would care about the periodic table. Oh wait. Ohio State does offer a beer and wine class. :D

They had such cool bottles - even one wine was "bottled" in cans. Check them all out on their website: http://www.franciscoppolawinery.com/wine.

The second day, we did a second sparkling wine tasting at Domaine Chandon... yum. 

 Then tasted a series of wines in V. Sattui's private tasting rooms for wine club members. 

And had a picnic lunch on their front lawn. One of the few wineries permitted to serve food. Apparently someone left their car keys... to their Barbie jeep.

 Also owned by Sattui was the castle winery: Castello di Amorosa.

 

I think I know how they fertilize their grape vines. :)

 

But my Napa Valley adventure wasn't just wine... more in my next entry. 

Where the sand glitters like gold

A road trip to San Diego with my sister and our first stop is: the zoo? the Gas Lamp District?

Nope. Macy's.

February is Museum Month in San Diego.  Pick up a flier at any San Diego Macy's and receive half-off admission at 40 of San Diego County's greatest museums.

Except of course the zoo and safari park, which is what you really want and more importantly really NEED half off admission for. 

The San Diego Zoo is $40 for admission. $40. If you want to go to the Safari Park too its $76. PER PERSON. For ages 12+. (Kids aren't that much better - $30 for one park $56 for both). I'm too cheap to pay that. I don't even know how a family could afford it. (Can I point out that at the Columbus Zoo, children are $7.99 and adults are $12.99. And while it varies by list for which zoo (Cbus or San Diego) is #1 in America, Columbus is indisputably just as good and on some lists, better. So what, San Diego, you have pandas?)

 Nevertheless, the Museum Month thing is an awesome idea. It could encourage a lot of folks to actually go to museums they might have otherwise either not known about or not paid full price for.

For example, my sister and I went to La Jolla on our way to downtown. Beautiful beach.

I love the reflection of the trees and birds in the surf.

We walked down to the water's edge and put our feet in. The sand literally sparkled. It was gold and reflected in the sun like glitter.

In addition to the beach, and a lovely Italian lunch on an outside patio, we went up the hill overlooking the coast and pier to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps.

 

Walking up to the aquarium from the parking lot was a big warning sign. "Be aware of snakes - Rattlesnakes may be found in this area. They will not attach, but if disturbed or cornered they will defend themselves. STAY ON THE SIDEWALK!" I must admit, I know I was going to an aquarium where there would be wild animals, but I expected them to be on the other side of a glass tank, not on the sidewalk.

It was a great aquarium. It took you through all different underwater environments from different geographic regions.

 

Warm waters, cold waters...

 

Octopuses, sharks, and eels... jelly fish, lion fish, Nemo and Dori fish.

And there was a huge kelp forest.
Leopard sharks, garibaldi, eels, barracuda, giant sea bass, and more within a two-story, 70,000-gallon tank.
You can actually watch it live from home or the office. They have a camera on it and you can tune in to the Kelp Cam: http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/Education/Learning_Resources/Kelp_Cam/

And a touch tide pool. Aren't these some of the most unique star fish creatures you've seen? Such vibrant colors.

There was also a sea horse wing. All different types of sea horses, even baby ones... and some of the coolest were the varieties of  sea dragons.

Next stop: USS Midway. Also half price for Museum Month. 

 

We got a full tour of the ship, including the living quarters where that night girl and boy scouts were having a sleep over. A cute idea, and I would have been totally down for it when I was a girl scout. But honestly, I found it a little eerie back in those living quarters even during the day. I don't know that I'd voluntarily sign up for an overnight experience.

The best part was obviously the flight deck. I felt like as soon as I stepped onto it, I heard a trumpet soundtrack, followed by "Following in his father's footsteps as a naval aviator, Lieutenant Commander Harman Rabb Jr suffered a crash while landing his TomCat on a storm tossed carrier at sea.... He now fights in and out of the courtroom with the same daring and tenacity that made him a top gun in the air." Maybe I've just watched a few too many episodes of J.A.G.

Either that or a series of Top Gun quotes. "Talk to me, Goose." "Too close for missiles, I'm switching to guns." Or in the case of this plane, a jousting stick? Seriously, doesn't it look like this plane was meant to fly past other planes and knock them out of the air, like a knight off his horse.

(To fully embrace and ensure complete exposure to aviation, we not only toured the USS Midway, but also stopped by Kansas City BBQ, the bar where they filmed Top Gun.)

 

P.S. I had no idea that movie was filmed in 1985. I just realized tonight it was released in 1986. I wasn't even thought of yet! Great classic movie though!

I kept hoping I would be serenaded by a man in dress whites. I would, of course, have to politely decline, but come on, half the reason I went in there was so a Navy man would sing "You've lost that loving feeling" to me. Instead, an old guy asked if we'd like him to show us around the town... Well actually he asked Allie and Elizabeth, mine and Joyce's fake bar names. Allie and Elizabeth were not interested in his tour.

We then headed out to my favorite place in all of San Diego, probably about 3/4 of the reason I wanted to make the trip down to SD: Coronado.

 

And it is definitely one of my favorite beaches out of anywhere in the world.  There is simply a beauty about it that cannot fully be captured by photograph nor fully expressed by words. I find it simply breathtaking.

Walking along the shoreline, found a sand dollar in the sand. :)

And you can't not mention the Hotel del Coronado. Beautiful resort. Fun fact: When it opened in 1888, it was the largest resort hotel in the world and the first to use electrical lighting. Perhaps someday my adventures will include not only seeing the resort, but staying there, and fully experiencing the beauty of Coronado.