Napa Valley

I am back from my much needed vacation.  Bond and I had an amazing time, especially with the two couples that traveled with us.  We spent one day in San Francisco.  We drove Lombard Street which is a steep block that has 8 tight turns surrounded by beautiful gardens.  We took these amazing pictures there…

Then we parked near Fisherman’s Wharf, pier 39 and walked down to pier 33 for our adventure to Alcatraz.  A short, thank goodness because I get sea sick, ferry ride later and we were on the island exploring.  We did the audio tour of the cell house and explored a bit too.  I especially liked the rec yard…

Below was where the prisoners had a baseball diamond once upon a time...

This one is the steps leading up to the dining hall and entrance to the main cell area.

And the view from the top of the steps, that must of taunted the prisoners…

We of course stood in the cells.  They were so small, even at my 5'3" my arms were long enough that I could touch both walls at the same time.  

After the tour we went back to the mainland and picked up a family friend who took us to an amazing Indian restaurant, Chutney in the Tenderloin.  After that it was off to the Giants game.  We were really lucky, the weather in San Francisco was so mild, it even got into the 80’s during the day.  The game was a bit cooler, but with the great new sweatshirt and hat I bought, there were no problems.

We spend the rest of the time up in the wine country.  We stayed at a time share in Windsor, which is between the Russian river valley and Alexander valley.  Napa Valley vineyards were about a 45 minute drive.  On the days we went over to Napa Valley we packed snacks and picnic lunches so no one went on an empty stomach.  In total we visited 9 wineries in Napa Valley and 1 brewery.  Then we went to 5 in the Alexander and Russian river valleys.  My favorites were Duckhorn, Jessup Cellars, Frank Family Vinyard, Trentadue, Ferrari Carano, and Kendall Jackson.  But they were all so beautiful.  Check out these views…

I decided for souvenirs I would collect stone coasters on this trip from San Francisco and the wineries I liked. 

I guess I liked a lot of them!

The group also spent a morning hiking the Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve.  It was beautiful.  We got there early to take pictures and it was so quiet. 

Then we hiked two of the steep trails and got some great views…

Overall it was a wonderful vacation!

Where did you go on vacation this summer?