Earlier this week we had to take a trip to Sacramento for personal business reasons.
We took advantage of the trip to visit grandkids on the way down, lunch with an old friend in Sacramento, and stop overnight in Calistoga for the hot tubs on the way back.
After soaking in the morning, we took a leisurely drive through the Napa and Alexander Valleys, wine-tasting our way home.
The weather cooperated and it was a pleasant late fall afternoon. It was a lot of fun to take our time, visiting some of our favorite wineries and picking up some very nice wines at some great prices!
We stopped at Fieldstone
Fieldstone Winery – Hwy 128 – Alexander Valley (between Napa and Sonoma Valleys)
White Oak Winery – where I got a good deal on a case of Sauvignon Blanc.
White Oak Winery – Hwy 128 – Alexander Valley
Hanna Winery – which is always lovely, has great wine, nice artwork and entertaining staff. And where I tasted the first Chardonnay in a really long time that I truly enjoyed. At $42 a bottle, though, I decided to pass it up this time since I didn’t think it was twice as good as the $23 bottle I had bought the day before at Sequoia Grove.
View from Hanna Winery – Hwy 128 – Alexander Valley
Sausal (known for their Zinfindels) and Mosaic Winery – where there was a great sale going on so we picked up a case of red and a case of white!
We even stopped for a late lunch at a cute little place called Jimtown which had antique toys on display in the back. They had a great butternut squash and ginger soup which we split along with a turkey panini – just perfect for the fall afternoon.
We were lucky that it didn’t rain until we got to Ukiah, and then there was a light rain all the way back home.
What was so great was that we took a sorta business trip and made it a lot of fun. Hubby and I agreed that this was a great way to travel – breaking it up into fun little parcels that turned the whole thing into an adventure.
Not only did we take care of most of the business that was the reason for the trip in the first place, we had fun on either side of it. Or perhaps, we had a fun trip with a little bit of business squeezed into the middle of it. Either way, the secret to a great life is to enjoy whatever you are doing and this was one time when it was easy to be successful!