November 16-21, 2012 - Sonoma & Napa, California

My friend Kylee and I took another trip to Sonoma and Napa this year.  It was her 40th birthday, so I had fun celebrating with her and surprising her with a couple things along the way!

We stayed in Petaluma, which was the quaintest little town - we just loved it.  We got into town that night and drove into downtown for dinner.  We stumbled upon Old Chicago Pizza, and had a really great dinner!  On our first day we drove to Napa to stop at some of the wineries that a few friends had recommended.  First stop was Silver Oak Winery for a tasting.  You can never go wrong with Silver Oak!   Next we stopped at a small winery - Goosecross, which was great.  We had fun sipping our wine and laughing with one of the workers behind the counter.  You get such a better and more personal experience at the smaller wineries.   We stopped to grab a sandwich at Ranch Market Too (they really have the best sandwich shops in wine country).  Next we went to Mumm for a Champagne and Cheese tasting I had made a reservation for.  That was really nice - just to sit at a table overlooking the vineyard, relax and enjoy the tastings.  We've made a note to do more of this on our next visit...pick just a couple places and really enjoy the experience.  After Mumm we stopped at Paraduxx.  Their tasting was really nice - you got your 4 tastings on a tray and could go sit at a table to enjoy them.  On our drive back to Petaluma we made one more stop at Domaine Carneros for some more bubbly.   We were pretty tired after our long day, so we found a Chinese restaurant in Petaluma - Lily Kai, which actually ended up being some great Chinese food.  

Our next day was my big surprise for Kylee.  I set up a private car through Ultimate Limo to drive us around Sonoma for a marathon of tastings.  Ha!  Our driver was great - he picked us up in Sonoma Square, I handed him my list of wineries and off we went.  He dropped us at the door of each winery and was ready to go when we walked out.  Now that's the way to do it!  In about 4 hours we tasted at Ledson Winery, Chateau St. Jean, Wellington, Arrowood and Imagery Estate.  After our last tasting he drove us back to Sonoma Square and we enjoyed a picnic lunch in the park with our sandwiches from Basque Cafe.  

On our third day we drove into Sonoma, rented bikes from Napa Valley Bike Tours and headed out for some tastings.  We started at Sebastiani - the tasting was great, but we also really enjoyed the trees around the winery - gorgeous reds and yellows.  From there we biked to Buena Vista Winery, from 1857, which was pretty unique.  Lastly we biked to Gundlach Bundschu.  Their vineyard was huge and they had this great outdoor space near the tasting room.  We made our way back to the bike store and then walked around the Sonoma square shops for a while.  We had heard really good things about the restaurant Girl & the Fig, so we stopped in for an afternoon snack.  That night we ate at a really good Italian restaurant in Petaluma - Cucina Paradiso.  

We checked out of our hotel the next morning and drove out to the coast.  For a couple years we had been hearing about Spud Point Crab Co, so we had to go check it out.  We drove out to Bodega Bay Spud Point Marina.  It was pretty cold and raining, but we got out to enjoy the views for a bit.  Then we finally got our chance to try out the crab sandwich...and yes they completely lived up to all of the hype!  When can we go back for another one?!  We explored the bay a little more, stopped in at a taffy shop and then drove up the coast on Hwy 1 headed towards Muir Wood National Park.   We enjoyed the scenery, the countryside, the cows, the ocean, etc along the way.  As we passed by Stinson beach it looked really nice, so we stopped there to stretch our legs.  

We made it to Muir Wood National Park and thankfully the rain stopped so we could enjoy our hike.  The redwood trees were pretty amazing, and I just had a field day taking pictures of all the trees, moss and creeks.  I was testing out my new camera on this trip, so in the darkness of the park, it made for a great learning experience to attempt to get a decent picture!   

That ended our great girl's weekend trip!  We drove back to San Francisco and caught our flights back home the next day.   Until next time wine country... 
  
Check out some more photos from this trip here - Sonoma & Napa Photos