For years, Cory and I had put off taking a "couples" trip. There was never really any occasion, it required so much prior planning to help out with the kids, it's expensive, and a million other excuses. Cory really enjoys traveling with the kids, too, so for him, "Why would I leave my kids at home?" I get it.
Anyway, there are a few trips that must be done without littles, wouldn't you agree? I think they'd be quite out of place on a Wine Tour.
So, in 2014, Margie & Lacey took a trip to Napa and they raved about it. We were hanging on their every word. Lacey offered to help make it happen for us, she was willing to watch the kids. SOLD.
So, in May or so, we made some reservations and started planning a weekend to go out to California and explore wine country. It was in the works!
Then, in September, when I broke my leg, we thought about cancelling. We hesitated. According the the doc, there wasn't necessarily any reason that I couldn't go... I would be getting around okay by then. Cory bought me a pink metallic travel cane in anticipation of my reluctant agreement. Rather than cancel, we decided to keep with the plan and head west.
It's interesting to get an airport escort. It's also interesting to ride in a wheelchair through the airport. We made it to SFO, and got in our little rental car (and I do me little, it was a Fiat 500!), and headed to San Francisco.
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| From the car window... an average San Francisco day |
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| Palm trees and cable car lines. I didn't expect to see so many palm trees! |
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| The various piers are used for different purposes, some have shops or other things. I presume others are still used for their intended purpose. |
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Cory had picked a restaurant in advance: The Franciscan
We had beautiful views! |
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| Alcatraz |
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| Cory is just hanging at the wharf |
Lucky for us, I have an old friend that grew up in the Bay Area. I let him know that we were coming out and due to his flexible work schedule, we were delighted to a little tour guide action. Sean Hanlon is the worlds' best tour guide!
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| Me & Sean in front of Coit Tower |
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| A view from the parking lot that surrounds Coit Tower |
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| This is a view of the TransAmerica Building from the top of Coit Tower |
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| Sean & I again |
It was about this time that we were gently accosted by an actual Tour Guide who works for Coit Tower, and she had some photography suggestions for us...
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| This was all her--She told us to get into the sunshine and we would be in silhouette |
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| Yep, the girl on the crutches climbed the 36 stairs to the top of Coit Tower |
So, thank you to the kind Tour Guide, because it is very nice that we have photos of all three of us!
Before departing from Sean, he took us on a little driving tour. It's actually something of a feat that all three of us actually fit into the Fiat 500.
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| This is what awaits you when you get to the bottom of Lombard Street |
Cory did all the driving around San Francisco, and he seemed to enjoy it. We stopped in the general vicinity of a favorite spot of Sean's, and we made a loop and picked him back up and he gifted us with canolis.
Love that guy!
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| I believe that this was along the Embarcadero |
Cory wanted to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. Sean suggested that we wait until 6 pm or so, that way we could hit some great light and not have to deal with quite as much traffic.
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| The happy driver, at 10 and 2 |
We arrived at the Best Western (yep, we're classy like that) around 8 pm and we ate a dinner of delicious In-N-Out Burger. In the morning, Platypus tours picked us up around 10 am for a day of wine!
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| Before the wine tour started, I followed the doctors orders and rode the stationary bike |
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| This is at the Dutch Henry Winery. They have a cave, which is a spectacular sight and also a great way to store the wine. (P.S. A nice couple on our tour held my crutches for me to keep them out of the photo!) |
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| Inside the cave, they have a large room for private functions. |
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| Our tour bus driver called this guy "Dan the Man" and he was the chief sales/tasting professional for the Hopper Creek Winery |
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| With all the vines in the background, at Hopper Creek. |
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| Our return trip to SFO, back across the Golden Gate Bridge |
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| This time, a lot of fog obscured the bridge but that also made for a unique experiencce |
To sum up: it was a great trip, a big trip (for someone with a broken leg) and a very lovely excursion for the two of us.
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| Cory took this photo of me the last morning that we were in CA, while we ate breakfast at the Napa General Store |
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