Our daughter, newly minted Cali-girl took an early train from the valley and picked us up on a Sat morning for our first Napa winery tour...first stop, the vineyards of Oakville, VineCliff Estate
Cyrene made a reservation for a personal wine tour. Our most pleasant and knowledgeable guide, David, gave us a tour of the tanks, caves and provided sampling of about 5 wines... we ended up buying two of our favorites - 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
Cyrene's first choice for lunch was dashed as Addendum at Ad Hoc Yountville was closed up for the seasons (daanng! wanted that fried chicken!).. at least on weekends ... so we ended up in the alternative Thomas Keller creation - Bouchon Bakery.
Beringer - if wine making is a passion, they have been pursuing this for over 138 years...since Jacob Beringer sailed from his home in Mainz, Germany to New York and enlisted his brother Frederick to start one of the first wineries in Napa Valley
A complete novice at this ...I'm trying to take my cues from the couple across the table.. ummm. they look so studious...oh dear..now I'm gonna need my glasses ( the ones for reading..lol)
Nice!..kids got some pull ;) we're in the private tasting in a beautiful upstairs room ..so good. Ended up getting a couple bottles of Merlot
Our third stop in Napa was at Mumm's ... Champagne.. exactly so well timed! Are we celebrating?!
beautiful setting in the outdoor patio... Napa scenery as the day winds down
We followed the exhibit to "Incense Roads" and learned how the aromatic substances (frankincense and myrrh) were collected by periodically scrapping resins from tree barks found only in the arid regions of southern Arabia and east Africa. Incense was used across the ancient world for everythingfrom sanctifying religious ceremonies to masking the stench of sewage. Below is another sandstone discovery that may have rewritten history ... a horse figure found at Al-Magar, dated 7,000 BC - previous understanding of beginning of horse domestication put it at only 4,000 BCE
Other Asian exhibit included a few items from more recent discovery (late 1980's, once again through farmers digging for water) of Dynasty Emperor JingDi and his Empress Wang, the 4th Hans Emperor who died in 141 BC. Not as lavish as his predecessor, First Emperor Qin (206 BC), these pits found terracotta goods for the afterlife including thousands of animals, dogs, sheep, goats and pigs ..real cute..all formally laid out for slaughter. What was amazing were thousands of nude and semi-nude armless figures of warriors one third life-size. On each shoulder a circular hole would have once inserted a wooden pin that held wooden arms in place. Their faces were incredibly detailed and diverse. Research pointed to fact the warriors were originally clothed in brightly coloured silk robes and then placed in the pits in battle formation.
(Right) Teater-Totter 2014 Jung Ran Bae (Korean American) "...the numerous joined cups signify a gradual process but the uncertain balance in the swaying form embodies uncertainties that...are inevitable to change. An invisible presence prevents the teetering stacks to be destroyed by gravity and highlights the power of cosmic proportions, something much stronger than human intention....no matter the magnitude of change, some internal order prevents us from destroying ourselves by breaking all connection with our past... in the face of change, there remains a thread of continuity ...each cup is connected to at least one other and ultimately linked together. The bottom cup and top cup are inextricably linked, as are my present and the furthest reaches of my past."
North Beach and Downtown
Ferrying to Alcatraz Tour
Views from the back of the prison compound
We had a wonderful time touring Facebook campus compliments of Sandy (Tom's cousin) with Francine joining @ lunch - later popped into both the ice cream and gift shops for the complete FB campus experience :)
walked the main trail of Muir Woods National Monument - its remarkable to think that the tallest redwood is 258 feet and most trees come from a seed no bigger than that of a tomato. Most of the redwoods in the Monument are between 500 - 800 years old with the oldest being at least 1200 years old. Apparently, redwoods can reach heights of 379 feet and live up to 2200 years... I guess these have a ways to go yet... later we strolled the nearby Muir beach around sunset
Here are the first scenes outside car as we loaded up to start our Pacific Coastal drive from SF to San Diego via Route 1
Sat morning ..lots of paddle boards and kayakers
Santa Barbera Courthouse- since 1850 a source of civic pride and celebration. Must return to do the tour and climb to clock gallery & observation tower
Arrived in San Diego - our lodging at Wyndam Gaslamp Quarters on Fifth Ave - very lively spot downtown especially at night ...multiple selections of good restaurants and nightclubs
Balboa Theatre - a movie palace of the 1920s & colorful mosaic obelisk in front of Horton Plaza
what great views & good exercise - frequent weekly visits to Torrey Beach walks must be what's keeping our relatives so healthy & fit :)
Took a drive out to Shelter Island all the way past Point Loma to Cabrillo National Monument (below)
Drove across the san diego-coronado bridge to Coronado Island & spent our lunch time touring the landmark Hotel del Coronado - legendary historic american treasure with over 125 years of stories. Gift shop featured the 2002 book "Beautiful Stranger" re one of such stories.. Kate Morgan, a beautiful young woman checked in to hotel in 1892 after spending five lonely and lovesick days waiting for a man who never arrived. Kate was found dead on an exterior staircase leading to the beach with a possibly self-inflicted gunshot wound to her head. Since then, paranormal encounters have been reported in her old guest room as well as the hallways and gardens and along the beach... <;~o
Just walking through, we peaked into the doors of the ballroom .. an oldtimer waitress (of over 40 yrs) setting up the tables waved us in and gave us generous access to all the views of the ballroom & fill us up with her memorable days hosting Hollywood set during the golden era when the stars came here to party.. ( Jack Lemmon/Tony Curtis/Dustin Hoffman...etc). Apparently, in those days the ceiling had a walkby corridor that ppl could peer down to see the goings on in dining hall
Little bird sharing our lunch at hotel patio
Two caterpillar trees for monarch butterflies stand on either side of the botancial garden's arboretum
In the Rotunda Gallery of Museum of Man showcasing Mayan Stelae..off to the side of rotunda was interesting Beerology exhibit ..learned about some ancient brewing practices, including that of the Amazon headhunters whose beer also contains the longest alphabets "nihamanchnihamanchii". They start with cassava roots - its peeled, washed, boiled, mashed, and chewed, then spat back into a large clay jar to ferment ..to refuse to drink this delicious concoction is considered an insult...just so y'know
The Museum of Man exhibit "Lucy" - her nickname due to Beatle's song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" playing at the camp when researchers returned with the fossil. Her Ethiopian name is "Dinquinesh" meaning wonderful thing. The museum also showcased a 60,000 years old fossil from an Israel cave of a hyoid bone, a small bone in the throat used in speech.This has led scientists to conclude that Neanderthals were able to make spoken sounds.
Visiting Old Town Historic Park
