Wilderness Unicycling

Tuesday: Wine Country Exploration

Jon and I decided we needed a little more fresh California produce in our vacation diet, so we trekked to Sonoma Valley and checked out the lovely Fruit Basket and a nearby homemade jerky shop. Back in Napa, we checked out the lovely Skyline Park and hiked out to Lake Marie for some sunny mountain relaxation. However, the signs that warned us of mountain lions and rattlesnakes started to freak me out once we passed a freshly dead deer in the middle of our walking path! There were no signs of lion-mauling, and the deer was cleared off the path by the time we walked by again, but it was still spooky. As we got back to where we started, we met a man literally moutain-unicycling up the steep gravelly path towards us. Maybe that’s all the rage in California, but I couldn’t help but wonder how in the world he got into that mode of exercise.

After the hike, we celebrated with our first ever In-n-Out burgers, which certainly deserve the hype. They were less expensive than I expected, and even though the fries were hand-cut from potatoes in that store, they weren’t too impressive. I guess McDonald’s has really gotten to me, but fries should be crunchy. It’s still worth the hype, I think. I dropped off Jon and headed out to Sacramento where one of my fearless former students/advisees Hollie has made her home since high school. She’s focusing on radiology technology as a career possibility, since she enjoys her work in a big radiology office, but I’m still pushing her toward dentistry/dental hygiene. :) It was wonderful to see her and catch up with her life out here. I can’t say many of my students have trekked that far away from Illinois, so it’s always great to see that they’re doing well.

The evening was spent at a birthday ‘eve’ party for our host Ben at Lisa’s home in Napa, where Jon and I got to meet some new friends and enjoy some tasty ribs and wine.

Wednesday: Ben’s birthday!

Jon and I went up to a very over-crowded, over-rated winery and waited far too long for the chance to taste three wines paired with tasty mini-dishes. As soon as we saw a bus of tourists pulling in we knew we were in trouble, but after the point-of-no-return while waiting we gave up and just enjoyed our pairings. After that, we picked up both Tim and Ben Birthday-Boy Lewis and headed to Petaluma, CA, to visit the Lagunita’s Brewing Company. We had expected there to be a brew-pub, but alas we just had pints and peanuts.

The Lewis Brothers have a lot of extended family in the Napa area, which meant a Birthday Dinner for Benny at Uncle Andy’s and Aunt Margie’s home. Delicious! They even had a birthday cake from the local high-class bakery and we had a chance to meet more cousins and friends. The evening concluded with a viewing of Black Sheep and a restful night’s sleep.

Thursday: Downtime in Napa

With the time change from East to West coasts, we thought we’d be getting up early and enjoying the Napa mornings, but apparently we’re staying up too late for that to work. After another 10am wake-up call we hung out with Ben, checked out a delicious Napa sandwich shop, and then covered the essential house-keeping tasks of postcards, laundry and evening bbq preparation. This was our last night in Napa, sadly, but we made the most of it with a cook-out/pool party here at the Lewis’. Today we’re driving back into San Francisco to return our sexy Mustang, and transition to squatting at the home of Stef Weyand & Co in Oakland. Onwards!