Flying in to SFO. This is apparently the sunniest day ever in San Fran.
All the CA beer is hoppy. Booo.
Pulled pork sammich - CA style...with lettuce. ?!?
Cupcakery - all local ingredients. We had chocolate with peanut butter frosting.
Bill enjoying roasted plum ice cream. Also local ingredients. Deelish!
Napa winery. Icky. Snobby. Booo.
Cash, our B&B neighbor cat.
Strawberry patch.
Bear in the raspberries!
Two sheep and a donkey. The B&B owner previously lived on a sheep commune (I got some of their wool at the Farmers Market). These sheep were orphans/rejects from that farm.
Our B&B - Casa Carolina.
Polenta and corn pancakes with smoked salmon. B&B breakfast.
Our super exclusive and fun tour of Fred MacMurry's ranch courtesy of Brian.
Fred's house. Gallo wine uses the ranch as a hospitality property - fancy parties for wine people.
Fred's fridge.
The cigar room, where Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne hung out. Also, our partners on the tour - a Gallo wine sales guy from NJ and his bio teacher girl.
The property was originally a land grant to a family in the mid 1800s. Fred bought it from them in the 1940s. Gallo got it next.
You all know Fred, right? My Three Sons. Flubber. The Shaggy Dog.
We toured the 1600 acres in a Suburban.
Russian River.
Fred's Redwood grove. He had birthday parties here. There were swings.
The redwood horse barn. Now a classroom for Gallo employees.
Frei Ranch - Gallo's other hospitality property on our tour.
Grapes. There were a lot of grapes.
Cabernet Sauvignon.
Me. Awaiting more wine from Natalie, our wine guide.
The biggest wine production we saw. Frei Ranch Winery.
3 million cases of goodness a year from this place.
Grapes go in. Wine comes out.
The barrel cellar, under a soccer field. It. Smelled. Awesome.
Like Indiana Jones, but with alcohol.
Workers filling the barrels with red.
We did a barrel tasting of two Chardonnays. First, we tried each individually, then we mixed them and it was wicked.
We're feeling it.
Healdsburg. Seriously cute town.
They have wine there.
Scopa. Good food. Looks like it used to be an alley way.
Figs. Stuffed with goat cheese. Wrapped in pancetta.
YUM!!!
Oneida. All the way in CA.
Flourless chocolate cake with yum sauce.
Picnic spot at Armstrong Redwood Preserve. It was very nice.
Treasures of the Sebastopol Farmers Market.
Bay leaves!
Where's Billdo?
Goat Rock. It broke our car. More on that later...
The Pacific Ocean. And a Natural Bridge. To nowhere.
Sooo windy. The gull can't even stand up.
The winery we were most excited to visit.
ST. Francis.
They grow grapes in parking lots.
Hungry.
Homemade mozzarella.
Bill's favorite meal at a little Italian cafe near Sonoma. He says "mmmm."
129 year old zin. We love this stuff and blew it kisses. It produces about 10% of the yield of younger vines, but we love it lots and want it to live on!
Grape delivery!
Imagery winery. A bit smaller of a production than Gallo.
This is when the pictures start getting a little odd....
Remember that pretty view of the Pacific? When I opened the door to get out of the car a huge wind pushed the door open too far and the force dented the front panel.
TARDIS?
Sonoma (town of).
(I don't remember taking these photos...)
The radio in the Ice Cream shop. It was playing Kings of Leon and (after tasting lots of wine) that was exciting
Pumpkin gelato.
???
Is there a photography equivalent of drunk dialing?
Mission in Sonoma.
Good things happen in this town.
Bill thinks this is only funny when you've been drinking. ... But it's a FAT-ory. Like, a factory that makes you fat. Because it's cheese.
Morning raspberry ration.
The real estate/home loan place is for sale.
Ferndale. The whole town is an historic site of Victorian houses. Built about the same time as ours and of the same Italianate style.
Pacific Coast Highway.
Sunce. Our new favorite winery (we joined their club). ~5,000 cases a year, not available in stores. I kicked Bill's butt in Bocci ball and we tasted everything.
Smaller wine operation at Hook and Ladder.
For Dad. We bought some firehouse wine and got a discount for being in a family of voleys.
Cab Franc grapes from Sunce. They got a delivery from a small farmer in a pick up truck while we were there and let us take some. The grapes are peppery like the wine.
Truffle oil fries with parmigiana cheese at Healdsburg Brewing Co.
Bill's Mac and Cheese.
Blue cheese and avocado burger.
Ginger beer. Bill's favorite carbonated beverage.
Gallo means rooster.
We had 100% sunny skies all week. Then we saw this as we were heading in to San Fran. The only clouds in the sky.
We stayed near Chinatown.
Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate park.
Roar!
Interesting fundraising...A poll on dams and hydro power. $1 = 1 vote. The previous question was on nuclear power.
Interactive exhibit in the climate change section.
The rainforest.
A butterfly landed on my shoulder. He was real pretty blue on the inside.
Coral reef.
Waiting for the planetarium show (which sucked).
On the living roof.
Cable car!
Turning the cable car.
Seafood in butter and garlic - Fisherman's Warf.
On the cable car.
Bill surfing the cable car.
My turn!
SF Museum of Modern Art. They are toothpicks, but I thought they were dpns.
Art.
I love this glass cave thing and totally want one.
He really likes modern art...I swear.
The long anticipated SF burrito. Bleh.
Delicious pumpkin truffle the size of my head.
19 bottles of wine (and one shoe) all safely transported to Indy! Our connection in Chicago was very tight and we were super impressed our bags made it. Go American!
