Ventura to Napa Travelogue

It took us just over 6 hours to make the trek from Ventura to Napa. Actually, to Yountville, about 6 miles north of Napa. Searching online for a B&B, I found this railway inn, where the rooms are actual boxcars and cabooses (caboosi?) Ratings were good and I thought it would be a kick, so I booked a room for 2 nights. Great choice. The room is narrow but long, with skylights in the bedroom and bathroom, plus 2 bay windows to add space.And Yountville is wonderful - a small town with with several wonderful, high-end restaurants within a block of our hotel, including this bakery directly across the street, with the best chocolate croissants ever. We had breakfast from there this morning and intend to do the same tomorrow.

Our first stop today was an 'old faithful' geyser in Callistoga that erupts every 30-40 minutes. We weren't expecting much, but it turned out to be great. We had 30 minutes to wait for the next cycle, so we visited these guys - Tennessee fainting goats (they didn't while we were there), Jacob lamb with mama, and a four horned Jacob (daddy?). This guy loved having his head scratched but deserted me when someone else offered him a handful of grass.

Waiting for the geyser was peaceful (except for the woman on her cell phone, giving out her credit card number to her dressmaker so everyone in the area could hear. What an idiot.) After a couple of false alarms, we got the real thing. Over 60 feet into the air for 3-4 minutes. Lots of time to take lots of photos.

We chose our first winery because it has a tram up the hill and (we thought) had a restaurant on-site. We were wrong about the restaurant, but the tram was fun. Some great views and not too scary since it was only 15-20 feet off the ground most of the time. The tour was self-guided and included tastings of 5 different wines. It wasn't that interesting, although we liked viewing - and smelling - the oak barrels.

There are literally hundreds of wineries in the immediate area and they try to outdo each other with spectacular buildings, gardens, and 'extras'. The driveway at Sterling was flanked by trees, with vineyards on each side. Berringer winery is one of the oldest in Northern California. The main house, a gorgeous Victorian with beautiful stained glass windows that we really wanted to see, is undergoing renovations (we were bummed.) Since the next tour didn't start for over an hour, we settled for just wandering around the grounds. The 'leaning tree' was my favorite and there were some beautiful fountains and pieces of art in the gardens. Next stop, Chandon winery, had beautiful grounds and lots of artworks, including a foot bridge and these rock 'toad stools' (thinking stools?) that I loved. Chandon also didn't have a tour for over an hour, so we took our photos and moved along.

We've eaten incredibly well so far on this trip. On the way up, we stopped at Harris Ranch for lunch and had the best beef either of us has ever eaten. Lunch today was in St. Helena at 'Market' on Main St. The best crab cake and portobello mushroom sandwich ever. And the strawberry-cherry crisp? F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S.

Tomorrow we're taking a tour of Castello di Amorosa - the castle winery - before heading north to Ashland and Medford, where we'll have dinner with my sister, Teena, and her hubby, Mike. Looking forward to it!