San Francisco and Napa Valley

So, I've decided to enter the world of blogging. I know so many people that have blogs, I felt left out! No, not really, but I thought this would be a good place to post pictures and events from our life.

Last week was spring break for me, so Kevin and I got out of dodge for a nice change of pace. We left last Saturday for San Francisco, and once we arrived, we took the BART + taxi to get to Pleasant Hill to see my brother-in-law, his girlfriend, and our three neices, Taylor, Morgan, and Brooke.

We had not yet met Brooke, the youngest of the three. She is just two years old, and was So. Much. Fun. We couldn't get enough of her. She was running around at full speed and talking like crazy. We are officially in love! We missed her immediately after leaving.

Sunday, we spent the day with the family. We drove to Jennifer's work and met her for lunch with the whole crew in tow. Tasted the best cupcake of my entire life at Kara's cupcakes. Two words: Carrot Cake. Mmmmm.

On Monday and Tuesday, we ventured in to the city (San Fran) for some sight seeing. Monday was a short day as we went in with Fritz. We ate breakfast at an old San Fran place called Sears. Really good omelet. We shopped for a few hours and then headed back on the BART with Fritz. Tuesday we spent all day in the city and went to Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiradelli Square, and took a Ferry ride around the bay with great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. We asked a local for a lunch recommendation and he told us to go to this place, Scomas. Man, this place was great! We had a nice view of the harbor from our window seat and had a lovely lobster bisque with a crab salad. Now, when I say crab, I mean, like a pound of crab!! It was huge, and SO fresh. Thanks, local dude! We spent the whole day walking and being tourists. It was St. Patrick's Day by the way, so lots of celebrating going on. I think we must have walked at least 5 miles that day. We were both very sorry that we did not take a taxi back to the BART station, because we were in some serious pain by the end of the day. But, all worth it.

On Wednesday we made the short drive up to Napa for some sight-seeing and wine-tasting. We stayed in a cozy B&B in downtown Napa, and walked up and down the streets of downtown upon our arrival. It was a nice little town, but a little sleepy, as it was the middle of a work-week. We had lunch at a great french restaurant, and dinner a nice Italian place. The next day after a huge breakfast, we drove a little north to hit some wineries. We only had time for three, but had a great time. First we stopped at Frog's Leap where I had made a reservation for a tour of the winery. After purchasing a bottle of wine we sat out on some benches to enjoy the great weather. The property is so beautiful and rustic. I think we could have stayed there all day, but there was much wine to taste! From there we drove to Peju, where we did not tour, but did taste. They had the best wine. Everything I had was delicioso! We bought a bottle here too. Next we drove to the Dean & Delucca market for some browsing and some lunch items. We ended up buying a ton of coffee beans, because let's face it, Kevin and I are truly coffee addicts. Its pretty sad, actually. We also picked up some yummy meats and cheeses and a baguette for lunch. From there we drove to Rutherford Hill, where we ate our lunch on their picnic grounds overlooking the entire valley. Wow. Such a perfect day. The tour at Rutherford was excellent and so was the wine. We decided to forgo buying a bottle because they sell it everywhere, or so we were told.

On Thursday evening, we went to pick up Morgan from her syncro-swim practice. This girl is 14, and swims six out of seven days of the week. Olympic-bound, I'm telling you. Have you ever watched syncronized swimmers practice??? Pretty cool. We wished we could have spent more time hanging out with Morgan and Taylor, but unfortunately they were in school all week. We really had a great time with the extended family and hope we can make it out there again very soon.

Friday, time to leave. We were a bit worried that it would not be a relaxing vacation since we were staying with family most of the trip, but we loved it, and we loved getting to know Brooke and Jennifer. Thanks for having us!