Visiting Napa

If you'll bear with me, I would like to finish what I started. After we left Santa Rosa, we puttered north on Highway 101, headed east on Mark West Springs Road until we reached Calistoga, and headed south on St. Helena Highway.

We passed Bothe-Napa Valley State Park, a place I would like to visit next time we're in the neighborhood. Hiking in the morning and wine-tasting in the afternoon? There could be worse ways to spend the day.

Since it was quickly becoming evening, we headed straight for V. Sattui Winery, one of the few wineries that offers free tastings. (Actually, we stopped by Beringer Vineyards first, five minutes before they closed and were tersely turned away, so we kept going.)

After sampling a few wines, we continued south to American Canyon. We stayed at a brand new hotel called Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa It is one of California's first green (or eco-friendly) hotels, which means it was designed and constructed with environmental sustainability in mind. What that means is that during design, the architect focused intensively on issues like sustainable site development, water and energy efficiency, and material selection.

Being green also means the hotel management focuses on ways to make their operations more environmentally-friendly. This means things like low flow showers and toilets, energy efficient air conditioners, recycling receptacles, bulk soap and shower dispensers, and chemical free landscaping. I was quite impressed with their list of green features.

It was by pure coincidence that we stayed during the hotel's grand opening weekend. The upside was that nothing had been used yet. I think we were the first ones to stay in our room. The downside was that certain amenities (like the restaurant) weren't open yet.

My favorite parts of the hotel would have to be the swan in the lagoon...

And the gauges in the lobby showing carbon dioxide emissions and electricity and water usage...

That evening, we dined at La Strada. The food and wine were delicious, but the service was only okay. Next time, it would be interesting to try one of the Italian restaurants in downtown Napa.

On Saturday, we got a late start on the morning and decided to visit a winery that was more out of the way, so we ventured over to Andretti Winery, which was founded by famous race car driver, Mario Andretti.

Afterwards, we headed east to take a leisurely drive on the Silverado Trail. At some point, we cut back over to St. Helena Highway and stopped by Cakebread Cellars only to discover that we needed an appointment to taste their wines (a minor detail repeated on their website, which is why it's good to do your research beforehand, children).

Feeling shunned by the world of wine, we drove to Napa to enjoy a midday meal at Gillwoods Cafe, where they serve breakfast all day. I had the Gillwoods Scramble and a big mug of coffee to cleanse my palate of any wine residue.

We wandered around Napa and St. Helena that afternoon, stopped by Trader Joe's to pick up an inexpensive dinner we could eat back at the hotel (thank goodness for microwaves), and resisted the urge to venture out for the rest of the evening.

Here's one of the buildings I photographed while in downtown St. Helena...

On Sunday, we did many mundane things that now escape my memory. The most exciting thing that happened that day didn't take place until that evening. We saw Blue October perform at The Fillmore. I first saw them play in San Jose nearly four years ago.

The opening act was good, but all of their songs seemed to sound alike, except for their inspired cover of Radiohead's "High and Dry". Blue October, though, was pure energy and unforgettable. My favorite songs from the evening include "You Make Me Smile", "Into the Ocean", "Overweight", and "X Amount of Words".

At the end of the night, they gave away these free posters...

And that's that.