Wine Country, Here I Come!

Napa and San Francisco Itinerary

Yay, I finally have plans for my first trip of the year! (Yes, I have more than one trip planned...)

My first trip consists of a visit to San Francisco and Napa Valley, then an annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas. I will confine this post to the details of the San Francisco - Napa Valley portion of the trip.

First of all, I leave Honolulu on September 11...I know, everyone gasps when I say that. But, it was the cheapest fare that fit our schedule. Surprisingly, even though it was a great fare (Hawaiian Airlines), the plane is almost full! There are only a handful of seats left on the flight.

Day 1: Fly to San Francisco
We arrive in San Francisco around 8 p.m. Obviously, this day is simply a travel day, and aside from picking up the car (Enterprise has very reasonable rates!) and eating dinner, not much else is going to be happening once we arrive. Because we head to Napa Valley the next day, I was just looking for a place to sleep near the airport for the night. I had no preference, other than being in the airport area, so I chose to book on Priceline. This took several attempts, because Priceline thought I was being too cheap. So much for William Shatner and his "Priceline Negotiator" thing!!

For anyone with the guts and desire to try Priceline, I highly recommend reviewing this website thoroughly first: Bidding for Travel. It provides very helpful information on how to strategize your bidding, and also shows what hotels people have "won" by using Priceline. If you decide to try Priceline, please use this link: http://www.amazing-bargains.com/priceline.html. It helps Bidding for Travel keep their services free.

Anyhow, after several attempts, I finally won the Doubletree Burlingame for $83 + taxes and fees, for a total of $102.45. More than I wanted to pay, but apparently that's pretty good for a nice hotel in that area. There is also a $15 charge for parking. The hotel is only a couple miles south of the airport and the rooms look comfortable, so I'm happy. Hopefully we will get a good nights rest before we head off to Napa.

Day 2: Drive to Napa
The plan is to check out of the hotel pretty early, maybe 7 a.m., have a nice breakfast somewhere nearby, then drive up to Napa via the Bay Bridge (the quickest route). According to Mapquest, this should take 1 hour and 8 minutes.

After reading a number of reviews, I had my heart set on staying at the Napa River Inn. I read glowing reviews on Trip Advisor, which I think is saying something since, quite frankly, people who post on Trip Advisor tend to be pretty tough (or whiney). It's located in Downtown Napa, right next to the Napa River -- I know it sounds nice and romantic that it's along the river, but the river isn't really much to look at right now. However, that does not diminish my expectations of Napa River Inn, which is a historic boutique hotel. Although it's a bit pricey at $225 per night (for a Superior Room with a AAA rate -- the most basic room would have been $199), it seems worth it, especially since it provides a freshly baked breakfast from a bakery next door called Sweetie Pies.

Our first stop after checking in will be COPIA, the American Center for Food Wine & the Arts. At first I had no interest in this, until I kept coming across it's name, including in the AAA Tourbook which lists it as a "Gem." After looking at the website, it looks pretty cool! It is a nonprofit museum dedicated to educating its visitors about food and wine...how cool is that??? Admission is only $5, which includes most activities and demonstrations. However, I plan to sign up for Winetasting 101, which is $15 (I think admission is included). It also includes a coupon book worth $500 in savings from various wine country venues, including some vineyards. AAA says to plan on spending 2 hours here, so that's what I'm doing. There's a little cafe in COPIA that serves sandwiches and salads that I'm planning to visit for lunch.

After this, I have an ambitious afternoon planned. At first I thought I would kind of randomly pick a few vineyards/wineries to try, but once I started reading about them, it became quite a difficult task!! What do I choose? Good wine? Someplace friendly to a novice like me? A touristy place without much substance? In addition to all of these factors, I am traveling with someone who isn't into the "wine thing" like I am (which is actually a good thing, since I need a designated driver!). My basis for choosing the vineyards/wineries that I did were, something that would be entertaining enough for my travel partner, scenery, history, and something a little different from what other wineries have to offer. I settled on 3 wineries to cover over a 2 day period. The journey continues...

After lunch, we'll drive all the way up to Calistoga, about 40 minutes away, to Sterling Vineyards. This vineyard is often referred to as "touristy" and "Disneyland-like," which is probably why I'm attracted to it! I was particularly drawn by the aerial tram that you have to take to get to the winery. Admission is pretty steep at $20, but that includes the tram ride and a sit-down wine tasting at your own table, which is a rarity. While some people don't like the touristyness of this, no one has denied the beauty of this location. As for the wine, a friend of mine, as well as reviews from Yelp (a great website to look for reviews on anything from hotels and restaurants, to attractions), told me that Sterling is known for a wine called Malvasia Bianca. Several people on Yelp also recommend the Muscat Canelli.

We need to leave Sterling by about 3 p.m. and drive about 10 minutes back down toward St. Helena, home to Beringer Vineyards. What interested me about Beringer is it's history. It's over a hundred years old, and has been designated a Historic District. They even offer a Historic District tour for $20, which includes a wine tasting. It's a 75-minute tour that covers the historic grounds and a tour of their wine-aging tunnels (some refer to them as caves, which several wineries in Napa have). I also read good things about the service here, and spoke to Linda from Beringer this morning to confirm the tour, who was very friendly over the phone. Beringer seems to be known for its Nightengale dessert wine.

After Beringer, that's it for the touring on this day. After that, we can take our time getting back to Napa. I'm learning that Napa Valley consists of a bunch of little towns including Calistoga, St. Helena, and Yountville, among others, as well as Napa. The general consensus seems to be that Napa wineries have become too commercialized...when people say this I'm not quite sure if they're referring to all of Napa Valley, or just the ones surrounding Napa town! In any case, Sonoma county is supposed to have the friendlier, "what a winery should be" wineries. So that was another factor in deciding where to go.

But, first things first, since the day is not over. I have a dinner reservation at Angele, which is widely known as one of the best restaurants in Napa. It also happens to be adjacent to the hotel. Reviews tell me that I must try the macaroni (like fancy macaroni and cheese, a side dish) and the french onion soup -- we'll see if I feel like eating those things on that day!

After that, I'm not sure what to do! It doesn't sound like Downtown Napa has much of a night life, so I guess we'll just wing it.

Day 3: Glen Ellen and Santa Rosa
The agenda for day 3 goes a different path. On day 2, we're going up north from Napa town into the Napa Valley. On day 3, we're heading west into Sonoma County, which should offer a different type of wine tasting experience.

Again, it was difficult to choose from the wineries in this area. Another factor in my decision was the AAA Tourbook, which lists wineries that were particularly friendly. Also, I purchased The Napa & Sonoma Book, A Complete Guide (7th Edition), by Peg Melnik with Tim Fish, who are residents of Santa Rosa.

Based on all of the things I read, I chose to visit Benziger Family Winery in Glen Ellen, about 40 minutes from Napa. There are a number of cool, somewhat unique, things about Benziger. They have a 45-minute Biodynamic Vineyard Tram Tour, $10, which looks like a tractor pulling a Disneyland parking lot tram. The tour goes through vineyards, and includes a walk through their barrel caves and a tasting. Another cool thing about Benziger is their commitment toward sustainable farming practices.

After Benziger, we drive about 30 minutes to Santa Rosa, where I have a lunch reservation at Syrah. Deciding on places to eat in Napa and Sonoma County was as difficult as choosing wineries...there are so many really great choices! One of the reasons I chose Syrah is its proximity, as well as good reviews and what seems to be a not-so-pretentious atmosphere in comparison to some of the other restaurants in the area, which apparently cater to business people in Santa Rosa. The popular items here are the cheese course and the crab cakes.

Syrah is only a couple minutes away from our next stop, the Charles M. Schultz Museum and Research Center, or what I refer to as "the Snoopy Museum." When I was a kid, the first comic I had to read every Sunday was Peanuts, and I had to watch all of the Snoopy tv specials. It would be blasphemous for me to be near Santa Rosa and not pay homage to Snoopy and his creator. Admission to the museum is $8, and they also have a store which I know I will be spending lots of time and money in.

New development: while writing this post, I just discovered that in addition to the museum store, there is another store in Santa Rosa, Snoopy's Gallery and Gift Shop! So I guess I know what I'm doing after the Snoopy Museum! Originally, my plan, if we still have any energy left, was to go to Bodega Bay. But the more I think about it, I think we will probably end up going back to Napa after our day in Santa Rosa. Besides, there may be other things in Napa that I want to explore.

But, I digress...dinner on Day 3 is set for Celadon, another notable Napa restaurant adjacent to the hotel. Here, everyone raves about the calamari appetizer. By the way, I set all of my dining reservations through Open Table, which is a wonderful service that I hope more restaurants will take advantage of. While being listed on Open Table wasn't initially one of the factors in selecting restaurants, it ended up being a swaying factor. What's nice is that a lot of the popular restaurants in Napa and Sonoma are listed on Open Table, saving me a lot of long distance phone calls.

Day 4: A Day in the City by the Bay
This will be our last full day in California. To avoid any rushing around on our departure day, as well as to visit a city that I enjoy but have not been to in over a decade, we will be heading to San Francisco.

I hope to depart Napa at around 8 a.m. and take the scenic route. I've always wanted to visit Sausalito, acros the bay from Downtown San Francisco, so we'll stop there on the way. Sausalito is about an hour away from Napa. After a visit to Sausalito, we'll cross the Golden Gate Bridge (a $5 toll coming into San Francisco) and check into the Best Western Tuscan Inn. Now, I have to stop and say that this is no ordinary Best Western. In fact, it hardly seems it should be a Best Western at all, and it is actually managed by Kimpton Hotels, which is known for running boutique hotels. We'll see if it lives up to my expectations when I get there.

One reason I chose Tuscan Inn is for its location. My last visit to San Francisco, we stayed in the Hotel Mark Twain...while I am all for historic hotels, this is one that crosses the line to pre-historic! I would not recommend that hotel to anyone, as its rooms were very old and unattractive, and unpractical, and it's not in a good area of town. During that visit, we spent a lot of time near Pier 39 and the Wharf, and I would look at hotels like the Sheraton near Fisherman's Wharf and wished we were staying in that area. So that's why I chose the Tuscan Inn -- it's in a good location, at a good price, $224.10 (AAA rate). Parking is still sky high, but AAA members save $5, for a net cost of $29 plus tax.

After checking in, it'll probably be around lunch time. I think we'll just wing it, but I'm either thinking of finding an Italian restaurant in North Beach, or dim sum in Chinatown.

One thing I have always wanted to do is ride a Cable Car. A one day passport for all types of public transportation, including Cable Cars, is $11. The Tuscan Inn is right next to a Cable Car terminus, so my plan is to ride the Cable Car up to the Union Square area. I don't think I've ever been to Union Square either, so I want to check out some of the shops there.

For dinner, I'd like to try a place called the Crab House at Pier 39. While it is admittedly touristy, with a location overlooking the water, even the locals admit that they like the food here. The crab is roasted in garlic and is supposed to be yummy in numerous forms, including a crab chowder. At night, we'll probably stroll around the Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, or maybe even ride the Cable Car around since they're available until after midnight.

Day 5: I Left My Heart...
Well, I guess it's too early to start singing Frank Sinatra since I haven't even gone on the trip yet, but I'm sure I will love it as much as I did the last time!

We don't depart for Las Vegas until 3:45 p.m. (Southwest Airlines), so we'll have about 1/2 a day to explore. Another thing I've wanted to do is to go to the Presidio, primarily because I always see pictures of a gazebo-like building with the Golden Gate Bridge behind it. I found out that it is a part of the Palace of Fine Arts in the Presidio. We'll probably go there after breakfast.

After that, I'm not sure what we'll do. We need to check out of the hotel by Noon and have lunch before heading off to the airport to drop off the car and check in for our flight.

Then we start the next phase of the trip...Viva Las Vegas!!!