So we found this little campsite in downtown Napa.

I got up early this morning (8Am!)  without an alarm.  Anyway…

This morning after my shower I just kind of hung out under a walnut tree and waited for Nat to get up.

The first thing I saw were hot air balloons three of them launching into the rising sun.

Then three hummingbirds buzzed low and flirted overhead before dissapearing again.

A lady rode by on horseback,

Then a baby deer went bouncing by, bounding with all four legs at one time.

Did I mention the weather is perfect here?  And the residents think they’re having a heat snap.

Guess they haven’t been to Vegas lately.

The Wine.

We visited a whopping two wineries.

The frist, Beringer, we visited mostly for the tour.  Except, I signed up for the “basic” tour… which turned out to be so basic we didn’t learn anything about wine.  Apparently that’s possible.  My feelings were somewhat allayed by the nice bartender and the wine tasting that followed… but not much.

After that we visited a small family owned winery recommended by some locals we quizzed .

Following the directions of the GPS we whizzed right past what we would later realize was the winery.  When we got to the “right place” there was nothing but a gravel road that disappeared into a wine field without a welcome sign.  “Not going to discourage me, I thought as I turned.

I thought it again as the gravel road turned sharply left and turned to dirt.

Two turns later it became obvious we were on a goose chase.

Back on track at the winery we had a great time with people who genuinely loved what they do.  It is worth mentioning their pirate attitude as evidenced by a willingness to ship to any state in flagrant violation of the law.  (In accordance with the pirate code they will, of course remain nameless)

As an added bonus the tasting was free.

We had dinner at the Rutherford grill which was excellent and highly recommended.

So the tally for the end of the day was this: 1 tour(bad), 1 tasting(fun) and two(2)missed goals…  namely comming home with  stellar wine, and finding Nat some sweet wine she would really like.

I guess I’m just going to have to come back and try again another day.

-R