In true Michelle fashion, we had to fit in the most we could of this city before she was on her way home. We woke up and drove out to Sonoma, about a half hour drive from our apartment. We chose Sonoma because it is closer than Napa and it was a good choice. We were able to hit three wineries and two of the three offered free tastings. The only faux pas was that we got to the first winery before noon and it felt a little weird to start drinking before we really even had any breakfast. Luckily this first winery also had Olive Oil tastings, so we started there and dipped some pieces of fresh bread into delicious oils. They even had flavored Balsalmic Vinegar and Michelle took home a fig flavored one. Problem solved. Now we felt better about drinking.
We made our way over to the room on the left where the wine tastings were. We were allowed 4 different kinds without being charged. A friendly woman was helping us and of course we started chatting about more personal things in life. We found out she grew up in Ohio, very close to Pittsburgh, so she felt a connection to our roots. She then told us her name - Pate' (pronounced like the food) Belichik. Yes - her cousin is Bill Belichik. She gave me her business card because she has friends in the hotel business. We have been emailing and keeping in touch. She is of course rooting for the Patriots next weekend. This was all at the Jacuzzi Family Vineyard.
Next we hopped across the street to the Cline Cellars. Very nice as well, but a lot smaller than Jacuzzi. They are close partners to each other and I think may be owned by the same family.
We then drove a little farther into Sonoma and pulled into another driveway leading to another tasting room. I am telling you - they are endless. If you dedicated every weekend of your life to hitting the wineries in Napa and Sonoma, you could never hit them all. At this next one, we had to pay for our tastings, but we also got to sit outside on their beautiful patio overlooking the vineyard and mountains. It was a gorgeous day with plenty of sunshine and it was nice to sit and take it all in.
We had some things to see in the city and I was getting anxious that we wouldn't be able to fit it all in. So we left. Our main goals were to see the Painted Ladies (word of the week) and go down Lombard Street. We hit both and since it was a week day we had free reign. We learned on our bus tour that you sometimes have to wait in a 3 hour long line of cars to drive down America's most crooked street. We had no lines at all.
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| Good Old Rav in bottom left |
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| View with skyline in background. 7th house on corner is where the architect lives. |
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| View from top of Lombard Street. Coit Tower in distance. |
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| View from the bottom of the crooked part of street looking up. Lots of tourists! Click here for a professional picture. - the flowers weren't in bloom when we were there :( |
Since we learned that Fisherman's Wharf is the second most visited destination in California after Disney Land, most know for its fish market and Dungeoness Crabs, we had to make sure we took a closer look. We had another late lunch at Alioto's and got some chowder - I got the New England and Michelle got the Manhattan. Do you know who got the red? :) And we each had half of a dungeoness crab. It was delicious. Talked with the couple next to us for a bit who were visiting from Korea. The husband worked for Booz Allen Hamilton and I had to tell him about Ryan. We said our goodbyes, went to see the seals, (here's a pic) and were exhausted and ready to go home. We only had a couple hours before driving Michelle to the airport for her red eye home. :(
When it was finally time for her to go, we drove to the airport. It was a weird drive and a weird goodbye. Michelle leaving meant that was it! It would just be me and Greg after that and my comforting link to home was gone. I was very teary saying goodbye. It finally hit me that this was real. I had such an amazing time the last week transitioning my life. Once Michelle was gone, it meant the fun and games were over. I was left alone to figure out this life of my mine. So I silently cried the ride back while Greg drove. I can't describe the emotions that were going on in me, but it was definitely strange. The closest I can link it to is leaving home for college, but this was 10 times worse at least. This time I was the only one leaving and I wouldn't be just an hour's drive away. I was really on my own. What was I thinking?!
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