Picture Overload :)

Alrighty...where should we start! We are back from my husbands birthday trip to San Francisco and Napa valley. And it was sooo much fun!!! We flew out Thursday night and got into SF around 5. We got our car and headed to Fisherman's Wharf where we were staying the first night. The hotel I booked informed us that they were overbooked and were sending us across the street to the Hilton. No skin off my back...especially when they informed me that they were paying for the room and the $45 parking fee!! Whoo hoo :) We went to dinner down in Fisherman's Wharf at a bakery/restaurant that made turtles and other animals out of bread :) I was pretty entertained by it!!

 

The next morning Don woke up really early (6:30am) b/c he wanted to go exploring. The first thing we did since it was so early was catch the Cable cars from Fisherman's Wharf area down to Union Square. The great thing about being up that early is that no one is waiting to ride them...so we hopped right on!!

 

They have some crazy big hills in that city. I wish I lived there b/c my ass would be much smaller! Don wanted to go to the cable car museum but little did we know that everything in San Francisco doesn't open until like 10am. WTF is that all about?? So I looked in the window and snapped this picture. But I did sneak a peak into the garage area and one of the workers came up behind me and was like can I help you? And I said no, just looking....and he proceeded to ask us where we were from, and tell us all about the history, and how they run and show us the cable in the street!! It was like our own personal tour :) He was so nice, and he was also from Ireland and had an awesome accent!! :)

 

Next we wandered over to Coit Tower. I was so tired from walking up and down hills when we got there I said I wasnt walking up any stairs to go to the top...Luckily for me when we went inside there was a big sign that said, Elevator Only. No taking the stairs. I was thrilled :) The view from the top was awesome...

 

When we were done at the tower we wanted to go over to Lombard Street. On the way I saw this thing...What the heck is it??? Nothing grows that big in MN. So if you know what this is, please tell me! I love it...and I want one.

 

From the top (and bottom) of Lombard Street "The Curviest Street in the World"

 

When we were done here we were going to go get the car, but I hadnt seen any sea lions...so I made Don walk all the way back down to Pier 39 so I could get this picture...

 

We went to the Golden Gate Park on our way out of town. We stopped at the Conservatory, it was overrated. Sorry people who like it...but the Como Park Conservatory in St. Paul, MN is way better...and cheaper to get into!

 

This was also in the park...

 

Next we went to the ocean. I had never seen the Pacific Ocean... 

On to the Golden Gate Bridge! We drove across it and parked on the Sausalito side, and then walked about half way back. I was irrationally scared that someone was going to push me over the edge...They had signs up along the way that told you what to do if you wanted to jump, and what would happen if you did jump! I don't really like bridges as a general rule so walking out on this one was kind of a big deal for me. But it is really cool, and the view is awesome.

 

Hello, Wine Country!!!! After a quick stroll through Sausalito we headed up to Napa. We were actually staying in Calistoga, but we wanted to check out Napa first. Of course we had to stop at the Target. My husband loves looking at Targets he has never been to...Hes a strange fella. :) 

This is our room at the EuroSpa and Inn. It sounds cheesey, but it was really nice!! They had a continental breakfast every morning, snacks and wine in the afternoon and the people who ran it were super nice. And originally from Minnesota!

 

Saturday morning I had booked a hot air balloon ride. So we got up at 5am and headed to Napa, which was about 30 minutes from our hotel. Well...it was too windy and foggy that morning so after checking in and standing outside for almost an hour they told us we weren't going to be able to fly...oh well I guess. So we went about our merry way...and decided to check out a hotel Don had once stayed in with his parents...and then on to a couple wineries...

 

This was the hotel in Yountville that we checked out, The Village Inn...really pretty!

 

Oh, on our way to the wineries Don decides he wants to find this random dam that is on the map. So we start out on this adventure to find it...We find this stream of water running down a hill. Ok. Well Don wants to climb up the hill to see what is above it. I do not. But he goes and then when he is about half way up..I change my mind. So I start climbing. This sucker was STEEP!! By the time I get to the top I am pretty sure I was having an asthma attack. Not even kidding. When I climb hills my lungs get really tight and I cant breathe. So it was awesome. I thought I was gonna die. Anyway, turns out there is a cool looking lake at the top and so we explore al ittle. Well on the way down we get smart and realize there is a path about 500 feet to the right of where this picture is taken...Much easier than the path we took up!

 

This is the Rhine House at the Beringer Vineyards. This place was gorgeous and we just went there for a tasting b/c all their tours were done for the day.

 

This is on the way up to Castello di Amorosa. "The Castle" as people call it, I guess, was built by a man who has another winery in Napa. It cost him $39 million dollars and he solely funded it. It was built with old bricks and stones from Italy that were once old castles. It was really cool, and they had really good wine. We bought three bottles from there!

 

On our way back to the hotel we decided to check out the California version of "Old Faithful". It was in this cheesy little park and it costs 10 bucks to get in. They had it so you couldn't even take it seriously. They had a petting zoo and everything. But the geyser did go off every 10-15 minutes so we got to see it a couple times... 

Saturday night we went to dinner in Napa at Coles Chop House. It was amazing. This was Don's birthday dinner...

 

Sunday we took the Platypus Tour bus to four different wineries. Platypus is an awesome thing to do b/c you don't have to drive to any of these wineries and you can get wasted :) None of the wineries we went to this day sell outside of the winery, so you can not get them in stores. The first one was Tudal...the guy who did this tasting was really cool and he gave us a lot to drink :) We didn't buy anything from them, but their wines were yummy!

 

Next was Rutherford Grove...this place was really cool, and we had lunch by the fireplace since it was cold and rainy outside. We bought a bottle of Merlot from here. I have never liked Red wines but I found a few I liked on this trip...looks like I am growing up in my old age :) 

Next was Honig.This place was pretty cool. The guy who did our tasting couldn't stop talking about Minnesota. I guess his sister lives here and he really likes it... We bought a bottle from here but I don't remember what it was :)

 

Next was the place that is on this banner. I don't remember the name..and cant pronounce it either. This place I was pretty much over all the wines. Everything started tasting the same. But it had an awesome view which I was infatuated with! We bought a bottle here too...Don't ask me what it was though.

So that is about it! If you made it this far in the post, kudos! I went a ltitle overboard with the pictures and commentary. But I wanted to get it all up in one post, otherwise I would probably put it off and never do it.
Hope you enjoyed! :)