Touring Napa and Sonoma

As virtually all of you know, one of my clients is The Meritage Resort and Spa. My trip to Napa this week had a little something extra, I got to try new things. First, instead of my "normal" room with a balcony and/or room with a view of the vineyards I was able to try a "The Room With No View." It's a reduced rate room (sometimes as low as $99), it has all the same amenities of a normal room, except the window doesn't look out onto anything too exciting. Perfect for me, since I'm rarely in the room and if I am, I'm looking at my laptop, the TV or sleeping.

For dinner I actually didn't go to Siena, I headed to Oxbow Public Market (Napa's version of San Francisco's Ferry Building). I ate had two great tacos at C Casa, before heading to Three Twins Ice Cream for dessert. There are definitely some other places I want to try.

I also got to head out with a few new members of the sales team to take a look at what some of the other Napa Valley properties offered. We started out at the Westin Versa Napa. It was pretty, had some contemporary lines and looked nice. We didn't get to see it all, but it looked like everyone was enjoying themselves, so that was good.  Next, we went to the Napa Valley Marriott. The sales  team there greeted us with open arms and showed us everything from the restaurant to an on-site Starbucks to meeting rooms and guest suites. It all looked great on the inside, the exterior needs some work though (the inside was just remodeled, the outside still looks like it did when it was built). Our final visit was to the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn. Although older (I think they said it was built in 1929), it has some beautiful details. The lobby was warm and inviting, the pool had tons of lounge chairs, the rooms had some cool features, the plants were all mature and the hotel had a room that featured all of the table decor, plates, silverware and glassware for events. Some of the rooms were pretty small (think San Francisco small), but if you could afford them the suites were amazing (we saw one with a jacuzzi that was half in the bathroom and half in the bedroom, perfect for honeymoons). The spa was also huge and gorgeous, not sure if it's as cool as Spa Terra (not much can beat being underground), but it was nice. All things considered I still love The Meritage and cannot wait for the expansion to be completed in Spring 2012.

Monte Carlo Night

I had a great time hanging out with my parent's and seeing some friend's from junior high at the 30th Annual Monte Carlo Night held by the Sacramento Chapter of the Active 20-30 Club. The event was hosted at the California Auto Museum so it was great to see old vintage cars and get a private tour led by a friend, who is a volunteer docent at the museum. After the tour I "gambled" the night away at the Black Jack table ... I ended up with $18,300 in chips. The dealer was being overly generous, but it still made me feel pretty good. I cashed in my winnings for 183 raffle tickets. Although I didn't win any prizes, the night was fun, I want to go back and see the cars again and hopefully attend more of the organizations events in the future. Their next event is Octoberfest on October 1 at Fairytale Town. Although I'll be out of town, it looks like a great event and it's just $30. All proceeds for both events go to support children's charities.
*I won tickets via a Sacramento365.com giveaway on Facebook

Week of Waiting

Photo Credit | BaysidePictures.com

In the wake of what happened 10 years ago on September 11, 2001, Bayside decided to take a week and wait on God. All regular events at the church were cancelled and daily events were organized to help everyone reflect, remember and react to what God was saying to them. It started Sunday night with a time of reflection and communion. On Monday morning hundreds gathered at the Bayside crosses to pray. On Tuesday the women gathered. On Wednesday the church came together again to worship, forgive, pray and take communion. On Thursday it was the men who got together for worship led by Lincoln Brewster and got to hear an amazing testimony from Andrew Palau, son of Luis Palau. On Friday the week of waiting wrapped up with more than 250 people getting baptized, worship and an awe-inspiring performance by David Garabaldi who painted a 14-foot tall portrait of Jesus in just seven minutes.

Week Of Waiting Re-Cap from Bayside Church on Vimeo.

A Day We Will Never Forget

 We know where we were on that day in September 2001. We remember our collective shock. I remember being woken up by my mom. September 11, 2001, was a week before I was supposed to start college. From the time I woke up that day I was glued to the TV, I had no idea what was happening. I had no idea how I could help. We put out our flags, we came together as a county.

This year, I will be praying for everyone who was impacted by 9|11, I will remember the victims. I will remember the heroes. I will remember the strength of our unified country. I will remember the freedoms that so many have died for.

For those needing a place to pray or who want to be with others, Bayside Church will have a prayer room open 24 hours a day this week and prayer events every day through Friday during the Week of Waiting on God.

Camp Bradley 2011

Although we've done it at least four or five times before, this was the third annual family camping trip to "Camp Bradley," located in the Greenhaven-Pocket Area of Sacramento. With 28 people arriving on Saturday we had a full camp, even with the five that just had day passes. We set up all of the tents in the backyard, swam in the warm waters of Lake Bradley, played with the new bean bag toss game and hung out with the entire family, including the four kids under four, plus a set of twins that came to visit for a little while.

Over the course of the weekend we enjoyed tracking our beverage selections with the "Beer Tally" and "Wine Tally" (wine bottles, not glasses), had mouth-watering camp favorites for each main dish and many yummy snacks, including s'mores and other goodies provided by one of my friends. Each helped ensure that we did not go hungry.


On Sunday a group of us headed to Gold Rush Days in Old Sacramento to explore the California Railroad Museum and see how life was in the mid-1800s, including a demonstration of the Pony Express. Perhaps next year we will head underground too.

To finish off the year we watched a slide show of previous years camping escapades. Click for the Camp Bradley 2009 and 2010 posts.