I've honest been overwhelmed over the last few weeks and months. It started our peacefully with a trip to my grandma's house and lunch at
Pietro's in
Lodi. Then it all changed with the fires in Napa and Sonoma County. I went to sleep on a windy night and awoke to smoke filled skies. I worked 18 hours most days, 23 hours on one day, but it was an honor to work for a hotel that did so much to help the community that we call home. It was an amazing experience to be able to
serve our community and provide them a little slice of peace during an extremely difficult time.
There were also wine tasting adventures and a birthday celebration that kept on going. It started with a quick trip to Orange County for meetings, then a locals tasting at
Freemark Abbey, with quick stops at both
Beringer and
V. Sattui just to look around. A FAM Tour with Hotels.com, we tasted at
Trinitas, ran through Carneros
and enjoyed an intimate dinner for 5 in our Estate Cave. The
Napa Valley Film Festival provided an excellent weekend of entertainment and libations, followed by a birthday trip on the
Napa Valley Wine Train with stops at
St. Supery, Beringer and
Raymond. Next up I was off to cooking school with co-workers as we prepared our own dinner at
Silverado Cooking School.
Then there was a "surprise" office birthday celebration and potluck ... the cake and all the dishes prepared with very tasty. I had a few friends come to town for a weekend of wine tasting as we explored parts of the
Napa Valley that I hadn't been to before ...
Kuleto,
Rombauer,
Robert Sinskey and a sunset tasting at
Davis Estate. With stops the next day at
Chandon and the
Fremont Diner.
Visit California provided perhaps the best last minute invite of the month, asking if I would join them for the
Grateful Table event, happening on the Napa-Sonoma county line and supporting fire relief efforts. The table was set for 500, the wine, the food and the beautiful scenery did not disappoint.
Next up, I headed up to the mountains to celebrate Thanksgiving at the Bradley Lodge. I brought the wine, my mom and grandma did the cooking and it was a great weekend away. The unseasonably warm weather did have a benefit ... I could run and found my way to the North Grove Trail at
Big Trees State Park where I saw the
Pioneer Cabin Tree that had fallen last winter for the first time. Back in Napa I decorated my house for Christmas, before heading back to Sacramento for wine tastings at
Bogle,
Oak Farm Vineyards and
Jeremy Wine Co, a
Lincoln Brewster concert and beautiful morning runs along the Sacramento River. We also headed to
Old Sacramento to see the
Theater of Lights and had dinner at
Ten 22.
I finished up the whirlwind with a tour of our new construction project, a yoga photo shoot, a sip and paint experience (and photo shoot), a party at our spa for the community, a
hot air balloon trip high above the Napa Valley, two holiday parties for work (including one at the new
Archer), a dinner at
Charlie Palmer Steakhouse, a cocktail class featuring
Hennessy, a night run through
downtown Napa to see the
Napa Lighted Art Festival, and a lunch at
Castello di Amorosa.
There are many more adventures to be had, I'm looking forward to finishing up 2017 and starting 2018 soon.
See all the pictures here.
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