NAPA!!

Napa, ahhh, Napa. It truly is heaven. It was possibly the most relaxing place I have ever been. I loved it so incredibly much I cannot wait to go back.

We splurged on the hotel and stayed at the Carneros Inn. It is located in the Carneros region which is the southern most region in Napa Valley. It is between old town Napa and Sonoma.

This was the main courtyard of the hotel. Farm was the nice restaurant which we ate at on Saturday night.

 And, this was our little cottage, Cabral 2. All the rooms are their own individual houses. So cute!

 We had our own little courtyard with an outdoor shower.

 The hotel knew it was our anniversary and gave us complimentary cheese and wine when we arrived. There are two things that are abundant and free flowing at the Carneros Inn - wine and bottled water. They offer you a glass of wine and chocolate when you check in and there were bottles of water everywhere...perfect for me!

After we got checked in and settled around Noon, we headed to our first and only winery of the day, Del Dotto in downtown Napa. Del Dotto is known to be a little more of a party with about 10 tastings during the cave tour. We got to taste the same wine from two different barrels - American oak and French oak. We both liked the American Oak barrels best. We bought three bottles of wine here. Mom and Dad, this is where your bottle is coming from!

Afterwards we wanted to head back to our amazing hotel and just hang out. So, we got a glass of Plumpjack Cade Sauvignon Blanc (which is the winery our hotel is owned by) and went out by the pool.

This was our view.

We met a nice couple who was doing the same thing and she offered to take some pictures of us.

Allen Christmas Card 2012 is below! Blake is right, I just don't feel right until we have our Christmas card pic. Glad we got it so now I can relax! :) This night we went to dinner in downtown Sonoma at Cafe La Haye. The town square is really cute and dinner was great. The restaurant was small, probably only 15 tables. Not sure why we didn't take any pictures.

The next morning we woke up early and were picked up at the hotel at 6:00 a.m. for our hot air balloon ride. Riding in a hot air balloon was on my bucket list, and where else is a better place to do one than in the California wine country?!

Our balloon, Big Blew.  

 Up in the air! A few things to note.

1. You think it is going to be cold up high - wrong. It was about 15 degrees warmer up in the air than on the ground.
2. It is not bumpy at all, but rather really smooth.
3. It is extremely peaceful and serene.
4. When the pilot lights the engine thing every so often really hot air bounces back down on you.
5. Be prepared to share a 3' by 4' box with two other people you do not know! There were 17 people total on our hot air balloon alone.

Amazing views.

 It is weird that I LOVE heights? They do not scare me one bit, and instead I enjoy them. Dad, we thought of you up there! :) My dad is petrified of heights/ledges.

The balloon company took us to the Domaine Chandon vineyard afterwards for a champagne breakfast. The winery was pretty, but looked a little stuck in the 70s.

We had a driver come pick us up from our hotel to drive our rental car for the afternoon. He said that there are so many DUI checkpoints and a ridiculous amount of alcohol related accidents there so we were so glad we booked him. We used the company Designated Drviers Napa and Sonoma and were very happy.

The first stop of the day was our favorite, Silver Oak. We did the tour and you get tastings all throughout. I have heard that just going for a tasting isn't that exciting, so if you go make sure to do the tour.

Beautiful views.

Haha - prices have gone up a bit in the last 40 years.

Lucky for us, it was harvest season so we got to see everything in action!

 Blake asking Deke, our 87 year old tour guide, a million questions. :)

We actually got to try some of the grapes that go into processing. They were really good!

When we were about to leave we spotted this!! TCU had an alumni event at Silver Oak and had these made. How cool is that?!

Our second winery of the day was Robert Sinskey. After Silver Oak we told our driver what kinds of wine we liked and told him we wanted to go to some boutique wineries. This winery was cool because they give you a small plate of food with your tastings because they say that food completely changes the taste of wine. It was fun to experiment with the different food and wine pairings.

Our third and final winery was Kelham Vineyards in the Oakville region. This is a smaller family owned vineyard. We met and talked with the three owners. Their grounds were beautiful and the wine was SO good!

Overall, we came home with 7 bottles of wine. We fit four in our suitcases and are having three shipped in November when the temperatures cool down a bit.

The last morning. :( So sad to go, and taking in the beautiful weather and landscape one more time on our front porch.

What an absolute WONDERFUL anniversary trip. I think that this trip will be a favorite memory looking back years from now. B, when can we go back?!?!?  I think I am still on cloud nine from how awesome it was.