Day # 31 - Napa Valley, CA

Today was a lower key day than yesterday. I would have liked to go back into San Francisco today, but it was apparent early this morning that everyone was pretty tired. We have traveled a long way and are far from home, and while there are still a couple of things I want to take the kids to see, I figured a slower paced day would be nice.

When we were planning this trip, Missy and I wanted to spend a day in Wine country while we were here. It was one of the many things we considered and discounted due to time. If we had included time for everything we wanted to do on this trip, we might never make it back home. But for whatever reason the wine country visit was one of the things she “held on to”. So I figured if we don’t want to deal with traffic, ferries, taxis and parking today, maybe we could drive over to a couple wineries.

So after a late breakfast, we piled in the car. We were low on food and staple supplies so a trip to the local Wal-Mart was needed. After that we found the address for V. Sattui (http://www.vsattui.com/) Winery in Napa Valley and put it into the GPS. The V. Sattui Winery is a favorite of Missy’s and mine. 10 years ago when we were last out here we fell in love with a mildly sweet blush wine they make called “Gamay Rouge”. Regrettably it is not available east of the Rocky Mountains unless you order it direct and have it shipped. In addition to having a nice tasting room where they pour generous samples, they have a very nice deli with all kinds of high quality meats, cheeses, breads, crackers, fruit as well as a nice sandwich bar.

So on the drive over I had “the talk” with the kids. “No running, no yelling, no screaming, no begging me for money for whatever “thing” they couldn’t live without. Any deviation from these instructions will result in swift punishment”. I got agreement from all 3 kids (AJ doesn’t know what he is agreeing to yet…he just says “yes daddy” because that is what his sisters are saying) so I figure that will buy me about 15 minutes of good behavior.

When we arrived, it was busier than I expected for a Monday. But we only had to wait for a few minutes for a place to open up at the tasting bar. Sarah was interested in why we were getting free wine and why adults seemed to like the stuff. She was grossed out by the “spittoons” on the bar for people who don’t want to swallow the wine. Abby asked the normal questions about the different color wines. AJ just wanted to drink from the water bottle we brought with us so he could be drinking something like Mommy and Daddy are. We tried the Gamay Rouge first and decided we liked it just as well as last time. I didn’t care for the Family Red even though Missy thought it was okay. I liked the Riesling and really liked the White Zinfandel. We agreed to buy a case because the young woman serving us offered to let us mix and match the bottles. Anyone reading this who is a serious wine connoisseur will see that our tastes in wine are pretty basic. And I admit freely that I would prefer a scotch & soda to a glass of wine most days. Still, last time out here we wished we had taken several bottles home with us…so what the heck.

By this time, Abby and AJ we getting restless so we went over to the deli and bought some cheese, dry salami, crackers and homemade cookies for a snack and headed out to the picnic grove. The kids ate their cookies and a few crackers and Missy and I had the cheese and salami on the fresh baked crackers. The sun was out and it was a cool 72 degrees. We refrained from opening one of our bottles of wine since we had the kids with us and had to drive back to the campground. But it was still a relaxing way to spend some time. The kids were very well behaved most of the time. Sarah reminded Abby twice that they were not supposed to run around and that she didn’t want to get in trouble. When she wants to, she can set a very good example for her siblings. I told her how proud I was of her on the way back to the car.

Since we had lingered in the picnic grove for a while (and because I didn’t want to risk having to take back the positive praise I just gave my oldest daughter) we decided not to stop at another winery. So we just enjoyed a relaxing drive through Napa. Well, at least I did. Missy and AJ fell asleep shortly after leaving V Sattui. Sarah played her DS and nodded in and out. Abby on the other, had fought sleep the whole way back to the camper but did it quietly. She knew she was disobeying my instructions to close her eyes and sleep. I don’t think she wanted to push her luck by being loud and keeping her brother awake also. Abby is old enough to give up an afternoon nap, but she is so much more pleasant when she takes one. But with Sarah not napping Abby has developed an attitude about her having to nap. Missy and I are trying to be patient with her, but some days it is a struggle. I told her today that I wanted her to nap on the way home so we could have time to go swimming once we got back to the camper and got done with dinner. When she refused, I had a decision to make. I decided to hold my ground today and when we got back I told her she would not be able to swim because she did not nap. That caused the expected amount of crying and stomping feet. But then she made a compromise. Since AJ had gone back to sleep in his bed after we got him out of the car could she sleep now and wake up when he did. She is clever enough not to finish that statement with “…and then can I go swimming?” She just lets is hang there in the air…unsaid. Smart kid.

So Abby slept while Missy did some laundry. I stayed at the camper with the kids and did what every father should do when two of his kids are sleeping and the other is playing quietly outside…I took a nap also.

After all the kids (and Daddy) were awake we walked down to the laundry facility here at the campground. It is right next to the campground arcade that had some good games inside. We played a couple of games and then all went back to make dinner. I grilled some pork chops for dinner and then we all put on our swim suits. It was getting a little cool outside as the sun had begun to get low in the sky and I was glad that the pool here is heated. The water was just warm enough. And there were lots of pool toys for the kids to play with. But by the time we got out, it had gotten cold. Missy had brought cover-ups for the kids, but she and I just had to freeze on the walk back to the camper.

After warming up and getting on our PJ’s it was time for bed. Tomorrow is a big day because we are going back into San Francisco to go to the science museum called “The Exploratorium”. It is supposed to be one of the best in the world.