Where do I begin? For starters, I'll apologize for the radio silence last week, but I went on a fabulous trip for my birthday and just didn't have time to check in. If you've been a reader for a while, you know I have a thing for birthdays. You can check out my past celebrations here, here, here and here. I told you I like birthdays.
I knew I wanted to do something fun for the last celebration of my 30s, so a trip to Napa sounded like the perfect idea. I packed up with my forever friend Stacey and headed to the West Coast.
Needless to say, after the long flight we headed straight for food and then wine, what else? I fell in love with the laid back vibe at Cline Cellars in Sonoma, where we were staying. In addition to FREE wine tastings, they had great spaces to lounge around and chit chat over a bottle.
I'll admit that on vacation I usually don't go for the expensive lodging options. Maybe it's all of those hotel points I've acquired at the day job, but I have to say I may be singing a new tune. The Inn at Sonoma was perfection. It was small, quaint and the staff was fantastic.
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| Inn at Sonoma |
There was even a opportunity to capture a little design inspiration. Hello floral sofa!
On day two we hit the ground running, or should I say rolling...
I hadn't been on a bike in years, and it showed. It took me a little while to get back in the groove, but this may have been my favorite activity of the entire trip. Maybe it was the cool morning air, or the nostalgia of bike riding with my childhood friend, but I had the best time. We rode around the most precious neighborhood, stopping to snap pics of our favorites. This was one of mine...
After the bike ride, we packed up for a day trip to Big Sur. Yep, Big Sur and Carmel. That was about four hours of stop and go traffic, but it was totally worth it to get to this view.
We had lunch at the restaurant where my cousin was married and soaked it all in before heading further up the mountain to capture the picturesque landscape.
We stumbled upon the Andrew Molera State Park and decided to walk down to the shoreline. Unfortunately for us, we had no idea it would be a mile long trek.
Thankfully, it was totally worth it when we finally got to this...
The next day, Monday, was my actual birthday and we started with brunch and bottomless mimosas at the legendary Villagio Inn and Spa.
Spa services were up next and I'm a new fan of a body scrub and steam shower before a full body massage. Ahhh....
After a quick bite to eat at R & D, we headed to our wine tour appointment. We made our way on a death defying ride UP the mountain to this amazing mid-century modern designed winery.
Tucked away literally in the mountain side, this place was too amazing to capture.
The tour was great, but the wine was even better. Let's just say I may have brought a little piece of Chappellet home with me. ; )
Later, we enjoyed an amazing dinner at The Girl and The Fig back in Sonoma to cap off my big day.
And on the way back to the hotel I realized that we were staying across from THE original Williams-Sonoma. How cool is that?
The next day, I said goodbye to the BFF and headed to Sacramento for some time with my family. There's nothing like being with your people. It also doesn't hurt when you arrive to a welcome like this one...
I had a fabulous time catching up with my cousin Tanya and her family. It was the perfect way to end a truly epic trip.
So today I'm home and it's back to reality, but I'm so fortunate to have had the time and the means to take some time to replenish and celebrate another wonderful year of life.
I can't wait to see what's God has in store for me next. Stay tuned, I've got a feeling it's gonna be good.
