10 Amazing Years!

This blog is about 2 months later than I had originally planned – and if I wait any longer, we’ll be celebrating our 11th!  Just thought I’d FINALLY share the wonderful weekend that Wayne and I had, celebrating 10 years of marriage.

Thank you to Mom and Dad P. for staying with the kids for 2 WHOLE DAYS!  Wow, what a treat.  Heck, I would have been happy at the local Super 8 just to have 2 free days…. but of course, we were celebrating a big milestone and decided to truly make it memorable   How fortunate are we that we live in such a wonderful part of the world, so close to our pick of wonderful destinations?!  One of our favorite places to be happens to be about an hour away – Napa Valley.  Wine country in our backyard.  I have to say we are truly blessed.

Grandma and Papa arrived early on Saturday morning so we could get on the road and catch the train – the Napa Valley Wine Train, that is!  Totally worth it.  The weekend weather was not starting out great, and I have to say, although it was a little drizzly, the train ride was truly a perfect way to spend lunch.  You’re encouraged to arrive by 10:30 for a brief wine tasting seminar before boarding the train.  A very entertaining educator walked us through tasting one white and one red.  I honestly don’t remember what we tasted (hey, it was over 2 months ago!), but do remember that they were rather decent   At about 11:00am, they began boarding the train.  Being our anniversary, we took the plunge when we made the reservations, and opted for the Vista Dome Lunch Package - which included a gourmet 4-course meal, seating in the exclusive and private vista dome, and a glass of bubbly when you board.  Gerald, our waiter, guided us through the wine list and accompanying menu.  We ended up switching wines we ordered (I liked the Cab better than the Zin).  We both chose to start with the Flourless Yam Ravioli.  Interesting.  Wayne followed with the Red and Green Apple Endive Salad (o.k.) and I had the Portabello Mushroom Soup (highlight!).  Next was the Grilled and Roasted Beef Tenderloin, Wayne’s amazing lunch entree, and my Swordfish (not so amazing, but was fine because the soup totally rocked!).  Before we dug into dessert, we were invited to tour the rest of the train.  By the way, the whole time this meal is being served, we were treated to a slow roll north, 36 miles round-trip, up to St. Helena and back to downtown Napa.  Sitting in the dome car was quite a treat – we were able to see everything!  I would totally recommend that experience to anyone.  Walking on a moving train – not so easy!  Lots of railings, and very happy I wasn’t wearing heals!  The kitchens were all open, so as we walked through the other cars, we were able to see the chefs hard at work.  We headed to the last train, where there was a full tasting bar open.  Our friendly wine educator from the train station was there to greet us.  Wayne and I split 4 tastings – and they way they pour tastings, it was like drinking half a bottle, so that was just fine with me!  Had some fun conversations with other passengers, then made our way back to the dome car (a bit tipsier), to have a little dessert.  Fruit cobbler for Wayne and a s’more pie for me.  The train ride was perfect.  I was sad that the ride was over, but when I realized it was only 2:30pm on Saturday and we weren’t expected home until Monday afternoon – happiness returned!

After tooling around in the giftshop for a bit – mostly to allow the buzz from all the wine and champagn wear off – we headed into town to find out inn.  Remembering a trip our friends Brian and Susan took a few years ago, I booked a room in The Inn on First.  Wow!  Jamie and Jim were amazing hosts and have such a wonderful inn!  Again, being our 10th anniversary, we splurged and booked the Meritage room.  So very elegant.  Everything was truly perfect.  Since we had such a large lunch, we decided to hop over to the grocery store and just pick up some cheese and bread.

Breakfast the next morning was amazing.  Jim is the chef, and is truly gifted.  Homemade donuts, homemade granola, and an amazing egg dish (wish I remembered the name, but the fact that Wayne ate almost the whole thing, says a lot! – he doesn’t particularly like eggs!).  Jamie sat down with us and the other guests individually to find out our tastes and what we hoped to do for the day.  Based on our answers, he made some very wise suggestions for wineries, including making reservations for a tasting at a wonderful family-owned winery on the other side of Callistoga – Vincent Arroyo.  What a wonderful place!  We were met and guided individually through close to 16 wines – and I’m not talking sips…. these tastes were BIG.  And kept coming!  We met Vincent himself, friendly yet very quiet, and then had a private tour of the winery and barrel room.  Definitely a treat.  In addition to wines, Vincent Arroyo also produces their own olive oil and balsalmic - the latter being the most amazingly deliscious and sweet vinegar I’ve ever had!  We will most definitely visit again.  After that, we headed down the road less than a mile to one of the few female-owned wineries in the region – Zahtila Vineyards.  Wayne enjoyed tasting and chatting with Laura herself!  One of his favorites, a dessert wine, found its way into our car.  We’ll be opening that one up for Thanksgiving for sure!

We failed to make reservations for dinner ahead of time, and found we couldn’t get into the place we really wanted – Cindy Pawlcyn’s Mustard’s Grill.  So, we settled for lunch at one of her other 2 restaurants in the area, Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen.  This was hardly settling!  The wait was almost an hour, but we put our name in and walked around St. Helena for a while.  Wow, what a treat again!  Wayne had the meatloaf and I enjoyed an amazing burger.  No wine – we were still a little lightheaded from all the tastes at Arroyo!  We headed back to Napa after lunch, but instead of taking the ‘main’ highway (Highway 12), we hopped over to the Silverado Trail, which runs parallel to Highway 12.  Of course, I really shouldn’t be giving away this secret, but honestly, if you are ever traveling up and down from Napa to St. Helena to Callistoga, the Silverado Trail is the ONLY way to go.  No traffic at all, easy access, and amazing views.  I’ll guess that it added a few miles to our trip, but probably shortened it by at least 15 mins. time!

After a late lunch, we decided on a late dinner – and headed into downtown Napa to see what was there.  Napa has been trying to revitalize and reinvent itself for a few years now.  Just in the past 4 years we have seen stores and restaurants open and then close.  A lot of storefronts are vacant, while others are just starting out.  I’m hoping this means it’s on a better upward trend.  We settled on Zinsvalley for a light, late meal.  I don’t remember both dishes, but believe we had Some Kind of Spring Roll (actual title of the dish), and a Mediterranean Pizza to split.  All very yummy!

Monday morning.  Can’t believe our trip was coming to an end.  Another scrumptious breakfast by Jim.  Also found out that Jim has close to 100 breakfast menus up his sleeve!  He vows never to serve any guest the same breakfast twice.  Upon checking out, they take a photo of the happy couple to store in their vast database.  When you book with them again, he will make sure you are served another round of unique and delicious meals!  After checking out, and purchasing Jim’s cookbook, we headed out to check out the Oxbo Public Market.  For those in the San Francisco area, it’s akin to what can be found in the Ferry Building – and for those in the Boston area – think Quincy Market, on a much smaller scale.

We had an amazing weekend – to celebrate an amazing 10 years of marital bliss!  Thank you to all our friends and family for all the love and support you show us, and many thanks to Mom and Dad P. for allowing us the opportunity to enjoy some wonderful US time!

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