San Francisco 2006

So I think this would be a good way to capture my trip. Certainly a good way to look back on it when I am planning the next one..

Well I got into San Fran mid day Friday which was perfect timing. I had plenty of time to get settled and still have time in my day to explore. This time around I stayed at the Orchard Hotel on Bush street which was a great location around downtown for a base to hop around from. I was right down Powell Street from the trolley and tons of shopping and people watching. Sanraku was a surprisingly good sushi find in the city for lunch after a long flight. After resting up and getting a warm up beer in me that night I headed to Delfina for dinner and it rocked! Great wine and great lamb! I gotta find out more about Page wines. I was totally surprised to find out that Sue was back in the Bay Area again and not in NY. We were able to catch up after dinner over a couple drinks which was nice since we had not spoken in months.

Saturday there was a minor disaster averted. I forgot the battery for my camera.....yeah camera no battery....makes a lot of sense. So I spent the morning tracking down a replacement and charger. Unfortunately I have no pictures of Sausalito or my drive up through Muir woods because the battery was not charged. However, I do have the memories and that is what counts I suppose. I don't know if you could really capture the beauty of the cliffs and sea shore on that drive, it was simply amazing. I think I could drive those mountain roads listening to good tunes for hours on end. Sausalito is a must see next time I go as well especially if it is a nice day.

The concert that night was really top notch and my seats could not be better. I was 5th row left, right up front. Dave and the band played for a solid 3 hours and although I did not get Dreaming Tree, they did play Grace is Gone, Digging a Ditch and Granny. Solid set list all in all.



Sunday I was able to meet up with Jodi and her spankin' new daughter Leila. We went down to the farmer's market at the Ferry Building and caught up over lunch. The view of the bay and Bay Bridge going over to Oakland is amazing and it was a beautiful day. From there she dropped me off at the Marina area to kill some time before meeting with Tamara and her family.


The Golden Gate Bridge was only a couple miles away so I took off on a walk up to the bridge and out on the span. I always feel like such a kid up there, the bridge is just amazing and the view is second to none. Before heading to Napa that night I was able to meet Tamara and her family for dinner and catch up with them. The boys have grown a ton in the last year or so and it was good to see all of them doing well.


The next couple days in Napa were a good combo of familiar and new. The first day set the tone for the rest of my time there, very low key and relaxed. I really did not want to be rushed from vineyard to vineyard so I only went by Salvestrin (Rettagio), Terra Valentine (Cab and Viognier) and Barnett (Merlot). Of course a trip to Napa would not be complete without a stop at Taylor's Automatic Refresher....its all about the blue bacon ring medium rare! Dinner that first night was at Market in St. Helena. Day two started with a long drive and good tunes all the way north of Calistoga. Bob Schneider's new CD The Californian seemed to be my soundtrack for this trip everywhere I went. On the way back I had lunch at Mustards and got down to the business of wine. Although I usually don't care for Zins, I stopped at Chase and was really impressed with their 2002 Zin. From there the day took a bit of a strange detour as I was "kidnapped" by this group of women touring Napa in a 1947 Packard. I usually would have declined but what the hell, it turned out to be fun. We headed to Fleury which I didn't know a thing about but I am glad that I went. They have a pinot that is stellar. Wrapping up the trip was dinner at the Martini House which is always stand out. Can't go wrong there.

Over all this was a much needed get away and the pace was perfect because I didn't have much of an agenda. Can't wait to get back soon but hopefully I will be able to share it the next go round. I really need to spend more time in San Fran next time to get to know the city more. Also taking a day to drive north west to Healdsburg or another area would be a cool diversion. So what's next? I'm thinking Argentina..........