It's just the right amount of pretentious.

Saturday, April 18^th, 2015.

Napa, CA / Los Angeles, CA

Its 9am, we are slowly waking and seeing our hotel room in the harsh light of day. I was in charge of booking this hotel room and was aiming for maximum proximity to downtown with minimum cost. In a word, our hotel is Old. It’s 1970s-old. As we pack up and get ready for the day, we discuss whether with our room is charming or disgusting, a debate that will remain unresolved.

Once we are packed up and checked out we decide to have brunch at Grace’s Table. I order the quiche and soup and also split the iron skillet cornbread with Laura. Everything is wonderful, including the coffee. After breakfast, we decide to do a quick lap around downtown Napa. We stop at an olive oil company, where I pick up a few gifts for my co-workers. Next we go to an open market, which is just the right amount of pretentious, and we end our walking tour with a quick stop at the river walk.

Before we know it, its time to head to San Francisco for Laura and Sarah’s flight back to AUS. The drive back to San Francisco is quiet, we are all contemplating this awesome vacation. When we arrive, we have enough time for one more tourist stop; we choose the painted ladies, which are the famous houses shown in the opening sequence of Full House. Since there is no parking, we make a few blocks, driving past them slowly. 

OK, now its time to get to the airport. Eventually I drop off Laura and Sarah at SFO. Now it’s time for me to drive back to LA. There are multiple routes to choose from, so I pick the one that goes through Gilroy (also known as, the garlic capital of the world). I love stopping at fruit stands and this route does not disappoint! Eventually I re-enter Los Angeles county with a large bag of garlic, 2 kinds of salsa, a crate of strawberries, and 4 large avocados. When I arrive home it takes me four trips to carry all of my wine, food and bags into the house.

Whew, I am back. What an awesome trip!