A Birthday Weekend in Sonoma

Ed and I headed up for a very short weekend getaway to celebrate my 26th birthday (when did I get so "old"?). We had been gifted a nice away, with dinner, from my parents for our anniversary burning a whole in our pockets, so off we went 2 hours north to Sonoma. 

Our first stop was for lunch at The Hot Box Grill, 

a newer eaterie in Sonoma that seems known for tasty food, 

and, in particular their fries made in duck fat. 

The verdict? Very tasty food (my burger in particular was phenomenal), though the fries didn't taste particularly different than normal fries. 

We were both amused/concerned about the mama hen and baby chicks that were hanging out in the parking lot. It sounded like the coop was over the fence, and we weren't quite sure how they would get back. But, nothing we could do, and they seemed to be staying out of the way, so off we went. 

We decided to head straight from lunch to a winery, because really, that's a main reason we had for visiting Sonoma. 

So, we headed north to the Kenwood Winery.

Neither of us had ever visited wine country during the fall, and were very excited to see all the grapes heavy on the vines. 

While the winery looked great, we were not super impressed with the wines themselves. 

Still, it was very fun, and we did enjoy the sparkling wines.

There just happened to be a deal for the sparkling rose - $10 for the first bottle, $0.50 for the second. So, we bought 4 bottles for $20 and were refunded $5 because buying 3 or more bottles meant one of the tasting fees was refunded.

Next, we headed to our lodging for the evening, "An Inn to Remember". It was just as lovely as all the reviews touted.

We were led to the back of the complex, past the hot tub,

down the garden path,

past the other rooms,

to our almost private back garden, where our room awaited (the red door on the left).

The inside of our room was every bit as beautiful as we could have hoped, and looked perfect for relaxation. 

We immediately laid on the bed, broke out some books, and enjoyed the view our our french doors.