Sonoma

After relaxing in our room for a few hours, we left the inn to take the two minute walk downtown to buy a champagne stopper so that we could enjoy our new body of bubbly without having to drink the whole thing (not that we couldn't have drunk a whole bottle, but after wine tasting, and with plans to have wine with dinner, we figured we should be conservative). 

We bought a very nice stopper and then hurried back to have appetizers, which were laid out under a gazebo. With our delicious sparkling rose, we ate some fresh fruit and a very fabulous cheesy artichoke dip that we loved. 

We rested a bit more after snacks and then got ready for dinner. Before we left, Ed gave me my present, two perfect diamond studs that I have not taken off since I got them that night. 

We then headed the 200 or so feet to our dinner place (have I mentioned I loved the location of our inn?) "The Girl and the Fig."

We got there a few minutes late, but were seated right away at a nice table outside. The evening was perfect for outdoor dining, not too cold, and just lovely. We didn't even know there was outdoor seating, but it was quite expansive. 

Upon sitting, Ed ordered a "fig kiss" - a very yummy fig cocktail. I tried to order us a bottle of white with dinner (since I love white wine). Unfortunately (fortunately?) the waitress stopped us, as both our dishes were decidedly "red wine" meals. So, I had a glass of white as my pre-dinner drink, and it was lovely. 

Ed wore his brand new grey suit, which looked spectacular. 

We started by sharing a fig and arugular salad, with goat cheese, that was delicious. 

For dinner, I had roasted game hen and a ratatouille of vegetables. This was fabulous! I was especially impressed with the very yummy veggies. 

Ed was equally thrilled with his duck legs, on a bed of quinoa (I think). Also quite lovely. 

With it, we shared a delicious bottle of red. 

Our table neighbors offered to take our picture, so we took them up on it. Always fun to have a couple picture when we are not wearing running clothes :). 

After dinner, we went with the cheese plate, as a planned precurser to dinner. It was delicious, and very filling. So much so, that we couldn't even have dessert! (Ed argues that the cheese was the dessert, but I think real dessert needs to have a bit more sugar :) ). 

With very fully stomaches, we decided to walk around Sonoma Square after dinner, in the beautiful early fall air, enjoying reflecting on our lovely day. 

The next morning, we woke up earlier than expected, so Ed walked down tot he coffee shop at the end of the block and picked up some coffee and tea for us to enjoy. 

About an hour later, it was officially time for breakfast, so we headed to the main house and got to meet the other inn guests. There was a large group from Detroit, and another couple as well. We started with a tropical fruit parfait (very tasty, though I'm not a tropical fruit person as much). 

Then, we had the very spectacular banana's foster french toast, which was pretty darn spectacular. 

After breakfast, we headed out to get some exercise at the Jack London Park. We went out for a 3ish mile run/hike (very humid + very full = a very low key run). 

It was just beautiful. 

We headed up to the "pond" (dried up lake) where Jack London and co. used to come to swim. 

Then we kept going to get to this very nice view. 

Luckily, this was my favorite kind of hike - all uphill going out, all downhill coming back. 

Before we knew it, we were back on level ground. 

Part two of our morning included exploring Jack London's actual house. 

I thought that this was hilarious. 

It was very fun to see all the rooms, and imagine people living in them. 

The back garden was also very nice.

Ed is always excited to see backyard ponds, especially one that had such massive koi. 

After a few more minutes here, we headed back to the car, off to make use of the complimentary wine tasting card we got with our inn stay that promised us free wine tastings at 30 or so wineries.

Our first (and probably favorite) stop was the Benzinger winery,  a "biodynamic" winery that was very tasty. The woman pouring us tastes also took the complimentary tasting quite literally, and kept pouring and pouring - we must have each had 8 or so tastes! With such great service and wines, we did end up walking away with 2 bottles, a chardonney and a muscat that were delicious. 

Arms heavy with wine bottles, we headed off.

However, the grounds were beautiful, so we ended up spending just a bit more time taking in our surroundings. 

They had a very cool "learning center" here, that taught us all about making biodynamic wine.

Soon, however, our stomachs started overruling us, demanding we go get lunch. We had seen a farmer's market on the way into town, which seemed a perfect idea, so we headed there. However, we're apparently spoiled by our own farmer's market, as this one was very small and lacking any kind of take away to eat right now food. So we headed to an actual market. This ended up being a less than optimal decision, as it took about 30 minutes to get a sandwich from the sandwich counter - it was pretty ridiculous. But, we did eventually get out food and had a mini picnic at "Imagery" winery.

Much satiated, we were ready for tasting number two, at the apparent sister winery of our first choice. 

This was also good, though nothing ended up beating that first tasting of the day. 

Our third winery stop won hands down in view from the tasting bar. 

(what we saw out the big windows as we drank wines)

This winery (can't remember its name) was also good, but was a bit more formal (you could only pick specific tasting lists from their menu, which meant I couldn't stick with mostly whites, as I had been up until that point). Still, it was fun, and it marked our last full tasting of our afternoon. 

With one last view of the sonoma hills, 

We headed back into town. Ed had left a shirt at the inn, so we made a quick stop there. 

said "goodbye" to the Girl and the Fig,

And had one more tasting (just me this time) from a closeby tasting room that was on our card. Very yummy finish to the wine portion of our weekend. 

We tooka  last walk around Sonoma Square, saw the mission again, 

And got some birthday dessert in the form of ice cream. 

All in all, a perfect 26th birthday. 

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. 

Rainy Santa Cruz Run

About a month ago, Ed and I decided it would be fun to head over to Santa Cruz for a run. I needed to complete a 12 miler, so it seemed natural to do the 12 mile route I used to run all the time when I lived over the hill. 

We left the warm sunshine of San Jose (which had been a bit oppressive of late) and headed over the hill. 

When we arrived, we were greeted with this:

Now, as I sat in the car, looking at the drizzle going on outside, I wondered why we had decided that running here was better than San Jose. It looked cold outside, and I hadn't brought a jacket. To be honest, I slightly considered begging Ed to just drive us home, but knew that was incredibly silly. I used to love rainy runs!

So, off we went. I was cold for the first half mile, but once I got warmed up, I knew that the weather was perfect. It was a beautiful run, with crashing waves, 

bluff trails, and even a brief stop to check out a huge slab of rock off the bluffs that were full of sea lions. The miles flew by and before we knew it, we were back to the start, 12.58 miles later. 

It was one of my fastest paced long runs in years and it felt great. 

So, I know that next time I see rainy skies, my inclination shouldn't be to go back to bed, it should be to get outside and run.