San Fran & Wine Country

We just returned from a trip of a lifetime. We traveled with our friends, Amy & Joel, to San Francisco and wine country for five days and four nights without kids. And it was glorious, simply glorious. 

I love traveling with our kids and I am excited to make lots of memories as a family taking road trips, visiting family and friends, and adventuring together.

But I also really love getting away with my husband (and friends) to reconnect, step away from the mama role and enjoy a little break. I just feel spoiled that I have been on two such trips in the past three months. Slightly crazy if you ask me!

I'm sure I will look back on this time in longing a few years down the road, when we have another newborn and we are not at all in the season of solo adult trips. ;) But for now I will just recognize it as a gift and savor the blessing of a fun few days away with people I love.

This post is going to be picture heavy. And it's quite incredible: it contains no kid pictures. The thought! I had a really hard time narrowing it down, so I'm keeping lots in order to document our time in California, in pictures (+ captions). Here we go...

Day 1: Jono attempting to show the steep grades of San Fran

First stop on the J & J walking tour, Grace Cathedral

Beautiful interior

And then to the Cable Car Museum

And the "crookedest street in the world", Lombard Street

 Followed by the Coit Tower for some great views

And a steep trek down to the wharf for seafood lunch

Cable car time

Oh hey there, Amy & Joel!

And then we hopped on tandem bikes to see the Palace of Fine Arts

On our way to ride across the Golden Gate Bridge, of course

The blue team - we match because we are cool like that

In all her glory

Alcatraz, on the ferry ride back to San Fran

The city view, from the Sausalido ferry

Following dinner in the Italian district, we enjoyed some
delicious Swensen's ice cream

Day 2: exploring near our hotel at the China Town entrance

Amy's first H&M experience

Stopping at Ike's for the best sandwich I have eaten in my entire life

Enjoying a beautiful view on our way out of town

On the road trip north: a stop for a hike at Muir Woods

The Randalls & some giant trees

Our hiking crew

The Highway One coastline - breathtaking beauty

Day 3: Wine tour and tasting at Stags Leap Vineyard in Napa

Pretty rad banquet room

Lots of barrels, folks!

Inside the wine cave

Let the tasting begin!

I know next to nothing about wine, but am learning.
I think the boys carried the team :)

Stopped at various spots in the valley, including The French Laundry

Totally unassuming building, inside which magic happens
(not that we got to attest to that fact, sadly)

But we did get to explore their awesome garden across the street

Map of all the fresh deliciousness

And then to happy hour and dinner at The Farmstead Restaurant

Love love loved this place

Such a beautiful interior

And the patio was just as lovely

Really delicious food, farm to table style

Day 4: A few more wine tours 

This was a small family owned vineyard outside Santa Rosa

On our way to lunch after a morning of wine tasting

After lunch we decided to head to the beach for the afternoon

Amy & I slept and read while the boys both ran & swam (the crazies)

My hairy-chested love

After a "team Amy" run, we came back to the condo deck to
a meal planned, cooked and cleaned up by these
two fantastic gentleman

The view from our lovely little VBRO on Bodega Bay
(the ocean is just behind, you can't really tell)

Day 5: We traveled back through San Francisco, explored some
in Berkley and eventually caught our evening flight home.
This was our finale drive down Lombard street.

Whew! What a fantastic time it was! And while we enjoyed our time in California, Clara and Caleb may have had an even more fantastic time with both sets of grandparents. We are so blessed that our parents would take them for that long and love doing it. 

The only bummer, really, was coming home to our sweet little Caleb who caught yet another stomach bug while we were gone. My mom had to deal with a day of sickness at the tail end of our trip and then it continued upon our return. But that is kind of to be expected. Go away without kiddos and get to rejuvenate? Expect a little bit of madness when you return. Thankfully it was all completely worth it.