A time when I wasn't cold

A while back (right after our little NoCal adventure), I hopped a plane with two goofy gals and went to surprise Brittney (who is a blogger, but first and foremost a real life friend, so please do not interpret this surprise to be creepy in anyway. Note to blog-only friends: I promise to never ring your doorbell unless asked to do so.) for her birthday.

Hilarity ensued.

We ate burgers, hilariously.

We got just buzzed enough to still call ourselves classy ladies at a beach bar.

We strolled around the beach, as classy dames are wont to do.

We (I) posed with animal statues on the Santa Monica pier.

We went really swanky and watched the sunset from a rooftop bar populated by people who, unlike myself, were not clad entirely in clothes from Target. Apparently, that is kind of the norm at chic rooftop bars in California. Who knew?

We ate Italian food and told completely inappropriate stories way too loud and made the tables next to us uncomfortable (I imagine anyway).

We rode a bus. It was my first time on a bus that was not taking me to and from the State Fair. Ain't I a big city gal now?

We ate awesome breakfast sandwiches.

We rode tandem bikes on the beach. In flip-flops! In November! Oh me, oh my.

We ate at Don Antonio's and spotted the Broke Ass Bride and her dude, but were too busy stuffing our faces to say hello.

We had a good time.

Have you ever surprised anyone by just showing up one day? 

Other Napa adventures

Our two days in Napa were so relaxing. We scored a great deal on our hotel thanks to my sister's connections and so we got to hang out with swans on our way to breakfast each morning. Nothing starts the day off right more than swan-gazing.

We spent one day rolling around the valley in a bus with a few other folks (you know, they type that wears sweaters and knows everything about everything.) on a wine tasting tour. While we didn't stop at the ritziest places, they were indeed tasty and gorgeous and generous with their pours.

Black Stallion

Hagafen

At our lunch winery, V Sattui, we (predictably) got a loaf of bread, two cheeses, some salami and a bottle of Chardonnay for a little mid-day snack. No leftovers were had (predictably).

Our last stop of the day was Rubicon Winery, which was really pretty but plagued with a snot-tastic wait staff, who also knew everything about everything. I guess the educational system in California is like, really good.

We ended the tour at Chandon, where one of our tour mates got a little sloppy and hit on the poor tasting gal. He failed miserably and we enjoyed truffled popcorn and the show. So much for knowing everything about picking up ladies.

Of course, after a day of winery gallivanting, we needed a good dinner. Driving around downtown the day before, we saw that Moriomoto (of Iron Chef fame! Squeal!) had a restaurant here. We snagged reservations and fell in love.

We ordered a platter for two that included a nice combo of rolls and ngiri. It was all chef's choice, so we got adventurous with eel, roe and some new-to-us fish.

It was totally amazing and every single item on the platter was so fresh and bright, I couldn't even stand it.

We were stuffed afterward, but decided to order a dessert of a ginger cake, caramel sauce, chocolate cream and a banana milkshake. Oh holy heavens. It left me speechless and fat and even writing about it now makes me crave a little bit of the ginger cake and a healthy smear of smooth chocolate cream.

They even gave us a little anniversary shout out in chocolate! Of course, as soon as we left, my button popped off my jeans. No joke. I'm only telling you so that I am motivated to workout tonight.

The next day, we had to head out of town, but before we did, we had to hit up Bouchon Bakery in Yountville. We sampled a croissant and pistachio macaroon (the macaroon that made me get macaroons. Yes, this craze is justified.). Even the Diet Cokes we got were in fancy glass bottles. Oo la la. How very French.

I love Napa. I could live there. I could die there. They have flowers like this in November! What's not to love?

*We also stopped into Bottega for lunch, but it was highly disappointing. The food was great, but we were seated next to wholesale plate dealers peddling their wares to the chef and the waitress ignored us, making our little pit stop last well over two hours. 

Nom-a-versary

On our anniversary, we woke up super early (thanks to the Pacific time change and daylight savings time) and exchanged our paper presents. You already saw what Hubs got and he went all out, making me a sweet little desktop calendar all decked out in wedding colors as well as a super fancy purple pen with ink cartridges and interchangeable nibs and everything!

After a quick breakfast, we picked up our rental car and headed out of town, across the Golden Gate to Santa Rosa, about an hour and a half away. We were in town for one reason: a beer pilgrimage to Russian River Brewery, which has some of the best rated beers in the country. 

We both started with Pliney the Elder Double IPAs and ordered some pizza and a sample tray.

The pizza was good, but the beer was amazing! Some brews were a little much for us (they brew a few sour beers using wine yeast, which I guess you need to develop a taste for), but it was a great way to celebrate.

We also decided to start a little tradition of taking anniversary photos showing how many years we've been at this married gig. Here I am demonstrating year one:

After lunch, we finished the drive to Napa and arrived right before sunset.

Having paid homage to our simple-folk tastes with pizza and beer, we decided to get over the top classy for dinner by scoring a late reservation at Ad Hoc, owned by Thomas Keller, who also runs the French Laundry (where dinner is $250 a head and wine is probably just as much! Not for the cheap-at-heart).

Ad Hoc has a different menu each night based on what's fresh and available. Because it was a superfancyfuntime, we also got the wine pairings. It was delicious, simple food (we had a smoked salmon salad, marrow, short ribs, a cheese course and the best apple crisp ever created) and the service was informative and attentive without being all uptight.

Best wedding anniversary we've ever had. 

Not Eating San Francisco

Contrary to popular belief, Hubs and I did not just roll around San Francisco, eating and boozing it up all day long. There was a lot of walking. A lot. But, I will say, we only spent about a tenth of our vacation entertainment budget on non-food items.

Since we were staying in Union Square, we started our first day of walking by heading toward Chinatown, where we perused junky souvenir shops and browsed an herb store.

Next up was Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill. It was a helluva climb. My buns are still disgruntled about it. The disgruntledness was increased when we learned the tower had closed three days prior for renovations. Oh well, the view was spectacular, even from the ground.

 We made our way to Fisherman's Wharf and decided (after a quick consult with Yelp) to take a bay cruise with Adventure Cat (the reviews were great, but two crazy cat people such as ourselves were not about to ignore the awesome name, even if it referred not to felines, but to the catamaran structure of the boat).

On our way to the boat, we saw jut a few seals.

It was fa-reezing that day and even colder on the bay. Luckily, the kindly crew of the Adventure Cat provided sweet cuddly jackets.

We sailed under the bridge and since the other side is the Pacific Ocean, the boat was kind of surfing on huge ten-foot swells. I'd never seen anything like it (mostly because the bulk of my sea-faring experience is actually lake-faring experience). Hands down, the $40 tickets were the best (non-food) money we spent!

The next day, we went south to the Mission for lunch and then hopped a bus to Postcard Row, also known as the spot where the Tanners ate a picnic in the opening scenes of Full House. Ah, yes, we do know how to get cultured on vacation.

After huxing it back up north near the wharf for some shopping on Union Street, we hopped a trolley and opted for the bars outside rather than seats. The driver let the brake totally go down a few steep hills and let me just say, I feared for not my life, but Hubs' because my big ol' feet were taking up most of the room on the tiny perch.

Just like at home, we dig the cheap/and free activities that get us outside and moving - if we aren't scarfing everything in sight.

Have you ever almost died on a trolley?

Where in the world is BBB?

Surprise! While you all were feasting your eyes on the little soiree wherein one nutty Missourian married a frat boy turned scientist, the Bigger, Better, Best clan was traipsing the globe, eating food far too delicious for mere mortals.

This photo was taken on perhaps the most terrifying cab ride of my sea-level-lovin' life. 

We spent a few days in San Francisco before gobbling up half of Napa. I've got tons of photos and tall tales of sushi so fresh it smacked us and pastries so delicate, we didn't even eat them, we breathed them. 

Oh, kids. California might be full of steep hills and lots of girls in riding boots (I want some. I crave a pair. But, the rump says no. The rump makes me in those sweet, buttery boots look like a mean old Welsh farm matron.), but it stole our collective heart. 

We'll be reliving the party all week because frankly, this trip can't be summed up in even the cheat-iest One Thing Thursday. Unless that one thing could be eat until the button flies off your jeans in the posh (and thankfully one-lady-at-a-time) bathroom at Morimoto Napa, because that totally rocked. It's an experience I just shouldn't have to bear alone.