I Am A Traveler - Flowing Through Napa Valley

For the past 5 days I have been relaxing with Jay and our niece, Jayne, in the beautiful Napa Valley, CA.  Each day I remind myself… "Capture this!  Write a blog so you can remember how much you enjoyed your time here!”  I look at the laptop sitting on the little table, calling to me to log on, I take a breath and I think… "Maybe later!”  That seems to capture the tone of this vacation.  We have a different approach this time…we are letting the days unfold.  Instead of a focused, planned itinerary, we are “letting the spirit move us.”  We have a list of places we might like to visit, but the specifics are undefined and it is making a difference.

We used a timeshare exchange to reserve a week’s vacation at RiverPointe Resort on the Napa River in Napa, CA.  Since it had a second bedroom studio attached, we invited Jayne to leave her haunts in Chicago and join us.  We had not seen Jayne since our visit back to IL in December to help her bury her mother and Jay’s sister, Miriam. 

Each morning, after coffee we kind of look at each other and say… "What do you want to do today?”  We have ambled through two wine tours…one of the traditional technique of making Champagne at Mumm’s 

Jayne and Jay toasting a fine champagne!

and one very educational…kind of winemaking 101…at Mondavi Winery with excellent guide, Doug Nanfria.   

Jay learning Doug's "three sip" tasting technique!

Each time, after the tour, we sat on a patio, soaked in the view, sipped the fruit of the vine and just enjoyed the gift of being there.

We have taken advantage of unplanned events, like wandering through the Farmer's Market at Oxbow Market

Heirloom tomatoes!!

and discovering wonderful new restaurants like Grace's Table!

Yesterday we decided to take the Vallejo Ferry to spend a day in San Francisco.   

Jayne and Jay on the Ferry

The sun shone on us and we had a fun walking the streets, exploring the Ferry Building, eating some authentic food in Chinatown,

Jay eating Chinese Porridge and Patricia with Chow Mein Noodles

 joining in for part of a CityWalks' walking tour of Market Street and when we had enough…we ambled back to the Ferry Building to return to Napa. While waiting for the ferry we discovered a mecca...Book Passage Book Store and had to tear ourselves away to not miss the boat. 

There is a lot to be said for allowing life to evolve…to go with the flow.  While it is not endemic to my nature, it actually feels good.  Not being driven to accomplish a specific plan, it allows us to enjoy just being together.  We have appreciated having some quality time with Jayne...getting to know her better and letting our relationship grow from relative to friend.  It gives me permission not to obsess and feel responsible for everyone else’s enjoyment.  I do not have to be the Gail Storm of this cruise ship.  I can just sit back, with my knitting in my lap, look out the window at the world passing by 

Vineyards!

and make small talk with people I love.  And if we get lost…no matter.  To quote my husband, who loves to quote a line from the great Documentary movie, Young at Heart… “We may be lost, but we’re making good time!”