2.20.2007

Napa Getaway

We decided for Brian's birthday weekend that we'd load up the kids and spend the night away somewhere. Brian and I have not yet been to wine country since we've moved here because we have been holding out for a time to go without children. We didn't think there were many family-oriented activities there. We heard differently from some of our friends. So, we went for it.

Here is the gist of our night away:
We left Friday morning, the weather was perfect and the drive was peaceful. We had just purchased the Curious George movie for the kids to watch and we paused it many times on the trip to take in the scenery. We drove up the east bay, through Berkley and Oakland. The most beautiful part was looking across the bay to see San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge all together. Our first stop was in Petaluma, CA where the Mrs. Grossman's paper company is located. I was a little leery of whether this would be fun or not, especially since it was technically for Brian's birthday, but it was actually a highlight of the trip. For $12 our family took a tour of the factory, including seeing some of the employee's dogs and got a billion free stickers for the kids. Even Brian got into the sticker craft at the end of the tour. (btw, we choose this activity because it was listed in our traveling with kids guide book as one that truly was age appropriate for our kids.)

After we finished our time there, we headed to the Embassy Suites in Napa. We chose this hotel because it looked so family friendly by including an indoor pool, a made to order breakfast, a manager's reception (free drinks and snacks). The fact that we would stay in a suite also made it easier for B and I to hang out after bedtime. The bottom line is that we could take our kids to just about anywhere and if we stayed in a hotel like this, we'd have a great time! So that evening, we went swimming and ended up having dinner during the free cocktail hour.
The next morning, we went to the pool again after our awesome breakfast and then left to explore a little.

We were right in downtown Napa, which is just adorable. We stopped and had lunch in an outside courtyard and then decided we would visit one winery before heading home. We drove through the beautiful wine country and stopped at St. Supery. While we were there we took an informational tour and ran through the example vineyard. By then, our kids were EXHAUSTED... and we were a little too. So we decided to head home. Did I mention that the weather was perfect? Mid to low 70's both days. Glorious.

So thanks to my sweet husband who agreed it would be fun to get away WITH the kids for his birthday. If you have your own children, you know a trip like this isn't really a rest, but it was a nice change and definitely fun for the kids. Thankfully, we were able to go before this littlest one comes into our lives. Happy Birthday B!

Oh, a couple of 2 year old funny quotes:
When we told Abigail we were going to Napa, she quickly protested, "I not going to a nap!"
And when we were driving home, she started crying, saying, "I go back to our new home!" I guess that means she liked the hotel with pools, good food, swans, etc.

3 comments:

keri said...

sounds fabulous!! what a fun time. i want to go there!! i wish r and i had time to drive up there when we come, but don't think we will. i want to see pics. and i'm not a snob like you...i will leave comments even when you don't post pics...and you hardly ever post pics! how boring.

katie said...

i am trying to add pics to this post, but we are currently looking for our cord that goes to our camera. that usually helps with these types of things. :)

Jean Joiner said...

Really fun! What a great idea.