Napa: Take Two

On June 27-28, I made my second trip up to wine country with the 20s/30s group at church. One of the church members has a cabin in Napa that she generously offered to us for the weekend. I drove up solo Friday night due to my work schedule, arriving around 10pm. It was a bit of a terrifying drive as the cabin is literally on top of a mountain and the driveway is all dirt and rocks and hairpin turns. Did I mention it was 10pm and pitch black and the whole time I was driving I was hoping the Yahoo Map directions were correct? I have no idea how little Versa made it up in one piece! But the drive was worth it: what a beautiful hideaway.

I missed most of the activities Friday night - no homemade lasagna, no spiritual formation, no nature walk (although I was happy to have avoided the bees). Fortunately I did arrive in time to enjoy the slumber party, complete with sleeping bags and boy talk. There were six of us total on the trip but only one guy (the newest minister at church), and he stayed in the other room. Poor Steve.

We woke up surprisingly early on Saturday. Even with all the fires in Napa, which made for poor air quality, it was still a lovely view from the cabin. I was so happy to be surrounded by nature; almost like being home in Maine again! One of the neighbors called and said a mountain lion was in the area but we only heard it, no visual made. After we all ate breakfast and got ready for the day, we did some group reflection outside and then headed out for wine tasting.

We visited two wineries where we had connections, Cuvaison and Twomey, and they graciously provided free tastings. I, of course, purchased some not-so-free bottles. After the tastings, three of us grabbed a quick lunch at a deli, then I was on my way.

Well, I stopped at the Napa outlets first. How could I pass up a trip to the Ann Taylor Factory Store since I was in the neighborhood?