Chasing Autumn

I didn't blog on Sunday, and I won't be blogging this Sunday. I have perfectly wonderful reasons why. You see, I allowed my job (which I love) to take over my life. It's been a very busy season since the first of August. Time has gone by in a blur. And, as much as I enjoy teaching children, I deserve my own personal time to pursue my own pleasures.

I decided to take back my personal time in two ways:

First, I committed myself to reading more books for pleasure during the school year,...and to read something more than middle school books. So, a couple of weekends ago, I spent an entire weekend reading. (That's a big deal for me during the school year.) And, yes, I'll eventually blog about those books. But not now.

The second way I decided to take back my personal time was to travel more. My husband has said, on more than one occasion, I have to be about 100 miles away from my school to begin turning my brain off from my job. I wish I could say that isn't true. It may be a slight exaggeration, but...there is a lot of truth to what he says. I live close to my school, and there is always something that needs to be done. It's just too tempting to work on work all the time and chase the dream that someday my "to do" list might actually get done.

In light of my new commitment to myself, I've been traveling more. This past weekend, I spent a glorious weekend in San Francisco with my husband. We had a wonderful time, and the weather was perfect! We went to the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I didn't talk about my job, and I didn't think about my job...all weekend.

Now, thanks to a couple of restful weekends, I'm having a great week at work this week! Am I still busy? Yes. Am I stressed about it? No. In fact, I'm already packing my bag to take another trip this weekend, and I'm taking Friday off from work to go. I've also planned a few other small weekend excursions throughout the rest of the school year to treat myself for working as hard as I work all week.

I've finally decided that in this season of my life, I'm no longer chasing a dream of completing an endless 'to do' list at work.

And in this moment in time, the only thing I'm chasing is autumn.

A Few More Stops Along the Way...

Muir Woods

After spending two glorious days in San Francisco, we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and headed into Muir Woods for a nice little hike. We had never been before, and we found it to be beautiful in every way. It wasn't just the gorgeous trees, it was the sounds of nature and the wonderful scents. It was very hushed, very relaxing. People told me it feels like a magical place, and it does, but it also feels like a place to be very reverent. It's mystical.

I also loved that, as we passed people on the trails, I heard many different languages being spoken. I found myself smiling at young families around us, as I noticed that a parent speaking to a child sounds the same no matter what language they are speaking. And child's giggle is a universal language...and a universal joy. Everyone seemed happy in Muir Woods. I know I was. Perhaps, that's part of the magic.

Sausalito

Speaking of magic, our next stop was the little town of Sausalito! It's one of my favorite places to eat and look out over the Bay to San Francisco. There's a little Italian place, right on the water, where we love to sit on the dock at a café table and enjoy great panini sandwiches with a couple of cold drinks. It's also fun to people watch and walk around visiting the little shops.

Napa Valley

After spending most of one day in Muir Woods and Sausalito, we headed to Napa Valley. It isn't far, maybe thirty minutes, from Sausalito. I loved the hotel my Hotel Tonight app found for me, and we were in our poolside room just in time to freshen up and head out for a nice dinner. I opted for just walking across the parking lot and eating at a Mexican restaurant that seemed pretty popular. Tom said we should look for some place special, not some place convenient. He said that convenience was probably the only reason the restaurant was popular. Well, that,...and the margaritas.(You know, have a few drinks,...and you don't have to walk far to your nice hotel.)

Tom decided to pick our restaurant after looking at some reviews of other places in Napa Valley. The place he found was absolute perfection! We had dinner on the patio at Bistro Don Giovanni, surrounded by beautiful fields of grapevines. It is a true Italian restaurant with fabulous food and wonderful service! I didn't struggle with the extensive wine list, as I know what I like in wine, but I did struggle with the menu. Our server was extremely helpful and gave great suggestions based on the things we said we like to eat. Our meal was served in four, delicious courses and our dessert was the perfect finale!

After our meal, we took a stroll around the property. The landscaping was so beautiful! There were fruit trees around the building and a lovely garden. There were also roses everywhere. Even the parking lot was amazing because everywhere you looked, fields of grapevines stretched out in front of you with a backdrop of majestic mountains. Amazing.

Sonoma

We had such a wonderful time in Napa Valley, we considered staying a second night. However, Sonoma was just down the street (literally), and we knew we wanted to stay somewhere within walking distance to the Sonoma Plaza where my favorite winery has a tasting room. (And, yes, for the same reason people were eating at the Mexican restaurant near the other hotel. ;)

Hotel Tonight found us a wonderful place just a couple of blocks from Sonoma Plaza. We had a lovely room with a fireplace and our own balcony. A delicious breakfast was included, along with afternoon cookies. We were pleased to be given two discount cards for two wine tastings on the plaza, and it was a nice touch to be escorted to our room and shown where things could be found and how things worked. The name of this special place I will return to is the Inn at Sonoma, and our gracious host that day was a lady named Linda.

http://innatsonoma.com/

There is a great deal of historical things you can see on Sonoma Plaza, as well as shops, restaurants, and different wineries have wonderful tasting rooms. We tried one of the wineries and walked around to see the different tasting rooms, but there was only one winery I was truly interested in...

Roche Winery

I discovered Roche Winery a couple of years ago with a friend of mine, Robin. We had gone to San Francisco and decided to take a wine tour. It was a wonderful experience, and I learned a great deal. I also tasted a good deal of different wines from different wineries. Or, as Robin always says, I educated my palate.

When our tour shuttle arrived at Roche, I had no desire to go anywhere else. I had never had a tasting where I truly liked every wine I tasted. I also loved the way their tasting room was set up right off the plaza. You could taste at the outside bar and enjoy your wine at a patio table, you could also go inside and do some barrel tastings, as well as shop for different wine products. Did I mention the people there are really wonderful? They are. Roche is a family-owned winery, and they make you feel like family when you're there.

Oh, and one more thing. You can't buy Roche anywhere but Roche. I've never belonged to a wine club, never thought I'd want to, but I have been a member of Roche Winery's club for over two years now. Yes, it's that good.

http://www.rochewinery.com/

I knew Tom, who had never been, would be enjoy experiencing Roche first hand. He's always loved the wine that comes to the house, but he'd never had the experience of enjoying an afternoon at the tasting room on Sonoma Plaza. We both had a wonderful time and enjoyed making some new friends out on the patio, as we enjoyed some wine and appetizers. 

All in all, it was a few lovely days spent in Wine Country!

Next stop, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon...

 

San Francisco Love

On the sixth day of our trip, in the afternoon, we arrived in beautiful San Francisco - a city that gets a blog post all its own. It deserves it. I've been to San Francisco several times over the past few years. I've taken day trips and spent long weekends there. I have been at different times during the year. I never get tired of it and have yet to run out of things to see. The difficult part is that I already love what I love about it, so I sometimes hesitate to branch out to new places. This time, though, we decided to try a little blend of new things along with old favorites.

Now, if I try to blog about all my favorites, old and new, I may never finish. While I believe in sharing good things you find when you travel, I also believe in exploring and find out some things for yourself. In the spirit of that, I'd like to share two favorites and encourage you to plan a trip of your own to discover (or rediscover) the City by the Bay.

One old favorite...

http://empressofchinasf.com/

When asked about favorite places to eat in the area, I will always start with Empress of China in Chinatown. I have never been to San Francisco, not once, that I haven't found my way to this place for dinner. Tom and I found it, purely by accident, on our first visit to the city. We had been walking around all day and found ourselves in Chinatown. We spotted this lobby with an elevator and all over the walls were pictures of old movie stars who had eaten in this restaurant. We thought that was pretty cool, but didn't quite understand where this restaurant was located. We then realized you had to go up in the elevator to get there. We decided to try it.

The fabulous hospitality and wonderful food and glorious view we enjoyed on our first visit is the same we receive every time we go. It's why we go back. We love everything about the way we are served and how lovely it all looks. All the waiters wear black suits and are excellent at their job. The food is delicious and served in courses, if you choose (and we always do). There are different options. But, you don't just have to take my word about the food, I tell all my friends to go there and have taken some friends there myself. Everyone always loves it!

One new favorite...

http://www.winerycollective.com/

I've stayed at The Argonaut Hotel (another favorite) a couple of times, but I've never tried the Winery Collective Tasting Room in the same building. Tom suggested we try it this time, and we had a lovely time! The lady who presented the wines to us, Karen, was very knowledgeable about the wines, the regions they come from, and current concerns wine growers have in the area. We really enjoyed learning about the California wineries while tasting the wines.

We also learned what we want to try the next time we're in San Francisco. Karen told us to head over to Treasure Island next time we're in town for a weekend (we were there during the week) because Vie, a San Francisco winery, has a wonderful place over there to enjoy and explore their wines and learn more about the region. Treasure Island is somewhere we've never tried, and she told us it's only one exit off the road after you cross the Bay Bridge. Needless to say, I put it on my list for next time!

http://www.viewinery.com/

What do I love most about San Francisco?

To be completely honest, I can't tell you that...because I don't know. I love it all. I've been all over the city and explored all parts of it. I've walked in the neighborhoods to see how people live, sat in the parks to enjoy people watching, and biked the Golden Gate Bridge over to Sausalito and back. I've been there during Fleet Week and enjoyed watching the Blue Angels perform over the bay. I love the perfect weather and being able to sit outside in the cafes to enjoy my breakfast...or my lunch...or my dinner. I have my favorite ice cream place on Fisherman's Wharf and always enjoy the live performances that take place on the pier. I've ridden the cable cars, the vintage-style buses, and the BART. Every experience has been a good one, which reminds me to tell you about the first time I knew this was my kind of city.

My first visit...

I will never forget what a resident of the city told us on our very first trip there. We had taken the BART from the airport to San Francisco. We just went for the day to try it. We must have looked a little perplexed about which way to go when a business woman walked up to us and asked if she could help us find something. We told her we were just there on a one day adventure and didn't know where to start. She smiled and said we had nothing to worry about, we could walk anywhere we wanted and always find what we needed. After pointing out which direction to head for various popular places (like Fisherman's Wharf), she wished us a good trip and went on her way. It was a wonderful introduction to a beautiful city I continue to fall more and more in love with every time I go.
 

 

My FAVORITE Place?!

While attending a meeting in Texas, I met someone who was born and raised right outside of Paris, France. I was amazed to learn that French was her first language because she spoke English very well. It was only after she told me she was a high school French teacher that the topic came up of where she was born and her first language.

I told her I had been to Paris. With some hesitation, almost like she dreaded asking, she inquired about my visit to Paris. I assured her it was a perfect trip, and I loved the city and the people there! She wanted to know the things I did. I mentioned a few things, but then just laughed and said, "To be honest, I really did love everything. Everything! My friend and I decided the only goal for our trip was to eat a crepe every day while we looked at the Eiffel Tower, so everything else we did beyond that was icing." She laughed and said she liked that. She also explained that she never knows what reaction she will get from someone when she says she is from Paris, people tend to either have a good reaction or a bad one - seldom anything in between.

We talked for a good while, discussing many different things, but before we parted she asked me a question that was very difficult to answer. She wanted to know, of the places I've been, which one was my favorite. I gave it some thought before I answered, stumbling over my words a few times. I mentioned a few of the places I love, but...I finally gave up and gave my honest answer. I told her all the places I have been are my favorite. She laughed a bit when I said this and asked again, "All of them?!"

Yes, all of them.

I told her that I love the delightful city of Paris just as much as I love England's beautiful countryside. And I am just as fascinated by England's lovely, dramatic, and haunting coastline as I am the healing waters of Italy's Lago Maggiore,...but there's no way to say which one is "better"! I explained that I love walking on the white, sandy, beaches and swimming in the clear waters of Mexico just as much as I love Blowing Rock, North Carolina on a clear, crisp October day when the leaves are in full autumn bloom...and, my goodness, I'll never forget watching the sun come up over the Grand Canyon and, yet, I am just as amazed to sit down in a huge field of beautiful blue bonnets in the Texas Hill Country in the spring! And don't even get me started on how much I love San Francisco and Chicago...

How could I possibly choose a favorite when there is so much beauty and wonder in the world? I've never had a bad experience in my travels. Have there been "hiccups" along the way? Perhaps travel plans didn't always run smoothly? Well, of course, but never enough to daunt my spirit...or my appreciation for just being there - being somewhere - having an adventure!

In all my traveling, I've never met an unfriendly person or someone who was rude because of the way I spoke or the way I looked in an unfamiliar place. Generally speaking, every place I have been I find people who are warm and welcoming. It doesn't matter what the culture or the language is, when I greet the rest of the world with an open heart and an open mind, I have found it gives the same back.

Now,...with a big, wide, wonderful world like that - who could pick a favorite?! :)