Day 3
On this day, I was not a problem to wake up, because I was up before Kari! It was mostly coincidence, but as far as I’m concerned, it still counts. It’s a very good thing that I woke up early, as they forgot our wakeup call! In addition to that, all of last night I was attempting to upload our vacation so far, and I could not get an outside line. Kari got it all sorted out, it turns out that the managers were working last night, and they don’t know how to do much without their employees. It seems that when I called to set our wakeup call, they turned off our phone, causing the effect that we experienced. Tonight, we won’t make the mistake of not setting up a backup alarm.
So, it was coffee, and back to San Francisco! We arrived at the peir, and first things first, we ordered some lobster to ship back for dinner on Friday. We drove around the warf until we found some parking on peir 39. That worked out great, as that seems to be where all the action is. The weather today was really foggy in the bay, and it was misting, not raining, so that was good. We walked around peir 39, and looked around in the shops. There is a place there where sea lions like to hang out, and whoa, what a smell! They are not as clean in the wild as they are at the zoo!
Now it was time to head over to peir 41, right next door, to catch the ferry ride to Alcatraz.
There were many other people there besides us, so it’s a good thing that Kari got tickets for the ferry before we got there. As we boarded the ferry, they took our picture in front of a large life preserver that said something on it. I didn’t pay too much attention to that. The ride only takes a few minutes, and then there we were, on Alcatraz! Kari payed a couple extra bucks when she ordered the tickets for a self guided audio tour, and it was great. They have it set up where you get this little device that you wear around your neck that has some headphones that you wear. You walk along this blue line, and when it ends, you press the start button on the device. The audio contains interviews from actual inmates and guards from when Alcatraz was still a prison. It tells you where to go, and they have signs and areas that you use as checkpoints to synchronize the tour. It even guides you through the famous attempted breakout. Then it was back on the ferry, and off to lunch. We ate at this unimpressive burger place on peir 39. Did I mention that there are ALLOT of pigeons on the peir? They were wandering around everywhere!
Now it was time to head back to Napa Valley. This time, instead of the dull Bay bridge, we went over the Golden Gate bridge!
That was really cool!
The trip to Napa up 101 to 37 was quite a bit more scenic than the trip up 80, but it is also a bit longer. Our target for the day was Domaine Chandon.
It was a good tour, with great information on how Champagne is made, and why Champagne is only called Champagne from American and French sources. Kari and I liked 3 kinds of sparkling wine, so we bought 3 bottles here.
Tomorrow, it’s back to Napa, and trips to Robert Mondavi, Berringer, and the petrified forest.
Here is today’s picture of the day! A shot of San Francisco from Alcatraz.
Day 2
We checked out of the Hyatt in San Francisco, and headed for Vallejo. There is a reason that no one ever mentions the other big bridge in San Francisco, the Bay bridge is nothing to look at. It’s long gray, and uninteresting. Tomorrow we will get to go over the Golden Gate bridge, which will be much better. It’s hard to describe Vallejo, I thought that it felt a little like Rochester, but Kari thought is was more like Mankato.
It’s a bit of a drive to get to any Vineyards from Vallejo, something that we will keep in mind or our next trip. Our first Vineyard of the day is V. Sattui, reccommended to us by Tricia and Chris. Well, it was certainly a great recommendation. We didn’t make it out of there without buying a case of wine! 6 bottles of their dry Reisling, and 6 bottles of their Muscato, both are very good. Part of the appeal is that you can’t get this wine anywhere but the winery. Also, they had a bar-b-que going that day, and Kari and I each had a sausage sandwich. They were also very good!
Next, it was off to the Sterling vineyards.
Unfortunately for us, the place was getting remodeled, and the gift shop was closed. We got to go on the tram ride that you would normally take to get to the vineyard, but we had to stay on when it reached the top. And, the wine wasn’t that great, so we didn’t get anything there, except for a couple of corks!
Further north down the road from Sterling is the “Old Faithful” of the North. I didn’t know this, but Kari did, that they have geyser here in California. I would imagine that it has something to do with the San Andreas fault, and the way that the tectonic plates move, but I won’t get into that. So, we paid our admission, and watched the geyser go off.
They also have a geyser that they tap to heat the buildings there, fainting sheep, and a few other things. Of course, it’s a tourist trap, but the geyser was cool, and we also got some souvenirs.
By this time, it was getting kind of late on a Sunday for any vineyards to be open, so we headed back to the hotel. We were tired, and didn’t feel like exploring Vallejo for a restaurant, so we just ordered in some Pizza Hut, and ate in the room.
Tomorrow, it’s back to San Francisco for Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge.
Here is the picture of the day.
A nice photo of Kari and I at the V. Sattui winery.
Day 1 - Departure
4:00AM, Woodbury
Wake up! Rise and shine! Well, that is how it’s supposed to go. Kari manages to drag me out of bed. We get showered and ready for Jon to give us a ride to the airport. I think that next time, Kari should book a later flight!
5:00AM, Woodbury
Jon arrives, and we load up the van, and we are off and officially on our way to San Francisco! Of course, it’s still way too early, and I am still not awake. We get to the airport in plenty of time, say our goodbye’s, and get to the gate.
5:30AM, Gate A6, Minneapolis - St. Paul International Airport
The bag is checked, and we are at the gate waiting for an airplane. There is not much activity in the airport this early in the morning. Most of the stores are not even open for the day, especially the Caribu Coffee near the gate. So, we sit and wait. Eventually, things gradually start to come alive, and the Caribu Coffee is now open, so I get Kari and I some coffee. (Note to self: Kari does not like coffee, except for the specific kinds that you can only get at Starbucks or Expressely Yours).
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