Learn about things to do on a weekend in Calistoga and the Napa Valley of California. Plan the ultimate weekend in Napa.
We set out on Friday morning by car. We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and made our way up the winding roads to the Napa Valley. We were following this truck for a while -- I loved the hula girl riding on his licence plate! I just knew this carefree sighting portended great things for our wine weekend.

If you're a regular reader of my blog, I'm sure you realize that I have a place in my heart for kitsch of all sorts. Our next stop was the Old Faithful Geyser of California. Described as "Many Notable People, Have Come to See, Hear, and Learn The Mysteries of This 'Wonder of Nature' Which Captivates the Imagination. It's Amazing." This was your typical roadside attraction. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I particularly liked this sign: "No Cutting or Taking Shrubbery, Violaters with be Prosecuted". Stealing the bushes was not the first thing that came to my mind when I visited but apparently it's a problem.
On the other hand, I was tempted to smuggle out one of the Tennessee fainting goats. The babies were simply adorable! We arrived just as one of the goats had given birth. The baby was so newborn it wasn't even able to fully stand yet. So cool!


From here, we continued our wine tasting tour at Summers Estate. The guys manning the tasting room at Envy recommended that we stop at Summers. They had some unique varietals and the host of the tasting room was a fantastic storyteller. He told us how Italian Charbono vines were very prevalent in the region in the mid-1800s but then fell out of favor in the present day. It's actually very rare now in Napa and Summers is noted for producing a wine entirely from Charbono. I really wanted to like the Charbono -- it had such a romantic and storied history but I really didn't care for it. Summers gets my vote as a great place to stop though because they serve chocolates (and cherry tomatoes!) to go with their wines.
I loved this bisected oak barrel outside of Summers Estate.

Next up, we made our way into the town of Calistoga for a quick lunch. These two smiley images really captured my mood for the day!


SIDEWALK SAFARI SPOTLIGHT: Looking for other wine country day trips in the San Francisco Bay Area? Why not go off the beaten track a little and visit Lodi wineries for a day.
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We really liked the Old World Inn. There was plenty of opportunity to chat with other guests over breakfast or during the evening wine hour. The innkeepers mainly stayed in the background. The Old World Inn had fantastic modern amenities but old fashioned charm. They had a classic (working!) victrola in the living room. The alarm clocks in the all the rooms were set to play old timey music which really added to the atmosphere.

Each room featured a projection screen TV. Our screen actually pulled down from the foot of our canopy bed. The surround sound speakers were actually mounted on the bed itself. We watched The Philadelphia Story during our stay. The Old World Inn had an extensive collection of DVDs for guests to borrow.
The only unusual feature about our room was the heart-shaped cut-out in the shutters in the bathroom. It was oddly situated near the toilet at a rather immodest height...











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SIDEWALK SAFARI SPOTLIGHT: Looking for other ideas for things to do in the San Francisco Bay Area (one of the best vacation destinations in the United States)? Here are some of my top suggestions:
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