Wine Country - Santa Rosa, CA - 4460 Miles

After Yosemite we made it back near the coast into the Napa/Somoma area for four nights. Jessica (our GPS) continued her pattern of opting for roads that weren't in the atlas we carry for back-up. We drove 40 miles before getting on a road we could find on a map. Most of that time we were the only car on the road. Farmers and ranchers in their fields looked at us like a passing UFO. She hasn't let us down yet though. Even once in San Diego when she took us down an alley on trash day to get to the beach. I waited for, "Turn left at the next trash can."

I'm not a big wine person but it was interesting to hear the people pouring at wine tastings (oh yes, I did taste) speak with near reverence of their soil, grapes, and microclimate of their particular vineyards. Only one admitted much of the land was owned by growers who sold grapes to whomever wanted them. Valley homes with any land had most of their yard leased out and covered with grapevines. For the record only Korbel had both free tours and tastings. Other places wanted $25 or more per person for both. I completely missed the subtle hints of vanilla, peach, etc., claimed to be in the wines. It was simply wine. It could have been Boone's Farm. I did manage to avoid my mother's catch phrase any time she tasted wine - "Tastes like licorice."

I learned that in wine awards all gold medals are equal. One winery touted two of their gold medal winning wines. One wine received its gold medal from the International Tasters Guild. The other won its medal at the Indiana State Fair. I was going to buy the first until I saw it cost three times as much. I decided those Hoosiers really know their wines.






























On the way back from lunch on the coast we stopped in Bodega to see the school used as a set in Hitchcock's The Birds. (Yes, we are easily amused.) It's now a private home. A sign warned of a beehive in the bush to the right of the front door. Given the cloud of buzzing bees, the fence was a close as we wanted to get. I considered throwing a rock into the bush while Terry posed for the picture but decided she wouldn't find it nearly as funny as I would. The bees probably deterred trespassers better than a "Beware of Dog" sign.