Napa

After leaving Santa Cruz, we headed up to Napa. We decided to drive Highway 1 up the coast and then over the Golden Gate Bridge to Napa to avoid driving ‘over the hill’ (Highway 17 from Santa Cruz to San Jose). It was a beautiful sunny day, so we got some nice views. Driving through San Francisco and over the Golden Gate Bridge was interesting… LOTS of cars and narrow lanes. It took a lot of concentration, but we made it!

Matt had a couple days of work in American Canyon (just south of Napa). He did work at the company that made the big blue bear in Denver. They have a mini version at their offices. (Denver version)

We camped at Skyline Wilderness Park. It’s a county campground with an interesting history. Here’s the link to the history of the park. The land was previously part of the Napa State Hospital – because before Napa had people come for its wine, people came to the mental institution there.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time there. We were surrounded by open space, woods, trails, a native plant garden, an archery range, disc golf, and miles of trails. This place is busy – especially on the weekends.

One day we visited the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield. It was really fun. We left with a new appreciation for how Jelly Bellys are made and entirely too much candy!

Matt had to fly out for a week for work while the kids and I stayed at the campground. We caught up on school, did a lot of hiking, took walks, pulled weeds at the garden with other volunteers, watched lots of disc golfers, runners, hikers, and horses all around the park. One morning we even caught the end of the draft trials of the Golden State Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club (sorry, no pictures).

One day we walked through downtown Napa, did school, got second breakfast at the Oxbow Market, and visited the Culinary Institute of America at Copia. At the culinary institute we saw the kitchens they teach classes in, a culinary museum with an impressive collection of kitchen items, and the gardens out front that Julia Child helped design.

When we picked Matt up from the airport, we stopped to hike at Albany Bulb in Berkley. It’s a unique place with funky art and nice views of the San Francisco Bay. Our friend, Tim, had recommended it since he had been there recently. It had a very Concrete Couch Coyote Park feel to it!

The rest of the time we caught up on normal life, like changing sheets, doing laundry, cleaning, etc. Napa was a wonderful place to land for 10 days or so. And we’re also excited about moving on!