Hard to believe, but we've been coming back to Dr. Wilkenson's Motel in Calistoga for over 20 years now. The warm mineral pools are always about the same, and a couple of dunkings is all it takes to shake off the trip down from Seattle. We don't have wireless in our bungalow, so I'm sitting the courtyard now watching the hummingbirds, which is a lot nicer while blogging than staring out the window at a wet hedge.
Here's John, enjoying the retro indoor therapy pool...
Our first full day was Sunday, and the Napa Valley was hopping with visitors up from the Bay area. The highway was bumper to bumper. Eating lunch at Mustard's Grill is a treat, and we got an early table. They call it "classic American truck stop food." Ha, what a menu! Decisions, decisions...
This would win the prize in any Seafood Tostada contest.
But John says the creme brulee is the best thing going at Mustard's Grill.
After lunch, a lazy stop at the historic Inglenook Winery, one of my favorite places remembered from the rough old 70's, now owned by Francis Ford Coppola. Nothing rustic about it these days...bring lots of money if you set foot in the gift shop.
Another day, another gorgeous winery. This is Chateau Montelena, just outside Calistoga. They're famous for what is known as the "Judgement of Paris" when Montelena's California Chardonnay whipped a bunch of fancy French whites in a blind tasting. The rest is history, and the owner now flies over his kingdom, supervising from his helicopter. John got us tickets to a vineyard tour there this morning, and a sweet young man drove us through the fields in a golf cart.
Beautiful views on a perfect morning, and complimentary grapes to sample.
We'll take it!
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