We woke up bright and early to a BEAUTIFUL day. I don't know how we got so lucky, but every day in Napa was 80 degrees and sunny. The weather gods were on our side for sure.
Our AirBnB host told us about a nice hike about 10 minutes down the road at Skyline Park, so we decided to try it out. After we parked the car we noticed a few signs warning of recent mountain lion sightings. Eek!! Last time Sara and I hiked together we saw a bear and were unprepared, so this time we asked a guy what to do in case we saw one. He said to stand tall and make noise -- do NOT act like prey. We were ready!
We didn't see any mountain lions, but we did see tons of deer! They must have been really accustomed to people because they weren't scared of us at all. I get so flippin' excited when I see animals of any kind, so of course I took some photos. And even a video!
We saw a whole deer family! If you listen closely you can hear my ridiculous breathing like I'm in the freakin' Blair Witch Project. I told you, animals excite me.
We also saw some amazing views! Is the Napa Valley gorgeous or is it gorgeous??
That burrito looks normal sized in that picture, but it was ENORMOUS, like bigger than Q'doba size! I could only eat about half and was busting out of my capris. When we got home Laura had put out breakfast for us, including her homemade orange marmalade. We were totally stuffed but felt bad so we split a piece of toast. The marmalade was good!
We freshened up after the hike and then hopped in the car for a mini road trip. First we drove to Domaine Chandon for some sparkling wine!
It was fun but way crowded. The drive over was totally stunning. I love Napa!!
After the vineyard it was time for stop #2. When I found out I was returning to California a few months ago I made a plan that no matter what I would try Pliny the Elder (and Pliny the Younger, if it was available)! Sara's a big beer nerd as well so we figured, why not go all out and make the hour long drive to Santa Rosa to visit Russian River Brewing Company?
Once we arrived we put our names in for a table and grabbed our first Plinys. The beer did NOT disappoint. Believe the hype people, Pliny is the bees knees!
Even better, it was "happy hour Sunday" so all beers were half off. It was only $3.50!!!
Once our table was ready we got down to business. The brewing company offers a 19-beer sampler flight for just $15. Insano.
This was definitely one of my all time favorite beer experiences of my life! We even took home two full growlers (even though we had just 24 hours to drink them...oops)!
Eventually it was time to leave the bar and head back to Napa. Sara had to drive and needed to sober up a bit, so we discussed how we should waste some time. As we walked around Santa Rosa we realized there were strangely, a ton of massage parlors and spas. Why not get a drunk massage?? We went into a random place and they could take us immediately. They put us in a couples room (LOL) and got down to business.
The massage was...interesting. For some reason I could NOT breathe at all. I seriously felt like I was suffocating and my nose was completely stuffed up. Secondly, this was a reflexology massage so the women were rough. They were sitting/kneeling on us and basically moving our bones out of the way. Sometimes I was cringing in pain, sometimes I was trying to force myself to stop laughing because the whole thing was so comical. For the most part though the massage was relaxing! The next day Sara and I were both completely sore. Bahaha.
It did the trick though because we were ready for the drive back to Napa. We got home pretty quickly and decided to get changed and go back out before we got too tired. Our host told us that since we loved beer we had to try out a nearby pub that had great beers, billiards and darts. Are we the only people who go to Napa and drink 90% beer?? We had SO much fun at this bar and made a million friends, plus I kicked ass in darts. We stayed out way too late and *almost* walked a few miles to a nearby In n' Out. Can you believe I've been to California twice and have not eaten In n' out?
The only picture I took from the evening:
Only one more California post to go. Sorry
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