On occasion, I am fortunate enough to travel with my husband, who is a corporate pilot. He gets to go to some really neat places, and every now and then, I get to tag along.
Last weekend, when he told me he was to travel to San Francisco for four days, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go with him. I had never been to California, and I had heard that if you're going there, San Francisco is the best city to visit. Whoever told me that was surely right.
We left out of Greenwood and flew for a few hours, stopping for fuel in Denton, Texas, and again in Winslow, Ariz. There wasn't much to Winslow, but I did buy a bumper sticker that proclaimed we had been "standing on the corner in Winslow, Ariz." (Remember that song by The Eagles?)
We landed in San Francisco in mid-afternoon on Friday, and I was surprised at how cool and windy it was. The temperature on this August day was a smooth 69 degrees. I was glad to be away from the sweltering heat of the Mississippi Delta for a couple of days.
We rented a car, and drove into the city, which seemed to spread out for miles and miles. We traveled down Beach Boulevard along Fisherman's Wharf and finally reached our hotel close to the Pacific Heights region, about a block from the Wharf.
We checked in, I grabbed a sweater, and we headed out for the Wharf. There are dozens of neat shops and restaurants along the Wharf, and all my nose could register on was the aroma of freshly baked sourdough bread and seafood. It was heavenly. After doing some shopping and cruising along the pier, we ate at the Franciscan Restaurant, which sits overlooking the San Francisco Bay. We had a great view of Alcatraz and the boats, fishing, tourist and sail, along the crystal blue waters.
We stopped frequently to check out many unusual individuals along the Wharf who were performing various acts of artistry and comedy. Of particular interest to me was a spot on the Wharf where people were gathering by the dozens to watch a man, known as the Bush Man, jump out from behind bushes and scare unsuspecting passers-by.
He was quite entertaining, to say the least. From the looks of things, he probably made more money in a year than I did just by being silly.
We turned in early that night, because we had a big day planned for Saturday.
Early the next morning, while the temperature was at a brisk 49 degrees, we were picked up in front of our hotel and transported to a tour bus at the Wharf. Within an hour, we were heading north across the double-decker Oakland-San Francisco Bay bridge for a day of sightseeing in the Napa Valley region. I had always wanted to see this part of the country, and I hated to be this close and not take advantage of the opportunity.
As we crossed over the mountain ranges of northern California, the land seemed to open up into a vast expanse of green-dotted fields. These were the vineyards of California I had heard so much about and was now getting a first-hand look at. The view was spectacular. There were vineyards everywhere - on the flat parts of the land, as well as on the steep edges of the mountains.
We visited three wineries, including the 4,000-acre Kirkland Ranch, the Viansa Winery and Mont St. John on the Madonna Estates.
The three wineries were all vastly different. Kirkland Ranch is a relatively new winery, and cattle is also raised here. It is owned by two brothers, one of whom gave us the grand tour. The massive cedar and redwood ranch house, which held the winery, was incredible.
Our next stop was at the Mont St. John winery near Sonoma. The interesting thing about this wine-making business is that everything they grow is completely organic - no chemicals, no pesticides, nothing.
We enjoyed lunch at an Italian restaurant on the square in Sonoma, and I stopped in to purchase cheese at the Sonoma Cheese Factory.
Our final stop of the day was at the Italian winery called Viansa, owned by the Sebastiani family. In addition to growing grapes, they also grow and harvest their own crops of California olives. They were getting ready to host a wedding at Viansa, and I can only imagine the cost of such an extravagant event. This winery was unique in that it closely resembled what I imagined Tuscany to look like (although I've never been there) - very Italian indeed. They also featured an Italian marketplace, in which visitors could purchase not only wine, but hundreds of Italian food products as well as fresh gourmet deli products.
We traveled south back into San Francisco, passing through Marin County, where lies the most expensive real estate in the country. This county is home to the famed redwood forests as well as Lucas Ranch, home of Star Wars creator George Lucas.
I flew home the next afternoon on a surprisingly affordable commercial flight, glad to have had the opportunity to visit this part of the country. I would recommend the trip to anyone looking for a great vacation.
