Vox

Musings, rants, rambling, general nonsense

The Trip

Posted on | March 27, 2004 | Comments Off on The Trip

I am leaving my job at the airline. Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while know I love that job. It was my one truly customer contact job and I thrive in that environment (all my others involve sitting in front of a computer or otherwise working alone). It was not an easy decision to make, in fact I am still torn, but I know it is the right one – too much time, not enough return $$$
I wanted to take advantage of my flight benefits before I lost them so I went on a trip Monday-Tuesday (which meant taking time off from my other jobs, the ones that pay actual money). One of the guys who was in class with me (J) came along.
The trip was planned as: fly in to Sacramento, rent a car, drive to San Francisco for a day, Napa the next, home to Phoenix. When we arrived at the airport we found out the Sacramento flight was full (oversold in fact). As non-revenue, space-available travelers we are the lowest priority so were not holding out high hopes for that. We tried to come up with alternative plans – with not much luck – but since I got up at 6:00 in the morning I was determined to go somewhere.
This gets long….


Finally, by some stroke of luck, they called my name – enough people hadn’t shown up that I got a seat. Need 2 more so J can get a seat, too. Mr Zamora didn’t show up, Mr Harris…cool, now we both get to go. Bear in mind, we were so far down the list that 15 people had to not show up in order for us to go, 15 people. In all my time at the airport I have never quite grasped this – why would you not show up for your flight. Not missed a connection in this case, but just not come to the airport (or not come in time). Strange. Worked out for me, though, so if you didn’t take your scheduled flight to Sacramento Monday morning, thanks.
Into Sacramento with nothing set up – with fingers crossed we headed to the rental cars, third try (Avis) we get one and we’re on our way to San Francisco. Absolutely beautiful day, perfect weather. J is a great travel buddy – fun and laid back, no stress at all. We ate lunch at Joe’s near Fisherman’s Wharf which gave us a great view of the World Famous Bush Man. Seems like a silly gig, but it is a crack up. We were up there for 45 minutes and couldn’t stop laughing.
Then, more sightseeing, more walking along the wharf till we found the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (OK, I knew it was there and was heading for it). Yes, we had been to Ghirardelli – but I wanted chocolate covered strawberries, my biggest candy weakness. I was not disappointed, freshly made with some of the sweetest, juiciest strawberries you can imagine.
We headed out of town across the Golden Gate bridge. J had never been over it, so it was even more fun for me. I love seeing things like that through someone else’s eyes. Walked out on it and nearly got blown in to the bay but had a great time despite the wind.
On the way out of town, J called ahead to Napa and booked the hotel, no worries…other than me getting us lost trying to find said hotel
Dinner at Mary’s then back to the hotel for – get this – 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Wow did I need that!
Next day we head out for the winery tours, which is something else J has never done before – so I get to see that through his eyes as well. That may be the best part.
Started at Trefethen, because I thought I remembered touring it before. Turns out I was wrong. No real tour to speak of, though you can wander through their library. Too much money to do a tasting so we moseyed down the road.
Stopped at Cardinale/Atalon. Again, no tour but a nice tasting of 6 wines. They specialize in reds (which are my favorite) so I was loving it, J is new to wine so that much red was a new treat for him. All the wines we tasted were wonderful, the last two were spectacular. But at $80 and $120 a bottle, respectively, out of my reach. I did take the 1999 Atalon Merlot which was worth the $45 price tag.
On their recommendation we headed to Diamond Oaks which specializes in white wines. The tasting was nice but not spectacular – the view, however, was breathtaking. One of the most glorious views I remember seeing in Northern California.
The Atalon guy also recommended Sawyer Cellars as a nice family owned place. We went in, wandered around, fondled the merchandise. Someone walked past us, but no one said anything – not a peep. Finally we gave up and walked out (my motto “if someone is trying to give you money, you make it easy for them”) and then someone came out to see if we needed anything. Nope, too late. If I am already getting in my car to go, you missed your window.
From there we went to Niebaum Coppola, because you can’t pass up the opportunity to see Francis Ford Coppola’s vineyard. The building was beautiful, and the museum was quite interesting. Downstairs there is a Coppola family history, upstairs are artifacts from his movies. Fun to see a real Tucker, the bamboo cage and surfboard from Apocalypse Now, Vito Corleone’s desk from The Godfather. Bought some chocolate flavored with Sofia Blanc de Blanc wine – yummy.
On to the crowning jewel – V. Sattui. Beautiful location, beautiful building, free tasting. After you make your way through their long list of yummy wines, you can go to their on site deli and pick up some food. We decided on the sour french bread, some sliced dry salami and the cream cheese/artichoke/garlic spread they make onsite… to die for… mmmmmmmmmmm. Stayed there (’cause it was so comfortable and relaxing) till it was time to head back to the airport. What a beautiful, wonderful day. Both days.
Made it to the airport with time to spare and got onto an earlier flight – in first class. Comfy for the ride home. Then I had two days of email and work to catch up on
There you have it, short story long. But it was indeed just a fabulous trip, thanks J for your very enjoyable company.



✏

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