Mine. Karl told me he had Valentine's Day weekend all planned out and it was going to be a surprise for me. Wow. After the great dinner he made for us I still have a surprise trip ahead of me? I was feeling lucky already! I, of course, had to ask my usual 20 questions in the several days leading up to Saturday so eventually Karl had to start messing with me. He would say things like, oh, yeah, we need to go by REI to get some new sub zero sleeping bags before we head out Saturday. I was like, no way. You know I hate being cold and there's no way we're camping this time of year!! People are skiing at Tahoe this weekend! So, I figured out we weren't camping (amen.)
Saturday morning he tells me what to pack and wear that day. I'm trying to stay cool and not ask too many questions. Then, I see him pack his SUIT...yow! I started fretting because my cute dresses were still in the dry cleaning pile from Vegas so I dug and dug into the dark corner of my closet and found a nice dress to wear for wherever we were headed. We loaded up the Ipod and hit the road. The weather was awesome and sunny and we drove across the bridge heading Northbound on 101. Hmmm..this road did lead to one of our favorite places ever- the wine country!! We exited Healdsburg and sure enough we were in Dry Creek Valley! An area we've been wanting to try, this is a less visited, quieter version of the Napa/Sonoma wineries and home to one of our favorite wines- Zins! So now I'm thinking..hmm...where are we staying tonight? We've only camped in this region in the spring and summer so I was not familiar with anywhere nearby to stay the night. Rest assured, Karl was a man with a plan. We pulled up to this amazing old mansion that was a bed & breakfast! We've never stayed at a B&B before and I have said before it would be fun to do that somewhere in the wine country and sure enough it was amazing.
We spent the day wine tasting on the quiet windy roads right near our B&B and hit up some great new wineries with awesome Zins and Pinot Noirs. 2 of our absolute favs. We enjoyed the less expensive tasting fees and the lack of crowds at each place. The views at some were awesome (Pictures below) and it was nice to be outside with such perfect weather. We had our usual picnic lunch at one of the wineries with an amazing view of the valley. We just can't get enough of this place.
The dinner that night was at the main house of the "manor" and was apparently noted as one of the best restaurants in the wine country in all the areas combined so we were eager to see if it lived up to our expectations. This was a fancy, 7 course meal and was New Californian cuisine. We chose the tasting menu with wine pairing and the entire experience was simply the best we've had in California or anywhere we've ever dined. We've come a long way from our first date at Taco Cabana ;) Each course was unique and delish and the portions were big. The wine pairings worked perfectly and the dessert just ended the entire meal with a single, perfect moment.
If anyone knows me they know my biggest weakness is ice cream and the only other thing that I like more is homeade ice cream. So, the restaurant's dessert speciality, get this- homeade ice cream made on a cart in front of your table!! I was mezmerized. Our waiter looked like Professor Snape with all his fancy bottles and potions and the dry ice just added to the dramatic effect. In a huge copper bowl he whipped up the most perfect homeade ice creamin minutes. It was the creamiest, to die for vanilla ice cream sundae I could imagine. My eyes were wide open just staring as he poured hot chocolate on top and plopped a cherry right in the middle. We agreed, this is one dining experience we will never forget. What a perfect weekend.
I'm the luckiest wife there is.
The Manor we stayed in
Vineyard filled with little yellow flowers
If we ever wanted to renew our vows somewhere?
Perfect picnic spot
