Wanderlust

Well I never thought this day would come… the conclusion to my California trip. I know, it seems like it’s been since 1987 since I went on the trip, but instead was just a few months ago.

So on our last day it was all about biking to wineries in Sonoma. I’m not going to lie, I had a little bit of anxiety because I haven’t been on a bike in years and I’m talking about a stationary bike at the gym. Would I remember how NOT to fall off? Would they have a bike for someone who isn’t the tallest, but isn’t a child’s bike? Only time would tell.

Meet my bike from Napa Valley Bike Tours. It came with a built in fanny pack for all my things!

The good news: I remembered how to get on the bike and pedal!
The bad news: the bike was still too big for me. #shortgirlprobz

I’m not going to lie, I was a hot mess express the whole day so I honestly couldn’t give a proper recap on the day except for the following:

I was not made to ride bikes. I looked like t-rex trying to ride a bike. It wasn’t pretty.
For someone who hadn’t hopped on a bike in about ten years, I managed to bike a little over 13 miles (even if some of that time was spent “walking my bike”)
I’d never been so excited to reach each winery so I could sit + numb the pain with wine.
I also threatened to call Uber on multiple occasions because I literally thought I was going to pass out in the middle of nowhere.

The 3 wineries that we biked to were Gundach Bundschu Winery, Buena Vista Winery + Sebastiani Vineyards.

Despite thinking I was going to die biking around Sonoma, it was absolutely gorgeous. It was a perfect ending to a fun + memorable trip with some of the greatest friends.

Travels

Jessica Jet Sets to Cali: Part IV

May 15, 2016May 15, 2016 alittlebitsquirrely

One day I will finish my trip recap, dammit! With that being said… here goes!

Saturday was our day for wine tastings. Sam from Honey Tour Company came to pick us up to take us on our wine tasting adventures and be our DD of course! He even had a spread of crackers + cheese that we could munch on between stops. It was like he was trying to steal my heart with the Havarti cheese (my fav).

Winery #1: Beaulieu Vineyard
My main goal for the wineries to become a red wine drinker. By far out of all of the wineries we went to on Saturday, my favorite red was the Reserve Carneros from Beaulieu Vineyard. I really wish I had bought a few bottles- it was so good! We had a private tour + tasting at Beaulieu Vineyard which was intimate + fun for our group. In a perfect world I would get a large wine barrel installed in my house so I could get wine out whenever I wanted to. Maybe I should just move into a winery…

Winery #2: Provenance Vineyards
Provenance Vineyards was intimate + quaint, which was nice. After sampling some delicious wine as well as getting a sample straight from the barrel, Sam made us lunch outside while we enjoyed the sun rays and played Jenga. It was extremely relaxing there. They had ample outdoor seating from picnic tables to open seating as well as covered tables to hide in the shade.

Winery #3: Frog’s Leap Winery
This winery by far was one of my favorites of our trip. Not only was the wine on point, but the view was to die for. I literally could have just moved in there. It would be the perfect the location for a engagement photos or even a wedding. They encourage you to to pick the fruit off the trees + try it, which was fantastic. The grounds were covered in vast array of mustard, which really made the property pop with color. Part of me wanted to just run in the mustard + twirl around in circles like the scene from The Sound of Music, which I totally did even though the mustard was above my waist. When I emerged I was covered in yellow, but it was well worth it. I would definitely go back to Frog’s Leap Winery again… it was heaven on earth there.

Winery #4: Tres Sabores Winery
Our last stop of the day was Tres Sabores Winery! Upon arriving we were greeted by an adorable golden retriever and some sheep. Yes, sheep. We received a tour around the grounds, went into the cave where they keep their wine and watched the process of bottling the wines. Afterwards we all gathered at a long table outside for our wine tasting. (P.S. If you ask for some cheese + crackers, they will bring it out). I might have been a little hungry at the time when I asked. My friends thanked me later for that snack! It was extremely relaxing + breathtaking at Tres Sabores Winery and being the animal lover I am, I loved the various animals on the property. I even was able to get my photo with one of the sheep, and by photo I mean I stood a good length away from it in case it got frisky.

Hiring a tour company is the only way to really experience Napa Valley. Everyone was able to let loose + not have to worry about having a DD, we had a professional tour guide who took us to some notable wineries that were each different and it was a day I’ll never forget. Had I not gone on this trip, I would have had some serious FOMO.

Travels

Jessica Jet Sets to Cali: Part III

April 17, 2016April 17, 2016 alittlebitsquirrely

I swear, it’s going to take me a year to do the entire recap from my California trip… but I’m going to finish it!!

On day two we spent the better part of the morning continuing our “tour of San Francisco.”

First Stop: The Full House house. Y’all, I can’t even tell you how excited I was about seeing this. I grew up on Full House and have probably watched all the episodes multiple times (it ranks up there with Saved By The Bell, the original 90210 series, Law + Order: SVU + FRIENDS episodes that I could binge watch repeatedly). We totally nerded out on the way to see the house by listening to the Full House theme song. I have no shame in admitting that. Not to mention, Fuller House was about to be released on Netflix so it was perfect timing.

Second Stop: Mrs. Doubtfire house. While I was excited to see the Mrs. Doubtfire house, it didn’t compare to seeing the Full House house. #sorrynotsorry

Third Stop: Lombard Street. Thank god we did not attempt to drive the suburban on Lombard Street. Just watching the people drive down it gave me anxiety. To the people who live on Lombard Street: bless your hearts for putting up with all the tourists and having the patience to live on that street.

Fourth Stop: The Golden Gate Bridge. Is it always that windy by the bridge? I’m not going to lie, I didn’t get many good photos of myself there due to the wind. Major buzzkill. I was hoping I’d get a good one for my Bumble profile. Oh well! We probably spent 30 minutes getting a really good blowout with major tangles on a dreary day.

While we made our way out of San Francisco we made a pit stop in Sausalito for lunch at Copita. They had a drink on the menu called ‘Ziggy Stardust’ and wish I had ordered it in honor of my man, David Bowie. If I ever come across another Ziggy Stardust, you better believe I’m going to order it. After lunch we loaded up the suburban to head to our house in Napa Valley, but we had one more pitstop to make- go to Lagunitas Brewery!

The rest of the day was chill- we had to get settled in our house and rest up for our big WINERY tour. Let’s hope my recap from the winery tour won’t be next month. I’m going to try to finish up my California recap before I go to Blowing Rock for a girl’s weekend.

Travels

Jessica Jet Sets to Cali: Part II

March 27, 2016 alittlebitsquirrely

Now to the fun part! Part of the group arrived to San Fran around noon which allowed us get a jumpstart on being an official tourist. I was beyond stoked to cram as much sightseeing as I could into the day. Once we checked into the hotel, we walked in circles at Union Square + had some lunch at Lefty O’Douls (which was totally delicious). From there we made our way to Last Drop Tavern for a much needed drink (I had one of my favorite adult beverages, a Moscow Mule) and we began to plot out what we were going to do with limited time we had.

We all agreed on the following:

Ride a cable car
Check out the Fisherman’s Wharf
Say hey to the seals
Take a look at Alcatraz

We did it all. And more.

I pretty much want a seal now. Preferably a teacup size seal, I don’t think your average size seal will logistically work in my townhouse. I’m going to add this to my Christmas wish list. After trolling around the Fisherman’s Wharf for a couple hours, we met up with the rest of our party for drinks to celebrate everyone’s arrival. We also had Tommy’s brother join us (he lives in San Francisco) + played tour guide around In-N-Out (major buzzkill I didn’t eat there… that was on my bucket list. I guess I’ll have to go back to San Fran again), Ghiradelli Square (I didn’t get any chocolate either… ANOTHER buzzkill) and finally we landed at his brother’s house for a pit stop.

By this time is was around 8pm. I’d been up for about 17 hours and I was still trucking along. How? I have no idea. I can’t hang like I used to. #imgettingold

All we knew is that we wanted dinner + then go back to the hotel to crash. After we bid farewell to Tommy’s bro we hopped on the cable car towards dinner. If you’re in San Francisco go dine at Hops + Hominy– it was banging. All I know is I inhaled my burger. I’m not going to lie I don’t remember much from dinner (and no it wasn’t the alcohol), it was from being up close to 20 hours.

Day one in San Francisco was a complete success. Up next: my recap of day two in San Francisco + our journey to Napa Valley.

Travels

Jessica Jet Sets to Cali: Part I

March 25, 2016 alittlebitsquirrely

As you can obviously tell, I survived my trip to California. I packed enough airplane “activities” to keep me occupied on the long journey. If someone looked in my carry-on bag they would have thought I was an activity hoarder. What was in my carry-on you might ask? Here’s the run down:

Adult coloring book (I did not color at all)
HGTV magazine (which I did NOT read)
MacBook (I partially worked on my self-assessment for work)
The Good Girl (I read a little bit)
iPad (I honestly don’t know why I brought it)
Work tablet (another piece of technology I should have left behind)

I realize I should have been more sensible when packing my “activity” bag, but I wasn’t sure how high my anxiety level would be and I needed all the distractions I could get. The flight form RDU to CLT wasn’t bad at all… a beautiful 30 minutes-ish traveling. It was the CLT to SFO flight that I was prepping for. I basically followed my friend’s suggestion by not having ANY caffeine prior to flying- what a great tip!

While heading to my connecting flight I totes I got to lay my eyes on the Carolina Panther’s plane. No, Cam Newton was no where to be seen. They were probably still mourning their Super Bow 50 loss (I mean, I’m still bummed about it).

The Panther's plane in CLT — The Panther’s plane in CLT

On the 5+ hour trip to San Francisco I was lucky enough to sit right next to the cabin bathroom. That’s right, I had VIP seats to see who all were repeat offenders using the bathroom!

My view for 5+ hours, the luxurious bathroom.

It wasn’t too bad, I actually had enough room and didn’t feel claustrophobic- otherwise I would have needed a horse tranquilizer.

Now since my first day in California had consisted of being up for almost 24 hours, I figured I’d break up my blog post into a series of posts so I don’t miss any of the important stuff. We crammed A LOT into our first day in San Francisco. My journey to The Golden State was just part of it.

Coming Soon- Jessica Jet Sets to Cali: Part II

Tag: Wanderlust

Jessica Jet Sets to Cali: Part V

Jessica Jet Sets to Cali: Part IV

Jessica Jet Sets to Cali: Part III

Jessica Jet Sets to Cali: Part II

Jessica Jet Sets to Cali: Part I