Girls’ weekend
Back in grad school a few years ago, three of my girlfriends and I realized we wouldn’t be together forever or for much longer. We decided the best way to guarantee regular reunions every couple of years was to get together for each of our 30th birthdays and do something special.
One of us had the first birthday earlier this month (wasn’t me!) and we made plans to meet up in California where Andy lives. The weekend included some of my favorite things: wine, running, ocean time, laughter and food.
Pacific Ocean in Half Moon Bay. [Oct. 29, 2010]
Andy had to work, so Cat, Sarah and I toured parts of San Francisco on foot on Friday: Chinatown, Union Square, Fisherman’s Wharf. Then we drove north to wine country and had the most amazing dinner at ZuZu in Napa.
On Saturday, we drove further north to Bothe-Napa Valley State Park for a 10K/half/marathon race. We heard the Napa Wine Country race was tough, but we were not prepared for 2 straight miles of hills, narrow muddy trails and jumping from rock to rock across small streams.
Crossing a creek in Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. [Oct. 30, 2010]
The race was small (300 runners) and fun. The views from the top and smells while running past coastal redwoods were worth the pain felt in our quads the next day.
Napa Wine Country. Pictures can’t do it justice. [Oct. 30, 2010]
We soaked in hot springs in Calistoga, ate a huge lunch and stopped at a few wineries to taste bottles we can’t afford to purchase. Andy met us at our last tasting at Jessup Cellars (thanks – you guys were awesome) and we finally had a birthday dinner.
Sun-day stroll in Sausalito. [Oct. 31, 2010]
On the way back to San Francisco, we stopped in Sausalito for lunch a walk in the sunshine. We drove across the Golden Gate Bridge for a driving tour of the city before my flight home.
Before I knew it, it was time to leave, back to Wyoming, work, the election, etc. But the short weekend was just what I needed before a busy week.