California Dreaming

So Wifey and I Ubered to MIA, had some dinner and, in my case, some drinks at the Centurion, and then we were winging Westward for SFO. We arrived after 11 pm, and though we needed to be in Sonoma early Saturday, opted to stay on SFO campus to get some sleep.

I had found the Dylan Hotel on Trip Advisor, and the shuttle dropped us off. It was a former 50s era Travel Lodge, turned into a cool, boutique property, and it was lovely. The rooms had record players and vinyl, but Wifey and I just enjoyed the very quiet and clean surroundings. Next am there was breakfast, and then a the longest Uber ride ever -- a 1.5 mile drive to Sonoma. The driver loved it - he was a LA transplant and never been to Sonoma. He told us he planned to explore the place after he dropped us off.

The house was buzzing -- Big Chill-like. We met the celebrants, Joelle and Kenny, and the other guests. Joelle's half brother Alejandro was there -- a great late 30s man who is a Stanford grad and works for some kind of international consulting firm, and his Italian wife, Gianna, who works for a Brazilian NGO. They were so bright and nice and worldly -- it was a pleasure spending time with them.

The other couple was Ellen, a law professor in San Diego, and her man Hal, a law professor in NY. Ellen has a daughter with the same name as D2, which is unusual, and we spent a lot of time comparing daughter notes.

The limo Joelle and Kenny ordered pulled up, and off we went to Dry Creek. We stopped at 8 wineries, each of which had a theme party going, with a live band, and delicious gourmet food. The bands were terrific -- ranging from a Blues group, to a Beatles cover band. As we progressed during the day, we were all drunker and drunker -- even Wifey, who rarely drinks. She enjoyed the whites and roses,and had a blast. There was much laughter, and great conversation in the limo.

That night we ate at a great place in Sonoma, and walked home in the cool air. Sunday we said goodbye to Alejandro and Gianna -- they left for far flung places, and I drove a minivan for the 6 of us -- more wineries, including one whose theme was "Opening Day," and featured a whiffle ball stadium. I struck out --  I haven't swung a bat in more than 10 years...

The final winery of the day was Amida, which was celebrating their 25th anniversary. We found it a fine coincidence -- the purpose of the trip was Kenny and Joelle's 25th anniversary. We all took photos with Audrey Hepburn 's cutout -- and all wore tiaras...

Sunday night we had another fine dinner, at a place called Harvest Moon. We walked home, and Hal told me about issues in China, where he was headed for a conference. When you walk into any public place there, facial recognition tells observers everything about you. Hal said the Soviet Union were 19th Century thugs; Chinese are 22nd Century thugs. 

Monday we said our goodbyes, and Kenny drove Wifey and me to the Hertz outlet on the outskirts of town.

I began the 1.5 hour drive to Half Moon Bay, over the Golden Gate Bridge.