Our trip to San Francisco would not have been complete without heading north to wine country. When deciding on an AirB&B, I told Glenn that one of my favorite memories from the mid Nineties was when I had a sweet little week long gig as a camp counselor two summers in a row, at the Bishop's Ranch Episcopal Retreat Center near Healdsburg, about 90 minutes north of the bay area. My friend, Julie, an Episcopal priest, was the youth counselor, and this particular camp was a fine arts camp, with counselors in vocal music, instrumental music, art, drama, and dance (that would be me). It is a beautiful setting in a charming area so I thought we would search for a B&B around there. Glenn discovered the Pony Ranch, about seven miles outside of Healdsburg, a vineyard that grows Zinfandel grapes, so we booked three days, rented a car, and left the bustling urban scene of San Francisco for this:
We stayed in the guest house at the back of this humble residence, facing the vineyards. I know, right?
The air was soft and warm, filled with the scent of lemons, roses, sage, and lavender.
Our first night we went to a wine and cheese shop in Healdsburg, picked up the desired wine and cheese, plus a loaf of bread, and spent the evening sipping and eating while sitting outside on our little patio. A small slice of heaven.
This little guy came for a visit:
We met with friends, Jack and Lisa, at the Bishop's Ranch the second night and shared dinner. Happily the place looked just as I remembered it 20 years ago, with only a few small updates.
http://www.bishopsranch.org/
Healdsburg was a sleepy little town back in the Nineties. Now it's a trendy spot for dining and shopping, but still a nice, small town ambiance (no Walmart!)
Our favorite dining experience was at Bravas Tapas Bar, sitting on a friendly patio sampling interesting dishes, including calamari that doesn't taste anything like the rubbery fried stuff available locally, and, of course, sipping wine.
I found a lovely little store that specialized in Japanese clothing and fabrics, called Yasuko where I treated myself to the scarf above, a tunic, and a scrap bag of fabrics to use for quilting.
http://www.yasukostore.com/
Also included, was a day trip to Calistoga for massages and a soak in mineral waters at the Golden Haven Spa. Although, Calistoga spas are sort of basic and no frill, most of them looking like vintage motels from the Sixties, which is probably what they are. Alas, all the mud baths were booked so we didn't get to do this:
It was a short, sweet visit in the middle of our west coast trip and we managed a wine tasting next door to our vineyard abode, at Mazzocco winery, bringing home my favorite, a nice zinfandel with a hint of pepper, to be opened on our anniversary in August.
http://www.mazzocco.com/pages/pony-ranch
http://mazzocco.wilsonartisanwineries.com/wines/show/403
Another last look at the beautiful view, then back to San Francisco via Sausalito.
Check it out.
http://www.healdsburg.com/
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