Katie’s 27th birthday was approaching and with her PhD work in full swing, we decided a weekend getaway would be a healthy change.  The cheapest non-stop flights were to San Francisco and since I had never been, we ventured out there.

Most of our trips involve the usual sightseeing, museums, art, food but we always try to add a small excursion that makes the destination stand out.  In Napa, it was hot air balloons.

Katie’s not as big a fan of wine as I am, but we did a 10 mile cycle+tasting tour through Napa and she found a few white labels to enjoy.

Our last stop in Napa was a quick tour of Chateau Montelena.  This vineyard was made famous by the 1976 Paris Wine Tasting which was the first significant victory of American wines over French.  A bottle of the winning Chardonnay has since been placed in the Smithsonian.  We tried the latest vintage.  It was good.

On the drive back to San Francisco, we stopped by Muir Woods National Monument to see the local redwoods.  We did a short hike through the monument and continued over the Golden Gate.  We only had a couple days in the city, spending most of it at the piers and walking the bridge.