Monday, October 17, 2011

Vacationing in Napa Valley, California! Part One :)


Hi Everyone, I really hope your week is off to a wonderful beginning. :)

I wanted to share a little of the fun we had on our recent vacation to Napa Valley. I Hope you Enjoy it too! :)


I LOVE Napa Valley and of course with every vacation area I fall in love with, I really hope one day I get the opportunity to live there, even for a little while :) (Good luck with that one, says the little crazy guy sitting on my shoulder)  :(



The short flight from Portland to Sacramento is so easy; even the airports were no problem and it was a Friday afternoon. I was so excited. YAY!



I really LOVE taking photos out of the airplane windows with my zoom lens (Hello silly, you know there are double paned windows on this plane and the outside is covered in who knows what, I don't care, it is ZOOM or nothing (He! He!)


Click on photos to see larger images

Our plane coming into land at sunny Sacramento airport :)





Floor to ceiling towers of old cases in the baggage claim area of SAC airport, really cool :)


We rented a car for the next stage of our trip, an hour and a half drive. Once we left the fairly flat terrain surrounding Sacramento we wound our way thru Mountains roads, where we passed lots of cows, beautiful hanging moss, and a couple of gorgeous lakes (Lake Berryessa and Lake Hennessey).




Lovely Hanging Moss





Beautiful Lake Hennessey as the sun is setting :)





Another shot of Lake Hennessey.


With experience we know that as we arrive at Lake Hennessey we are not far from Rutherford and the Silverado Trail that will take us to our favourite place to stay in Napa Valley.

If you ever plan a trip to Napa Valley be sure to stay at The Wine Country Inn

I can't reccommend it highly enough. These people know their stuff and really know how to make you feel like you are on vacation straight away. The Inn is set in a beautiful quiet spot surrounded by lovely gardens, vines (of course, this is Napa :) and gorgeous vistas.



View from our balcony. Where we eat breakfast every morning (provided by the Inn :)





Another view from our balcony.





Courtyard





Patio where we sat most evenings eating the amazing appetizers the Inn provided and sampling the wines from the wineries that are invited in for the guests to enjoy! (a different one every evening) 




And the pool, what can I say about this?!?! It was relaxing, amazing, peaceful and I spent a lot of time here, PERFECT!!!





This guy came to the pool everyday for a chat, very friendly those Californian birds :)





Flowers beneath our balcony.





Ornamental Grass in one of the many garden settings around the Inn






The beautiful Agapanthus plant or Lily of the Nile :)










More lovely flowers from the Wine Country Inn's gardens :)






















I was so excited when I saw this blossom :)



We decide to drive around the mountains a little more than we have before, of course Mt. St. Helena
 where the Author Robert Louis Stevenson lived for a while high up in an old mining camp. I am fascinated by the story of his life :)


As we drove around we came across this "Air Mail" box, I just had to share it with you, isn't it a crack up :)





"Air Mail" box :)






Then as we looked back at Mt. St. Helena we saw the beautiful outline of the ridge line against the evening sky, the light was ever changing and I took the next few photos from a couple of locations.

It was absolutely perfect :)





























I really hope you enjoyed a little taste of Napa Valley, stay tuned for Part Two (What more????) Yep, wine and some fun restaurants :)



Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.


11 comments:

Jane said...

What a beautiful place T I can't wait to see the next instalment.
Love the photo of those suitcases.

Jane

Rainy Day Gardener said...

I love the hanging moss photo! What a wonderful vacation T! I was in your hood this weekend planting a few tree's at the house where I'll be moving into next spring!
Great View from the balcony! Cheers, Jenni

Meeling said...

How lovely! I haven't been to Napa in ages...it's so pretty. What lovely shots you captured. :-)

Charlotte said...

These are great photos! I really like the grass, the sunflower, the airplane and I LOVE the suitcases. What a great idea. Seeing the photos of the Inn makes me want to be there right now. :)

Anonymous said...

T, darling, why on earth did you LEAVE that balcony??? ;)

~M

Annette said...

I felt relaxed just looking at the photos and I wish I could have at least 3 of those suitcases, lol. The last photos are incredibly beautiful with the changing light. You were in the right place at the right time for that gorgeous sunset.

T@PoppyPlacePdx said...

Oh Annette, don't I know it!!!! But, also, what I am learning fast, is working on my photography, that there is a LOT of PATIENCE goes with waiting for the right shot!!!!

Aren't the case towers just amazing :)

Hey Jane, so nice to see you around :) I keep checking in with your shop :)


Hey C, we will be on a wine adventure very soon I am sure of that :)

Hey M, don't stress school or work to much, remember to breathe or have a glass of wine or two :)

Meeling, ever thought about opening a restaurant in P.Town they would love you :)

Jenni, so cool about your Hubby's family home, were you planting Maples there??? :)

I was taking photos of maples today in Laurelhurst, oh how amazing they are :)

Almost Precious said...

Oh T each photo is just spectacular. My favorite has to be the sensational pile of suitcases, how wonderful that you saw it and captured it with your camera. I'd hate to be the person who says; "Yes I see my suitcase and it's the one in the very middle of that pile " LOL
So happy to see more of you beautiful photos. :)

keithchip said...

Fantastic photos and fantastic memories. Thanks for capturing it all! The bright colors and views are awesome.

T@PoppyPlacePdx said...

Thanks A, :)

That would be funny if someone wanted their suitcase back but I think it is a kind of sculpture :)


Yes Mr K. wonderful memories indeed :)

Thanks for stopping by guys :) T.

Unknown said...

T, you do know how to take a fab photo!
Your flowers are always so gorgeous :-)
And I love the airplane out of the window - looks just like a shark