I'm now going to San Diego for work instead of San Jose. Normally, that would be a blessing, but it seems that the month of May in San Diego is notoriously cloudy. Everybody here calls it "May Gray.&qout; So much for the "70 and sunny" I was promised!
Just prior to coming out to San Diego, I spent a weekend in Napa with some people from work. We had quite the group; we ended up with 16 people on the first day. We started the day at Chateau Montelena to taste their award-winning Chardonnay. I ended up buying one of their Zinfandels. We then moved on to Sterling, where we had a tram ride and a self-guided tour, and I purchased a Sangiovese. We then went to V. Sattui for lunch, followed by a final tasting at Gustavo Thrace in downtown Napa. Finally, we went to Rutherford Grill for dinner. The following day, four of us continued on to Sonoma. The first tasting room, Tin Barn, was actually in a warehouse. All of their wines were amazing, and I had a difficult time deciding what to purchase, but I eventually bought a Zinfandel and a Pinot Noir. We then went to the Mayo Reserve Room, where I found two more I liked: another Zinfandel and a Port. We then had some local pizza for lunch, and headed for the airport.
This last weekend, I went to Portland. I had never been there before, and I decided I wanted to go. Apparently, it's usually grey and drizzly this time of year, but I lucked out, as it was sunny the whole weekend. I spent Saturday hitting up the sights in the city, from the rose garden to the Japanese garden, to going up Mt. Tabor. I finished the evening by taking sunset photos of the city from across the river. The following day, I drove to Mt. Hood, and then made my way back to Portland along the Columbia River, stopping to see some of the area's beautiful waterfalls. I then made my way to the airport.
I'm now getting ready for my next trip, two weeks in Vietnam!