The Grape Leaf Inn- Healdsburg, California

Sorry about the color in this picture. Our camera went on the blink and we had to make do copying one from the Grape Leaf Inn’s web site.         

Where we stayed:          

Our choice of lodging was a bed and breakfast, The Grape Leaf Inn. What a wonderful spot!    

He Said:   

After settling in, Richard hosted a tasting in his “speakeasy”, where we sampled some unique boutique wines, some of which he himself had produced from his vineyards. The only other guests were a couple from the San Francisco area who frequent the valley often. The relaxed atmosphere lends to a very comfortable hour of conversation spanning many topics beyond the wines, and, not surprisingly, got us well on the way to feeling no pain – again!           

Richard in his Speakeasy

Richard's Award Winning Wines

She said:           

I love the Grape Leaf Inn. We had a very gourmet breakfast. I’d never had a honey dew melon shooter before. Great way to start the day!  Kae and Richard were the perfect hosts.  The rooms were well appointed and had very nice amenities.  They had coffee ready in the morning, cookies in the afternoon, and an abundance of wine and some appetizers at 5:00.  We could walk into town in about 10-15 minutes.  We paid about $300.00/night (it was our honeymoon).       

Downtown Healdsburg; image from flickr by Stephenrwalli

Healdsburg is a great little town filled with cute shops, wonderful restaurants and many of the winerys are represented in the town to be purchased or sampled.

Where we ate:

He said:

Rosie, the name we’ve given to our Garmin, took us from Napa to the Sonoma Valley in a manner I’m sure is traveled only by locals, unfortunately, not when they’re going to Healdsburg! We scoured the map to see just why we were on this route as there appeared a much more direct, and perhaps faster routing. None the less, after almost 1 hour of squealling tires and endless switchbacks, we eventually arrived in Healdsburg and were actually beginning to feel sober again! I was thrilled when a restaurant recommendation was within walking distance.

She said:

Not wanting too heavy a meal and desiring someplace we could walk, our hosts at the Grape Leaf Inn recommended “Willi’s“, a seafood and raw bar tapas restaurant a few blocks away. It’s varied menu was just what we need. We shared four different dishes. The highlight was bay scallops and macaroni topped with a dab of caviar, but almost equally enjoyable was a lobster roll, tuna tar-tare and a grilled avacado. Desert was a sumptuous chocolate cake topped with a butterscotch mouse, ice cream and shaved, candied almonds. The glass of chardonnay we each enjoyed with dinner truly put the cap on a wonderful day. It was all we could do to get back to The Grape Leaf Inn and fall into bed.

If you had only a short amount of time, say a night or two, I’d spend it in Healdsburg, and be perfectly happy!

Robert Sinskey Cabernet; image from flickr by feverblue

Robert Sinskey Winery; image from flick by Joe Shlabonik

What we did:

On the recommendation of The Vineyard Wine Shop, our local wine shop in Denver, we toured the Robert Sinskey Vineyards.  They said it was one of the best wine tours and it was, indeed, a pleasure.

He said:

Our tour group was, small, being only ourselves and one other couple. The guide was a very knowledgeable, and personable, out of work, recent law school graduate. We began with a sample of Pinot Noir and a tour through the extensive gardens. They grow almost all the herbs and vegetables used in the foods for the paired wine tastings. After a brief view of the unloading station we ventured into the caves where the wines age in $1400 oak barrels from France. A stop at the “library”, where a case of each vintage is stored for future reference, permits the opportunity to enjoy a 1998 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon that, we can tell, even with our deadened taste buds, is a wonderful wine. The tour ends outdoors in a private area where generous pours of four additional wines are accompanied by wonderful hors d’oeuvres. It was an enlightening experience but I presume, beyond the ambiance, we’d find most tours similar, so, we decided to purchase a couple of bottles of Cabernet Franc and set off for Healdsburg. Enough wine for today!

She said:

The cost of the tour was expensive – $50.00/person -  but you got it credited if you purchased some wine at the end of the tour.  The couple we were with were a lot of fun and new residents to the area.  The hors d’oeuvres were homemade and wonderful.  They have a chef who prepares the food for the winery.  Our tour guide was great, and was very generous with his pours!!!

Clos du Val Winery- Napa; image from flickr by jimg944

What we did:

He said:

We traveled through Napa Valley, testing our ability to sample wines and stay sober enough to drive! Being that we were more drinkers than connoisseurs, we feared that tasting at one winery destroyed our ability to judge good from great. Our first stop, Clos Du Val, proved this to be true. Our Denver wine store, The Vineyards in Cherry Creek, had given a list of wineries to visit. This one was on the list because the owner has ties to Denver. From what the server told us, they must have a place in the mountains as the husband lives in France and his children on the east coast. After sharing a $10 sampling of four wines our taste discretion was severely impaired and none of the wines grabbed us so we moved on.

Entrance to Domain Chandon Winery; image from flickr by darinmarshall

She said:

It was getting close to lunch, but we decided we could fit in Domain Chandon and some bubbly before eating and our 1pm tour at Robert Sinskey Vineyards. The $16 premier tasting at Domain Chandon included a logo champagne glass we deemed essential to the rest of our trip, so there was no sharing of the three samples. Now we were shot! We couldn’t tell Boones Farm from Chateau Lafitte and it didn’t appear we had time to eat before we were due at our tour. Fortunately, we did manage to share a wonderful sandwich from a local deli and still make the tour.

Aerial View of Vacaville, California; image from flickr by Derrick Coetzee

Our stop in Vacaville was one of convenience as it afforded a good starting point for the next day’s visit to Napa Valley without paying the much higher Napa lodging rates! It seems like a nice enough place to live, but I doubt if its a destination spot for many vacationers, although, to be fair, we were just passing through.

Lovelock; image from flickr by Ken Lund

This part of Lovelock, Nevada was much more aesthetically appealing than the barren lands one sees while traveling I-80 in northern Nevada.

What we did:

He said:

The trip west from through northern Nevada is not very scenic and, to say the least, a bit boring. But one way to keep it exciting is to have a digestive system that doesn’t react kindly to corn beef hash for breakfast! Restrooms along I-80 are many, many miles further apart than my system was able to accommodate. The mad dash for numerous public facilities, much to my chagrin, all too often resulted in me performing a nervous, St. Vitus-like dance as I begged permission to cut to the front of the line! Fortunately, after about 4 stops over 200 miles, my gastronomical ailment subsided and our travel interruptions were kept to the more normal, and predictable, gas and food breaks!

I was a bit preoccupied to absorb much of the wonderful scenery in the Tahoe National Forest area we passed through on our way to Vacaville! But here we are in sunny southern California and, after a few glasses of wine, all was fine!

Lake Tahoe from the NorthEast Side; image from flickr by Wouter Kiel

She said:

We did end up making a few more stops than planned. I wouldn’t have minded so much if they were at the gas stations, and I have to say that the rest stops in Nevada leave much to be desired.  They are minimal at best and NO soap!!  We stopped in Lovelock for lunch.  There were 4 possibilities and decided to drive into the town to see what we could find.  We ended up at the “Cowpoke Cafe“.  It was clean, and boasted of homemade everything, and I had the best club sandwich with avocado in my life.

We drove through a ton of construction when we first got into California, and finally Vacaville, CA where we stayed in a Holiday Inn Express. They have a happy hour with complimentary beer, wine, soft drinks, chicken wings, cheese and crackers, and a salad. Guess what we did for dinner?????  By-the-way, it was a 100 degrees everyday!!!

The next day it was 80’s and WINE COUNTRY!!!!

Wendover, Utah; image from flickr bydougtone

Driving west from Salt Lake City through the Great Salt Lake is a straight, flat – and I mean flat – shot to Wendover, but sans exciting vistas.

I-80 between E. Wendover and Salt Lake City, Utah; image from flickr by Ken Lund

Where we stayed:

 He said:

We pre-booked a room at The Montego Bay Casino and Resort, and this was a pleasant surprise. The room was very well appointed and inexpensive. While it didn’t include breakfast or an afternoon happy hour, we were able to have a nice dinner and full breakfast spending less than we would have at a moderately priced motel that includes breakfast. And for those of you who like to challenge the odds, all games of chance are there for your pleasure.

She said:

Bill forgot to mention that the hotel casino we stayed in  Wendover was $60.00 and very nice.   Wendover, FYI, is the place where the USAAF created an airbase to train for the atomic bomb misssion to Hiroshama that ended WWII.

Utah-along I-70; image from flickr by respres

Long before we actually got married we decided our honeymoon would be a trip up the west coast, so here we go!

What we did:

He said:

Leaving Denver,  Mapquest wants us to go north to Wyoming and then head west, but we want to see the Rockies and “moonscape” of Utah, so we take I-70 up towards Vail before heading north to I-80. The mountains are truly majestic,  but the real thrill of the trip is the 20 miles before Glenwood Springs. The road winds, on two levels, through the Glenwood Gorge over the Colorado River. The views are awesome and I never tire of seeing them.  After Glenwood Springs, it’s a couple of hours before one gets to the “moonscape” of Utah.

Utah was once covered by a giant ocean and the rock formations look like sculptures carved from what was once the sea bottom and are every bit as exciting as postcards depicting them. It goes on for miles  before turning to a valley that leads to Salt Lake City.

Arches National Park- Utah; image from flickr by Paraflyer

Just before entering the valley we stopped for lunch in Green River at a family restaurant (I’m sure Marla remembers the name as it comes from a now, unwelcome shrub brought to the US from France in the 1800’s) overlooking the river. The food  was great and the respite from the driving was more than welcome.

She said:

This is the third time I’ve driven this route, and I am always amazed with the diversity and beauty in this Country.  There are some  boring sections, and we did bring some books on tape which helped to make those sections especially interesting.  Our GPS ,”Rosie”, kept trying to take us on the back roads to speed up the trip.  I wanted to stay on the main drag (expressway) for comfort-bathroom breaks, possible emergency- and sometimes the stops were few and far in between. When we got off for lunch we always tried to find the local restaurant in town.  We would take our time and were always pleasantly surprised with what we would find.  We stopped for lunch in Green River at the Tamarisk Restaurant.  We had a table by the window overlooking the Green River.  The restaurant was clean, but as you can expect, a little outdated.  I had a wonderful BLT, and would stop there again.

Pikes Peak; image from flickr by Toby and Tai Shan

Bill and Shannon on Pikes Peak

Let’s see, how do we get up to the top? Behind door #1 is a switch backing, dirt road without guard rails; door #2, an exhausting, all day, or for those slower afoot, overnight hike; or door #3, a cog rail train?  Door #3 it is!!

 What we did:

 She said:

I have lived in Colorado about 13 years and had never been to Pikes Peak.  So when Bill thought of this trip as something to do (when his daughters were visiting), I thought it was a wonderful idea.  We boarded the cog railwayand started our accent.  I’ve never been this high “geographically” and was not prepared for the dizziness and shortness of breath I felt at the top of the mountain.  And when they say you are at the top of the mountain, you are at the tippy top of the mountain.  It was a little foggy so that you could not see as far as if it were clear, and I often wonder how many clear days you have when you are so high that you are up in the clouds.  It’s was the end of July and we were so cold we actually needed jackets and mittens.  If you go, be prepared.

He said:

The cog rail train is, for all but the most hearty hikers or thrill seeking drivers, a great way to get to the top of perhaps the most famous of Colorado’s fifty-four “14ers” (mountains with summits above 14,000 feet). Trains depart regularly from Manitou Springs – a town quaint enough to justify a visit in itself. Reservations are highly recommended as trains usually are filled to the max. The ride up is highlighted by an informative and entertaining dialog from the trains “conductor”. (Did you know America the Beautiful was inspired by the views from a spot aptly named Inspiration Point?)

On top, the views are stunning and, quite honestly, a bit scary. There are many areas without guard rails and only one’s timidity prevents potential disasters. In addition to dramatic photo-ops (too bad we had mostly fog), the proverbial gift shop offers food, drink and, of course, souvenirs. Make sure to try the chocolate donuts – they’re great!! But you must eat them at the top since the ingredients are adjusted to compensate for the altitude and they shrivel up if you try to take them back to the station! The round trip takes 3+ hours, so plan accordingly.          

Manitou Springs; image from flickr by Hugo90

The start of the trip.  You can almost see all of us.

Progressing well

The white cap in the bottom of the boat is ME!!!!!  Must have been the Graveyard Rapid.

What we did:

Coming up with entertainment ideas for Bill’s daughters during their visit last summer was easy. Unfortunately, the short, four day duration required a limited exposure to all Colorado has to offer. In the summertime one of the major attractions is white water rafting, something they had never done, so it was first on the agenda.

She said:

I had been river rafting once in my life.  It was on the Snake River in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the raft was big with about ten people.  It did not prepare me for what I was about to encounter on the Arkansas River.  This was definitely white water rafting, whose rapids had names like Hemorrhoid Rock, Widowmaker, Pinball and The Graveyard.  I could not, for the life of me, stay “perched” on the side of the raft, much less paddle when told.  I kept sliding to the floor of the raft.  Of course, it didn’t help that Javier, our guide, told us the if we did happen to fall out of the raft, to make sure that we kept our feet up so as not to have them get stuck in a rock on the bottom of the river and be dragged to a drowning death!  Lovely thought……………

He said:

River Runners, in Buena Vista, Colorado, offers every level of rafting experience, from a level 1 float down a quiet stream to a level 5 screamer over Niagara Falls. Well, not actually Niagara Falls, but I’m sure it seems that way extrapolating from our class III-IV trip through Brown’s Canyon on the Arkansas River.

River Runners is a perfect location with property right on the river. Most other outfitters are off-river, requiring a hike of some sort to gain access to the water. And, did I mention, this requires carrying the raft and all your gear, after some sort of bus ride from who knows how far away, to the river to begin with? Not necessary at River Runners. As for the safety aspect, Javier, our guide, has 13 years of experience and his skill served to ease any concerns we had.

Upon returning from our “float”, we were delighted to find not only wonderful eats, but a great assortment of libations to settle our nerves. The River Rummer did the job deliciously.

Our Wedding

WHAT A TRAGEDY!!! No, not our wedding, Brook Lodge is closed! 

We couldn’t continue with our adventures without sharing our biggest adventure of all, our wedding!  It was a small affair with about 75 of, really, our nearest and dearest friends and relatives. It was held in Augusta, Michigan at  Brook Lodge, which, unfortunately, ceased operations at the end of 2009. I suppose Michigan’s economy, and the lodge’s rather remote location, had a lot to do with the situation. Prior to its closing, it had been considered by Bridal Magazine one of the top wedding locations in the Midwest. Built in the late 1800’s, it was originally the summer retreat of W.E.Upjohn and his family. In the mid 1900’s, the Upjohn Company expanded it by building a number of meeting halls as well as overnight accommodations, turning it into more of a convention center. Then, in the 90’s, after a series of pharmaceutical consolidations, it was turned over to Michigan State University. Basically, the corporate support vanished and, sadly, the wedding business wasn’t sufficient to sustain such a large facility. 

What we did: 

She said: 

It was a beautiful, but very hot, July day.  We got our legal marriage licence in Denver in June, so my son-in-law Scott, not an ordained clergy person, could preside over our Michigan ceremony. Carlos, my other son-in-law walked me down the aisle and all of our daughters were attendants.  Whitney, my daughter, did a Biblical reading. Bill’s daughter Allison sang “One Heart, One Hand”.  Our oldest daughters, Heidi and Shannon, made toasts.  It was a very moving experience for all of us, and it meant so much that everyone there was very happy for us. 

He said: 

This was such a great spot. The original “Doctor’s Cottage”, a “Brookside Cottage” and a number of tasteful buildings capable of hosting groups and/or events with hundreds of guests, is now in moth balls. The grounds were filled with beautiful, and plentiful, gardens, a stream, a small pond  (in which my brother and I drowned a number of worms while catching sun fish so small it was surprising they tried to take our bait!), a ball field, driving range, horse shoe pits, and tennis courts amid walking paths that  simply invited one to enjoy the out of doors. Its hard to believe its closed down.       

Anyway, for us, it provided a perfect backdrop for our marriage celebration. Our 4 daughters, their families and boyfriends and our siblings spent the whole weekend with us. Friday, the family and close, out of town guests joined us for diner in a room that overlooked the pond. Saturday,we were married by a gazebo in the gardens. Afterwards, in the Doctor’s Cottage, we enjoyed some fabulous hoers d oeuvres along with cocktails and champagne, while being serenaded by a delightful stringed quartet. Then we all changed into more casual clothes and went to a local honky tonk – Bay View Gardens – on nearby Gull Lake, for some dancing and more libations. Whitney, Marla’s youngest, even coerced the band into allowing Allison, my youngest, to get up on stage and do a number. It was well beyond midnight, a long day for us old folks, before we cashed ‘em in.        

And, through it all, Marla remained a striking, radiant bride. I’m so-o-o-o-o lucky and so-o-o-o smitten!!!  

For more see – about us, the arrangement, our blind date