Vacations should be relaxing, refreshing and a lot of fun. Check, check and check. Our 5 year wedding anniversary is coming up in June and we originally wanted to celebrate with a trip to Italy. As it came closer, we decided to push that off a few years and we settled on the next best thing…Napa Valley, California. After researching, we determined that March would be a great time to go because we are just missing the tourist season and it’s also perfect timing for a little break before our busy wedding season begins in April.
To make it extra exciting, we traveled with some good friends of ours. It was so much fun to have another couple to share the experience with. Not to mention, I’m sure Heath enjoyed having someone else to navigate him through San Francisco than this girl…who gets lost in the Tulsa mall. As any photographer would, I had to bust out my camera while in such a beautiful place. The vineyards were stunning and stretched for miles up the hills…similar, yet very different from the wheat fields I grew up with. Napa may be known for its wine, but even if that’s not your thing, I think everyone should experience its beauty.
Here is the view from the balcony at our hotel the first day we arrived. It was very rainy then, but it created a very cool mood.
Day 2 was spent exploring the valley and shops. There were grape vines everywhere…even in the median of the road. It made me want to plant a few and try it out. As you can see, they were just starting to bud.
It was my first time to see palm trees so I had to get some photos. They are very cool, but as my friend said ‘they’re kind of good for nothing’. Very true…they wouldn’t provide much shade from the Oklahoma heat.
We drove from one side of the valley to the other (which actually isn’t very long) and came across Lake Berryessa. The storm clouds were just rolling out so I was able to get some cool shots. There is a panorama on my facebook page as well.
Day 4 was the wine tasting day. Hey, you can’t go to Napa without trying a few. I learned so much, not only about wine, but also the culture of the valley and the art of making the wine. It seems their success is based partly on science, art and luck. They live and die by the weather as it determines how the grapes will taste, which determines how the wine will taste. I’m not sure what I expected, but a farming community wasn’t it. Here are a few photos of the Peju Winery that we went to first. The family were originally florists before getting into wine making, which they show off on their beautiful grounds.
Our extremely knowledgable sommelier…who happened to live in Tulsa when he was a kid. It’s a small world.
Next we went to Alpha Omega Winery.
Rutherford Hill Winery was at the top of the valley and had an amazing view!
We also went to Jessup Winery, but I didn’t get any photos there. At that point, I thought it wise to put away my camera.
Our last full day in Napa, we toured a sparkling wine facility, Mumm Napa Winery. It was very interesting to learn the process behind it all. Here is a photo taken at the end of the tour. This will be making an appearance in our house in the form of a 30’x40′ canvas gallery wrap. This is by far my favorite landscape photo from the trip.
One unexpected surprise from the Mumm tour was that they had a gallery of original Ansel Adams prints from Yosemite. I <3 Ansel Adams. Professionally, I do not focus on landscape photography, but genius is genius no matter the specialty. I could have stayed in the gallery for hours studying his photographs.
March in Napa is known as the time of the mustard seed, which basically means that little yellow flowers grow between the rows of grapes. Lovely!
We finished off our last day by heading to Madrone Studios in downtown San Francisco for a photography seminar by the world-famous wedding photographer Jasmine Star. It was phenomenal. My mind was so clear and refreshed from vacation that I soaked up everything she said. It made me even more excited to get this wedding season started. I’m the luckiest gal in the world to get to do what I love every day. As she said, it’s not all rainbows and pixie dust…but it’s all mine 🙂 This photo was taken by the J* staff. See if you can find me!
As we were flying back into Tulsa, we were greeted by the the most amazing sunset. I love traveling and getting to see new places, but I love home even more.
