Thursday, April 2 - Saturday, April 4 (Napa, Becca style)

On Thursday morning we bade farewell to the camp site. We were destined for the bed and breakfast that Becca had chosen, but we wanted to get in some winderies. We visited Cakebread Cellars, Joseph Phelps and Stags' Leap. All three were good. There was a wife and mother with a big crush on me at Cakebread and a really lovely woman who guided us through the tour and at Joseph Phelps. The best winery, wine and tour though were provided by Ken and Stags' leap. The views, history and discussion about the wine were really incredible. There were apparently numerous soap operas, owners who met various untimely demises, and even fights about where the apostrophy should go in the name (several competing wineries claiming the name). By the end of the third winery, I was a little buzzed (yes, I started spitting and conserved my sobriety) and Becca ensured the safety of our voyage by feeding me graham crackers left over from our smores adventures.

We had dinner that night at Don Giovanni, another Hal recommendation. We had lamb meatballs over a Faro risotto with artichokes, and Becca had fettucini with a duck ragu while I had fettucini with sausage and porcini mushrooms. Fantastic meal and fantastic day.

Friday morning we woke up to a great breakfast at the B&B, followed by massages that Becca had arranged (she takes her camping very seriously). After that, we took it easy for the day, walking around downtown Napa. I got a haircut from the beauty salon/hair place school. When the girl took out the shears ("I just need to even this part out over here") I almost opted for the buzzer all around, but Becca quickly put a stop to that. It all ended up well though and we left satisfied. That night we went to Celadon, an inventive place in Napa and had an amazing waitress named Anne, who treated us well and took care of us.

Saturday was our last day, and we decided to get in a mix of country and city. We began again with a great breakfast at the B&B (Candlelight Inn by the way in Napa, excellent place). Then we made our way into San Francisco, where we went to some good Chinese food. I had done Yank Sing with Jesse, so we tried Chinatown proper. I got excited when we saw Nam Yuen, which Kerouac had dined at with his beatnik friends while he stayed in San Francisco, but it had closed, seemingly several years ago. We ate next to it at Chinatown restaurant (I think) and had a great time.

For dinner, Jesse helped us find a low-key middle eastern place pretty close to his apartment. The conversation stopped momentarily when I discovered the only other known copy of my fish print, which had been hanging in the restaurant for the past 30years. My surprisingly hip parents were the source of my copy. It's the brown one, not the blue one.





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