A Day in Wine Country with (Almost) no Wine
Saturday Hawk and I took a road trip up to Napa wine country. The impetus for the trip was getting my 2nd Covid-19 vaccine shot in Napa. We planned a bunch of other activities around it to make a day out of it. ...But mostly low-key, because I wasn't sure if I'd start experiencing side-effects of the shot or how soon they might come. It turns out I held up fairly well, though, so we made a pretty full day out of it.
Let's Go Shopping!
Even before I got my shot we stopped for some shopping. We stopped in Napa a few miles from the clinic for- of all things- a quick visit to a HomeGoods store. ...Yes, the deep-discount store that sells remainders. ...Yes, the chain that has stores in every city, umpteen of them much closer to home than Napa. But it was literally on the way, and Hawk wanted to check their selection as it varies from store to store due to the nature of the business.
Why shop at an off-price store? Why drop into them 85 miles from home? As Hawk noted when she came out of the store 5 minutes later- empty handed, unfortunately- she's looking for particular items of clothes that fit her and look good. She could order them online and pay $50... or she can get them for $15 at TJ Maxx / Marshalls / HomeGoods (they're all owned by the same company) if they're in stock. So we drop into these stores whenever we pass.
Shot #2
Another part of the reason we made a quick shopping stop before my shot is that we were ahead of schedule. With having to drive 87 miles to a CVS clinic on the far side of Napa I left room in the schedule for traffic or other trouble. Recall I faced traffic delays of over an hour getting to the clinic for my first shot. Saturday morning was smooth sailing, though, so we arrived in the area an hour early. Even with our shopping pit stop I got to the clinic almost 45 minutes early. They weren't even checking people in yet!
I stood in line for 10 minutes. Then I got checked in, which surprisingly took 5 minutes because the young woman who filled out my tiny vaccination card took time to write it in the most precise lettering I've seen in at least a dozen years. Then I stood in another line for 5-10 minutes for another check-in. Then I stood in a third line for about 10 minutes waiting for the actual shot. Then I got the shot. Then I had to sit in an observation area for 15 minutes in case I had a severe, immediate reaction- like aliens bursting out of my chest, or something.
By the time I left the clinic I'd been there for 47 minutes. The shot itself took 2 minutes. Everything else was waiting in lines.
Let's "Do" Lunch
After my shot it was time for lunch. We backtracked into downtown Napa to eat at the Public Market. Public Market, for those who don't know, is now kind of a generic name given to... basically yuppie food courts that have sprouted in many downtowns. Downtown Napa has become extremely yuppie-fied with all the yuppies visiting for wine tasting and wanting a "quaint", "authentic" experience- but with all the affluent, carefully manicured fittings they expect from their visits to Disneyland and cruise ships.
Hawk bought an empañada and I bought a pizza. As we sat on the deck we realized we barely fit in. We weren't yuppie enough. We weren't wearing the latest fashions (we were actually dressed for going hiking) and we didn't bring our dog with us. Yes, bringing your dog to a restaurant is an important yuppie status symbol. Extra points if you carry your dog in a sling. You know the kind of slings that several years ago became popular for yuppies to carry their infants in? Well, now yuppies carry their dogs in them.
Time to Hike!
Our next activity of the day took us to the tiny town of Angwin, California, about 20 miles further north. How tiny is it? Well, I hadn't even heard of it before I looked for hiking nearby. This town was so tiny that it has apparently just one store- a combination hardware and grocery store- and it was closed. Fortunately we weren't there for hammer-and-cheese sandwiches. We were there to hike.
On the edge of town- which is to say, about two blocks from the closed hardware-grocery store- there's a trail to Linda Falls. The trail was a bit less than a mile each way to a pretty falls dropping about 40' over a rock face. I'll post pictures in a separate blog.
Back Through Napa... to More Shopping!
I was still feeling reasonably good after the hike: no nausea, no fever, no aliens bursting out of my chest... though I was starting to feel achy in a way that was not justified by the 1.5 mile hike we'd just done. Still, I was well enough that we decided to prolong our trip rather than head straight home. We drove back down through Napa Valley and out to Fairfield. Hawk shopped the TJ Maxx there (again leaving empty-handed) and then we visited Costco.
At Costco I mostly shopped the wine section. Hey, after driving past countless lovely wineries on the Silverado Trail and Highway 28 I was ready to get my booze on! Or, at least, my booze shopping (i.e., my drinking problem) on. I bought five bottles at good prices.
I lingered at a display of a wine selling for $119.99. It was one of the most expensive bottles in the store. I lingered without buying because I didn't want to buy. I didn't need to. I've already tried that wine! It's the Sebastiani Cherry Block Cabernet Sauvignon I drank with a $6 dinner. Though years ago it was only $75, not $120, at discount stores.
MOAR Shopping, and Dinner
Oh, but we weren't done with shopping. Further along the route home we stopped near Walnut Creek. For- you guessed it- a HomeGoods and a TJ Maxx store. After brief stops at those it was after 6pm, so we decided to get dinner on the road. We found a nice little Mexican joint with decent outdoor seating and ate there.
I was still feeling achy, so Hawk had taken over the driving after the Costco stop. After dinner we drove straight home the last ~60 miles. I was glad to relax. It was after 8pm by the time we got in. I relaxed for a while, took a shower, and went to bed shortly after 10.
[This entry was cross-posted from https://canyonwalker.dreamwidth.org/48007.html. Please comment there using OpenID. That's where most of the action is!]
Let's Go Shopping!
Even before I got my shot we stopped for some shopping. We stopped in Napa a few miles from the clinic for- of all things- a quick visit to a HomeGoods store. ...Yes, the deep-discount store that sells remainders. ...Yes, the chain that has stores in every city, umpteen of them much closer to home than Napa. But it was literally on the way, and Hawk wanted to check their selection as it varies from store to store due to the nature of the business.
Why shop at an off-price store? Why drop into them 85 miles from home? As Hawk noted when she came out of the store 5 minutes later- empty handed, unfortunately- she's looking for particular items of clothes that fit her and look good. She could order them online and pay $50... or she can get them for $15 at TJ Maxx / Marshalls / HomeGoods (they're all owned by the same company) if they're in stock. So we drop into these stores whenever we pass.
Shot #2
Another part of the reason we made a quick shopping stop before my shot is that we were ahead of schedule. With having to drive 87 miles to a CVS clinic on the far side of Napa I left room in the schedule for traffic or other trouble. Recall I faced traffic delays of over an hour getting to the clinic for my first shot. Saturday morning was smooth sailing, though, so we arrived in the area an hour early. Even with our shopping pit stop I got to the clinic almost 45 minutes early. They weren't even checking people in yet!
I stood in line for 10 minutes. Then I got checked in, which surprisingly took 5 minutes because the young woman who filled out my tiny vaccination card took time to write it in the most precise lettering I've seen in at least a dozen years. Then I stood in another line for 5-10 minutes for another check-in. Then I stood in a third line for about 10 minutes waiting for the actual shot. Then I got the shot. Then I had to sit in an observation area for 15 minutes in case I had a severe, immediate reaction- like aliens bursting out of my chest, or something.
By the time I left the clinic I'd been there for 47 minutes. The shot itself took 2 minutes. Everything else was waiting in lines.
Let's "Do" Lunch
After my shot it was time for lunch. We backtracked into downtown Napa to eat at the Public Market. Public Market, for those who don't know, is now kind of a generic name given to... basically yuppie food courts that have sprouted in many downtowns. Downtown Napa has become extremely yuppie-fied with all the yuppies visiting for wine tasting and wanting a "quaint", "authentic" experience- but with all the affluent, carefully manicured fittings they expect from their visits to Disneyland and cruise ships.
Hawk bought an empañada and I bought a pizza. As we sat on the deck we realized we barely fit in. We weren't yuppie enough. We weren't wearing the latest fashions (we were actually dressed for going hiking) and we didn't bring our dog with us. Yes, bringing your dog to a restaurant is an important yuppie status symbol. Extra points if you carry your dog in a sling. You know the kind of slings that several years ago became popular for yuppies to carry their infants in? Well, now yuppies carry their dogs in them.
Time to Hike!
Our next activity of the day took us to the tiny town of Angwin, California, about 20 miles further north. How tiny is it? Well, I hadn't even heard of it before I looked for hiking nearby. This town was so tiny that it has apparently just one store- a combination hardware and grocery store- and it was closed. Fortunately we weren't there for hammer-and-cheese sandwiches. We were there to hike.
On the edge of town- which is to say, about two blocks from the closed hardware-grocery store- there's a trail to Linda Falls. The trail was a bit less than a mile each way to a pretty falls dropping about 40' over a rock face. I'll post pictures in a separate blog.
Back Through Napa... to More Shopping!
I was still feeling reasonably good after the hike: no nausea, no fever, no aliens bursting out of my chest... though I was starting to feel achy in a way that was not justified by the 1.5 mile hike we'd just done. Still, I was well enough that we decided to prolong our trip rather than head straight home. We drove back down through Napa Valley and out to Fairfield. Hawk shopped the TJ Maxx there (again leaving empty-handed) and then we visited Costco.
At Costco I mostly shopped the wine section. Hey, after driving past countless lovely wineries on the Silverado Trail and Highway 28 I was ready to get my booze on! Or, at least, my booze shopping (i.e., my drinking problem) on. I bought five bottles at good prices.
I lingered at a display of a wine selling for $119.99. It was one of the most expensive bottles in the store. I lingered without buying because I didn't want to buy. I didn't need to. I've already tried that wine! It's the Sebastiani Cherry Block Cabernet Sauvignon I drank with a $6 dinner. Though years ago it was only $75, not $120, at discount stores.
MOAR Shopping, and Dinner
Oh, but we weren't done with shopping. Further along the route home we stopped near Walnut Creek. For- you guessed it- a HomeGoods and a TJ Maxx store. After brief stops at those it was after 6pm, so we decided to get dinner on the road. We found a nice little Mexican joint with decent outdoor seating and ate there.
I was still feeling achy, so Hawk had taken over the driving after the Costco stop. After dinner we drove straight home the last ~60 miles. I was glad to relax. It was after 8pm by the time we got in. I relaxed for a while, took a shower, and went to bed shortly after 10.
[This entry was cross-posted from https://canyonwalker.dreamwidth.org/48007.html. Please comment there using OpenID. That's where most of the action is!]