Honeymoon update! With pics!
What a honeymoon! We had the absolute best time in California and Wyoming (and Idaho)! I can't believe its over and that I don't get to drink before noon, see amazing mountains, or be with Mr. Will every second of every day. Here's a lengthy rundown of the who/what/where/when!
Monday, June 16
Arrived in Napa and spent the afternoon wandering around looking for Will a dress coat since he forgot his and it was needed for our dinner at the French Laundry. We ate at Taylor's Refresher, which was just as yummy as everyone said it would be. We cruised around Napa and moseyed into the Vintner's Collective, a little boutique where you could taste wine from all different wineries that aren't large enough to support themselves. Yummy!
Arrived at Milliken Creek Inn and were amazingly impressed with our room, which was huge, beautiful, and featured a porch overlooking the Napa River. Very peaceful. Will surprised me with a couples massage, which ended up getting cancelled due to one of the massage therapists getting stuck in traffic.
View from our porch of the Napa River
Had fun at the happy hour wine tasting at the hotel and then went to Don Giovanni for dinner, based on the concierge's recommendation. It was pretty good and Will and I enjoyed eating outside. When we got back to our room, we were happy to find that candles had been lit all over the room, making it very romantic and peaceful.
Tuesday, June 17
Tuesday began with breakfast enjoyed on our patio overlooking the Napa River. I can think of no better way to start the day than to enjoy breakfast with the birds chirping, the river flowing, and yummy food.
That morning, we headed straight for Mumm Napa, which was awesome! Our waiter had graduated from UGA in the 1970s and was just so much fun to talk to. We enjoyed sitting outside having champagne before noon and also enjoyed the stellar photography exhibit, featuring tons of Ansel Adams, at the place. We bought lots of sparkling wine and even a little heart shaped ornament for our Christmas tree.
Enjoying sparkling wine at Mumm Napa
For lunch, we trekked to Auberge du Soleil and ate overlooking the Napa valley. Incredible views and incredible burgers. Yum!
After lunch, we went back to downtown Napa to pick up Will's wedding band that we had dropped off to be re-sized the day before. For those of you at the wedding, you may have noticed that I struggled to get Will's band on his hand. This is because it was re-sized incorrectly (and they also didn't dip it back into the white gold so his wedding band looked yellowish). The Napa Jeweler hooked us up with a fixed ring! Yay!
Because we had such a great experience at the Vintner's Collective, we visited the Bounty Hunter in downtown Napa, which had phenomenal cheese and wine. Yay! What a cool place.
We then headed back to the hotel for our couples massage, which I must say, was the best massage I've ever had. Afterwards, we had champagne and chocolate covered strawberries waiting on us! For hotel happy hour that night, Elkhorn Winery came and oh goodness, it was yummy cheese and wine again. Yay!
For dinner, we went to Michael Chiarello's restaurant Tra Vigne in St. Helena. OMG, YUM. First of all, a nice couple at the bar bought us a glass of champagne each to toast our wedding. He was a Sigma Chi like Will - small world, right? For dinner, we were seated outside on this beautiful patio. We enjoyed this awesome homemade mozzarella cheese that is made right after you order it. I had a surprisingly awesome braised rabbit ragu with sage pappardelle and Will had something lamb that was fab.
Wednesday, June 18
We woke up really early and headed north to Calistoga to hotel #2, Calistoga Ranch. Will had hired us a driver for the day, which I must say, is the only way to enjoy wine country. Our first visit was to Schramsberg, the winery that makes sparkling wine that is used in the White House. The caves were really neat and it was an awesome tour. Even more important, the champagne was HEAVENLY! If you can ever have a glass of J. Schram, DO IT. Its fab.
Enjoying sparkling wine at Schramsberg
Next we visited Von Strasser, where we were the only two people there. We were greeted by two labradors and then got a private tour of the vineyard and the wine cave. The wine was really great there and the guy working gave us some great tips on where to go for lunch and what other wineries to visit. He called and got us into Cindy's Kitchen, which was really yummy!
After that, it was on to Ehler Estates, which gives all of its profit for the American Heart Association. Nice, huh? The wine was nice and they played 80s music the whole time. Fun!
Our last winery of the day was Frank Family which is under construction so the tasting was being conducted in a double wide. This was the best. wine. ever. and also the most expensive bottle will bought.
After returning to the ranch, we were greeted with champagne and a chocolate torte to welcome us as honeymooners to our lake lodge. Our lodge was amazing, complete with patio with fireplace, his & hers bathrooms, and a private outdoor shower.
We ate the torte and took a nap, almost missing our dinner reservation at the restaurant at Calistoga Ranch. We had a great table overlooking the pond and saw all sorts of wildlife - deer, skunk, quail, even a coyote! Dinner was superb and it was so romantic to dine outside and watch the animals go by.
That evening, we sat outside by our fireplace enjoying champagne, the full moon, and the stars. So peaceful and relaxing!
Outdoor patio in the early evening...
Thursday, June 19
We had breakfast delivered to our room on Thursday and ate on our patio, which was so nice. Breakfast was FABULOUS - Will had chilaquiles which were yum-o. We then got in the car and headed down the Silverado Trail to visit wineries suggested to us the day before.
First stop was Robert Sinskey, which may have been my favorite winery (I LOVED Schramberg but its all sparkling wine so Robert Sinskey was a bit different). First off, its beautiful. Second, it had a gourmet chef creating pairings for the wine, which is important to me! Yummy! Third, they waived the tasting fee when we bought a bottle of wine. Nice. Their wine was wonderful!
Next was ZD and Cliff Lede. Both of these were okay - nothing too memorable save the heart sculpture and Red Hot Chili Peppers signed guitar at Cliff Lede.
Taken in the gardens at Cliff Lede. I can't help myself.
Quintessa was awesome. It was a bit more pretentious than Robert Sinskey, but man, its cool. Its a very modern winery built into a mountain. They are by appointment only, which we had, thank goodness. We sat down at a little table where we were greeted with personalized menus. They did a fabulous wine pairing and explanation of their wine. The food came from Ad Hoc, which is another Thomas Keller restaurant (as is French Laundry). Oh heavenly day, YUMMY food and wine! What a great place.
Quintessa's menu for the Naglich Party
Because we were having the 9 course dinner at French Laundry, we decided sushi at Go Fish would be the best option for lunch. I had an amazing roll - it was a california roll wrapped in spicy tuna. YUM. We then stopped into Dean & Deluca just to see it and that was really fun.
The French Laundry. Wow. I am truly without words. This may be the highlight of the honeymoon. It ended up being about 14 courses when it was all said and done. We had an amazing litle table in a quiet corner and were just thrilled throughout the dinner. The sommelier paired all sorts of wine with our meal, which just got better and better. I saved the menu so I will list it out later, but wow. Awesome. The testimony to how great the place is = this: when they set down the cheese course in front of me, it was bleu cheese, which I don't really care for (it smells like gym socks). I said nothing and was about to ball up and eat it when the maitre'd came over and asked " Do you not care for this cheese?" and as I explained I would try to eat it, he whisked it away and brought back a nuttier parmesan type cheese with shaved truffles. Um, wow? And that they can also make fantastic popcorn ice cream? Wow. Just amazing. And romantic. And decadent. And wow?
Outside the French Laundry
Friday, June 20
Friday morning came waaaaaaaaaay early as we had to trek to the San Fran airport for our flight to Jackson Hole. We woke up around 7:00, actually found sweet tea at a McDonald's for breakfast, and got to the airport in plenty of time. We enjoyed Frontier, who didn't charge as extra for our oversized luggage like Airtran did. We also ate at a great restaurant in the Denver airport. Who knew? We made it to Jackson Hole around 6:30 and hailed a cab. He was loco in la cabeza, but pointed out all sorts of things on our drive into town, which I must say, is amazing. The plane lands right by the Tetons - I had a primo view as we descended.
We stayed at the Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa where we were greeted with chocolate covered strawberries in our suite that overlooked the mountains. Nice! We then trekked next door for a romantic dinner at Il Villagio Osteria, where we were promptly given two glasses of prosecco to celebrate our marriage. How nice! I had a great kobe beef meatball dish while Will had rock shrimp and yummy arugula salad.
Chocolate Covered Strawberries - yum!
Saturday, June 21
Saturday morning came early for our ride at Spring Creek Ranch. We rode horses for about 3 hours all through this awesome ranch. Amazing views and I conquered my fear of horses! YAY! Will had the hugest horse ever and I just really enjoyed it. I can't wait to go horseback riding again!
View from horseback riding
After showering and realizing that I had the WORST SUNBURN EVER where I forgot to put sunscreen on my chest (I wore a vneck shirt), we changed and ate lunch at the Mangy Moose in Teton Village. It was a yummy burger and onion rings and I enjoyed sitting outside yet again. Afterwards, we caught the bus into town, which I fell asleep on. Why, oh why, am I prone to falling asleep in public? We hopped off the bus and walked throughout downtown Jackson Hole, which is awesome! We had took pics in front of the elk antlers on Main Square, bought cowboy hats, went through the kitschy shops, and had a beer at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. We also saw the gunfight on town square (a fun little variety show) and grabbed martinis at the Silver Dollar Bar at the Wort Hotel.
Sittin' on saddles in the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar
We then walked the 1.5 miles to the Gun Barrel Restaurant to work up our appetites. Oh heavenly day, the food here is worth returning to Jackson Hole. Oh my goodness, soooooooo good! I had the velvet elk, which was really tasty. Will had the mixed game grill, which came with buffalo prime rib, elk chops, and venison bratwurst. It was all awesome, especially those elk chops. Wow. I've never been somewhere that had meat done so well. It was seasoned but you really tasted the product rather than the seasonings. Just heavenly. We got a "anniversary" cheesecake, as the restaurant celebrates anniversaries and it happened to be our 1 week. Ha! We then caught the "Redneck Taxi" home and fell asleep.
Sunday, June 22
We woke up again freakishly early to go fly fishing. Will won a fly fishing trip in an auction so we had a guide who outfitted us with everything we needed. He picked us up and we drove through the Teton Pass into Idaho since the Snake River was almost overflowing with so much snow melt. We stopped in the cute town of Victor, Idaho to pick up breakfast and lunch and then headed to Henry's Fork to get on the river. What an amazing day! The weather was perfect (sunny, 80s, windy) and it was just amazingly beautiful. I enjoyed learning how to fly fish, although I got really frustrated at first.
Nice catch, Mr. Will.
I eventually caught the biggest fish - a huge white fish - but since we were fishing for trout, it really didn't count. It counted to me as I had never caught a fish before, especially on a fly rod! Yay!
It was such an amazing way to spend the day. I really enjoyed myself and I know Will had the time of his life. This just means we eventually have to return to Jackson Hole to eat at the Gun Barrel and float the Snake.
Monday, June 23
We blessedly slept in until about 9:30. Isn't sleeping in on your honeymoon a requirement? Sigh. We had a nice flight to Salt Lake City and then the worst flight ever back home.
Being married is FABULOUS! It really doesn't feel like that huge of a difference, just the best feeling in my heart thinking about the vows will said to me in front of God and everyone and how he held my hands as he said them.
Now its time to move to SA!
Monday, June 16
Arrived in Napa and spent the afternoon wandering around looking for Will a dress coat since he forgot his and it was needed for our dinner at the French Laundry. We ate at Taylor's Refresher, which was just as yummy as everyone said it would be. We cruised around Napa and moseyed into the Vintner's Collective, a little boutique where you could taste wine from all different wineries that aren't large enough to support themselves. Yummy!
Arrived at Milliken Creek Inn and were amazingly impressed with our room, which was huge, beautiful, and featured a porch overlooking the Napa River. Very peaceful. Will surprised me with a couples massage, which ended up getting cancelled due to one of the massage therapists getting stuck in traffic.
View from our porch of the Napa River
Had fun at the happy hour wine tasting at the hotel and then went to Don Giovanni for dinner, based on the concierge's recommendation. It was pretty good and Will and I enjoyed eating outside. When we got back to our room, we were happy to find that candles had been lit all over the room, making it very romantic and peaceful.
Tuesday, June 17
Tuesday began with breakfast enjoyed on our patio overlooking the Napa River. I can think of no better way to start the day than to enjoy breakfast with the birds chirping, the river flowing, and yummy food.
That morning, we headed straight for Mumm Napa, which was awesome! Our waiter had graduated from UGA in the 1970s and was just so much fun to talk to. We enjoyed sitting outside having champagne before noon and also enjoyed the stellar photography exhibit, featuring tons of Ansel Adams, at the place. We bought lots of sparkling wine and even a little heart shaped ornament for our Christmas tree.
Enjoying sparkling wine at Mumm Napa
For lunch, we trekked to Auberge du Soleil and ate overlooking the Napa valley. Incredible views and incredible burgers. Yum!
After lunch, we went back to downtown Napa to pick up Will's wedding band that we had dropped off to be re-sized the day before. For those of you at the wedding, you may have noticed that I struggled to get Will's band on his hand. This is because it was re-sized incorrectly (and they also didn't dip it back into the white gold so his wedding band looked yellowish). The Napa Jeweler hooked us up with a fixed ring! Yay!
Because we had such a great experience at the Vintner's Collective, we visited the Bounty Hunter in downtown Napa, which had phenomenal cheese and wine. Yay! What a cool place.
We then headed back to the hotel for our couples massage, which I must say, was the best massage I've ever had. Afterwards, we had champagne and chocolate covered strawberries waiting on us! For hotel happy hour that night, Elkhorn Winery came and oh goodness, it was yummy cheese and wine again. Yay!
For dinner, we went to Michael Chiarello's restaurant Tra Vigne in St. Helena. OMG, YUM. First of all, a nice couple at the bar bought us a glass of champagne each to toast our wedding. He was a Sigma Chi like Will - small world, right? For dinner, we were seated outside on this beautiful patio. We enjoyed this awesome homemade mozzarella cheese that is made right after you order it. I had a surprisingly awesome braised rabbit ragu with sage pappardelle and Will had something lamb that was fab.
Wednesday, June 18
We woke up really early and headed north to Calistoga to hotel #2, Calistoga Ranch. Will had hired us a driver for the day, which I must say, is the only way to enjoy wine country. Our first visit was to Schramsberg, the winery that makes sparkling wine that is used in the White House. The caves were really neat and it was an awesome tour. Even more important, the champagne was HEAVENLY! If you can ever have a glass of J. Schram, DO IT. Its fab.
Enjoying sparkling wine at Schramsberg
Next we visited Von Strasser, where we were the only two people there. We were greeted by two labradors and then got a private tour of the vineyard and the wine cave. The wine was really great there and the guy working gave us some great tips on where to go for lunch and what other wineries to visit. He called and got us into Cindy's Kitchen, which was really yummy!
After that, it was on to Ehler Estates, which gives all of its profit for the American Heart Association. Nice, huh? The wine was nice and they played 80s music the whole time. Fun!
Our last winery of the day was Frank Family which is under construction so the tasting was being conducted in a double wide. This was the best. wine. ever. and also the most expensive bottle will bought.
After returning to the ranch, we were greeted with champagne and a chocolate torte to welcome us as honeymooners to our lake lodge. Our lodge was amazing, complete with patio with fireplace, his & hers bathrooms, and a private outdoor shower.
We ate the torte and took a nap, almost missing our dinner reservation at the restaurant at Calistoga Ranch. We had a great table overlooking the pond and saw all sorts of wildlife - deer, skunk, quail, even a coyote! Dinner was superb and it was so romantic to dine outside and watch the animals go by.
That evening, we sat outside by our fireplace enjoying champagne, the full moon, and the stars. So peaceful and relaxing!
Outdoor patio in the early evening...
Thursday, June 19
We had breakfast delivered to our room on Thursday and ate on our patio, which was so nice. Breakfast was FABULOUS - Will had chilaquiles which were yum-o. We then got in the car and headed down the Silverado Trail to visit wineries suggested to us the day before.
First stop was Robert Sinskey, which may have been my favorite winery (I LOVED Schramberg but its all sparkling wine so Robert Sinskey was a bit different). First off, its beautiful. Second, it had a gourmet chef creating pairings for the wine, which is important to me! Yummy! Third, they waived the tasting fee when we bought a bottle of wine. Nice. Their wine was wonderful!
Next was ZD and Cliff Lede. Both of these were okay - nothing too memorable save the heart sculpture and Red Hot Chili Peppers signed guitar at Cliff Lede.
Taken in the gardens at Cliff Lede. I can't help myself.
Quintessa was awesome. It was a bit more pretentious than Robert Sinskey, but man, its cool. Its a very modern winery built into a mountain. They are by appointment only, which we had, thank goodness. We sat down at a little table where we were greeted with personalized menus. They did a fabulous wine pairing and explanation of their wine. The food came from Ad Hoc, which is another Thomas Keller restaurant (as is French Laundry). Oh heavenly day, YUMMY food and wine! What a great place.
Quintessa's menu for the Naglich Party
Because we were having the 9 course dinner at French Laundry, we decided sushi at Go Fish would be the best option for lunch. I had an amazing roll - it was a california roll wrapped in spicy tuna. YUM. We then stopped into Dean & Deluca just to see it and that was really fun.
The French Laundry. Wow. I am truly without words. This may be the highlight of the honeymoon. It ended up being about 14 courses when it was all said and done. We had an amazing litle table in a quiet corner and were just thrilled throughout the dinner. The sommelier paired all sorts of wine with our meal, which just got better and better. I saved the menu so I will list it out later, but wow. Awesome. The testimony to how great the place is = this: when they set down the cheese course in front of me, it was bleu cheese, which I don't really care for (it smells like gym socks). I said nothing and was about to ball up and eat it when the maitre'd came over and asked " Do you not care for this cheese?" and as I explained I would try to eat it, he whisked it away and brought back a nuttier parmesan type cheese with shaved truffles. Um, wow? And that they can also make fantastic popcorn ice cream? Wow. Just amazing. And romantic. And decadent. And wow?
Outside the French Laundry
Friday, June 20
Friday morning came waaaaaaaaaay early as we had to trek to the San Fran airport for our flight to Jackson Hole. We woke up around 7:00, actually found sweet tea at a McDonald's for breakfast, and got to the airport in plenty of time. We enjoyed Frontier, who didn't charge as extra for our oversized luggage like Airtran did. We also ate at a great restaurant in the Denver airport. Who knew? We made it to Jackson Hole around 6:30 and hailed a cab. He was loco in la cabeza, but pointed out all sorts of things on our drive into town, which I must say, is amazing. The plane lands right by the Tetons - I had a primo view as we descended.
We stayed at the Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa where we were greeted with chocolate covered strawberries in our suite that overlooked the mountains. Nice! We then trekked next door for a romantic dinner at Il Villagio Osteria, where we were promptly given two glasses of prosecco to celebrate our marriage. How nice! I had a great kobe beef meatball dish while Will had rock shrimp and yummy arugula salad.
Chocolate Covered Strawberries - yum!
Saturday, June 21
Saturday morning came early for our ride at Spring Creek Ranch. We rode horses for about 3 hours all through this awesome ranch. Amazing views and I conquered my fear of horses! YAY! Will had the hugest horse ever and I just really enjoyed it. I can't wait to go horseback riding again!
View from horseback riding
After showering and realizing that I had the WORST SUNBURN EVER where I forgot to put sunscreen on my chest (I wore a vneck shirt), we changed and ate lunch at the Mangy Moose in Teton Village. It was a yummy burger and onion rings and I enjoyed sitting outside yet again. Afterwards, we caught the bus into town, which I fell asleep on. Why, oh why, am I prone to falling asleep in public? We hopped off the bus and walked throughout downtown Jackson Hole, which is awesome! We had took pics in front of the elk antlers on Main Square, bought cowboy hats, went through the kitschy shops, and had a beer at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. We also saw the gunfight on town square (a fun little variety show) and grabbed martinis at the Silver Dollar Bar at the Wort Hotel.
Sittin' on saddles in the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar
We then walked the 1.5 miles to the Gun Barrel Restaurant to work up our appetites. Oh heavenly day, the food here is worth returning to Jackson Hole. Oh my goodness, soooooooo good! I had the velvet elk, which was really tasty. Will had the mixed game grill, which came with buffalo prime rib, elk chops, and venison bratwurst. It was all awesome, especially those elk chops. Wow. I've never been somewhere that had meat done so well. It was seasoned but you really tasted the product rather than the seasonings. Just heavenly. We got a "anniversary" cheesecake, as the restaurant celebrates anniversaries and it happened to be our 1 week. Ha! We then caught the "Redneck Taxi" home and fell asleep.
Sunday, June 22
We woke up again freakishly early to go fly fishing. Will won a fly fishing trip in an auction so we had a guide who outfitted us with everything we needed. He picked us up and we drove through the Teton Pass into Idaho since the Snake River was almost overflowing with so much snow melt. We stopped in the cute town of Victor, Idaho to pick up breakfast and lunch and then headed to Henry's Fork to get on the river. What an amazing day! The weather was perfect (sunny, 80s, windy) and it was just amazingly beautiful. I enjoyed learning how to fly fish, although I got really frustrated at first.
Nice catch, Mr. Will.
I eventually caught the biggest fish - a huge white fish - but since we were fishing for trout, it really didn't count. It counted to me as I had never caught a fish before, especially on a fly rod! Yay!
It was such an amazing way to spend the day. I really enjoyed myself and I know Will had the time of his life. This just means we eventually have to return to Jackson Hole to eat at the Gun Barrel and float the Snake.
Monday, June 23
We blessedly slept in until about 9:30. Isn't sleeping in on your honeymoon a requirement? Sigh. We had a nice flight to Salt Lake City and then the worst flight ever back home.
Being married is FABULOUS! It really doesn't feel like that huge of a difference, just the best feeling in my heart thinking about the vows will said to me in front of God and everyone and how he held my hands as he said them.
Now its time to move to SA!