Tuesday, January 27, 2009

A January Weekend in the Napa Valley

Greg and I flew back to California with Jen and the girls on Martin Luther King weekend. Matthew's home town of St Helena is beautiful. We were told the weather was exceptionally nice for January! The Heils were the perfect hosts and treated us to brunch on Saturday. Matthew's brother Dominic and his girlfriend Leah(now fiance!) joined us.
When in Napa, one visits wineries. The Castle Winery was a breathtaking combination of medieval design and modern winery technology. We toured and tasted happily.



We had a picnic lunch at Santui Winery where Matthew used to work. It was great to be dining outdoors in January!
Jen and Matthew have a nice location. Their home is within walking distance of town, and there's a park across the street.
Lydia loves playing in the pantry.
The Heil home in St Helena.
On Sunday we went to Mass at a chapel near St Helena, surrounded by vineyards.

Matthew gave us a great tour of St Helena and environs, with interesting historical detail.
We enjoyed a festive Sunday dinner hosted by family friends of the Heils.


On our way back to the airport we took the scenic route. San Francisco Bay( and Alcatraz) are in the background.
You can see the Golden Gate Bridge behind us. We had a ball and enjoyed our break from winter. Thanks , Jen and Matthew!

4 comments:

Catherine Berg said...

Wow! I can't wait to get to Napa Valley. It looks like you guys had an amazing weekend. Thanks for sharing the pictures, Mom! We love you.

Unknown said...

Wonderful pictures - thanks Aunt Lorrie!!!!!

our little brown life said...

Great pics Mom- you may win the award for best narrative/picture blogger. I may tease you about being picture happy...but you're the one with all the great detailed pics and I'm the one lagging with little to show on my blog.
So thanks Mom for being camera happy!
Love,
Cal

Jen Heil said...

Mom and Greg:

A little late on the comment am I, but thanks for your visit and your wonderful post!! It was so delightful to have you here to see our home and where we live. thanks for all the pics, and yes, Lydia's favorite pasttime remains the pantry!

xoxo,
jen