Wine, WIne, Wine

There is no shortage of wine on this trip!  I am convinced this tribe has set a record for the number of bottles of wine purchases on this tour!  As well, the number of wineries visited!  Today was the perfect opportunity for the tribe to seek out the tastings: they criss crossed the valley form Calistoga to Yountville to St. Helena and finally to Calistoga.  It was a gorgeous day for riding and sampling.  The weather has been perfect on this trip: not too hot, not too cold....

An interesting fact that I found out about today!  When traveling through the vineyards many of them have roses planted at the end of each row.  I have always wondered why: now I know!  1) It's tradition 2) roses and grapes grow the same and are very similar: roses are more fragile than grapes and are prone to the same diseases of grapes: if a disease hits the rose will come down with it first.  This marker potentially saves the grapes!

We headed out of comp and beat feat for St. Helena: I LOVE the Model bakery there and couldn't wait to see what goodies were in store for us.  We made it by lunch time and I splurged on a chicken and artichoke panini while Jack had salmon lox & capers on french bread with a bowl of fresh mushroom soup.  We loaded up on loaves of ciabatta and french breads for tonights pasta dinner and headed into camp.

The tribe had a great day: those who chose to ride through St. Helena did have to deal with some pretty awful traffic..lots of cars and very slow.  But following that it was not bad at all.  A couple of the tribe members stopped and had lunch at the Culinary Institute of America.  I am SO jealous.  But, I have a hard time justifying $100.00 for lunch for two.  Maybe next year.

At camp we prepared a pasta dinner that included a green salad nicouse: linguini with a homemade meat sauce: orzo with pesto and sundried tomatoes; sauteed zucchini and grilled breads from the Model bakery.  Pecan pie  bars for dessert.  The tribe ate well.

After dinner many of the tribe members and staff headed into Calistoga for a soak in the hot springs.  We have never done this, but will in the future!  $20.00 for 2 hours of bliss......I can't wait to come back.

Tomorrow's route should prove to be interesting: we have not gone this way before.  What lays ahead for this tribe?  We'll see.