Happy Valentines Day, and Happy Birthday, Matt. Dan bought Pat flowers for the day, so nice! It feels like home.
OK, we're ready for the rain to stop for a while. This area has been in a drought, so the locals are excited that they are finally getting rain. For us, a week is enough already and we are ready for some sun and a little more warmth, though it has been consistently in the high 50's which is quite nice compared to Michigan. The rain has not really slowed us down much, but has just altered some activities.
Friday we went to Sonoma to partake of a wine matching at St. Francis winery. www.stfranciswinery.com. Last year when we were here, (see Pat's blog) we had joined their wine club, and we have received a few shipments of their Artisan series wines. We probably are not going to continue this, as we have since found other high quality wines which we prefer, but part of being in their wine club is a complimentary wine pairing. The way that works is they pair four wines, with four small portions of food. It is interesting to see how the wines and food compliment each other, the rule of thumb is to "sip, nibble, sip." One thing we learned was to eat something prior to enjoying this, as the quantity of food is very small and the quantity of wine is larger than the average pour in a vineyard. We had a great time and then visited two more wineries, Ledson www.ledson.com and Martinelli www.martinelliwinery.com. We found Ledson to be interesting as they offer a very large variety of wines and do not sell outside of the winery. Their tasting rooms are in a mansion that sets off the road near Santa Rosa. Martinelli is located in a very plain, wooden facility. We plan on exploring more of the 122 wineries in Sonoma, so that leaves us 119 to go. Probably won't accomplish that this trip, but it's a nice goal.
Saturday we had more rain showers. We did regular things around the house and stores, then went to a movie. We saw "The Wrestler", which was worth seeing. It is a very different movie. I'd give it 3 out of 4 stars. Pat gives it a 2 1/2.
Later in the evening we went to Rancho Nicasio. Pat found this place last year, and mentioned it on her blog. It is quite something, out in the countryside of Marin. It is only about 10 miles off of 101, through a very, very curvy road, beyond George Lucas's house, (yes, that George Lucas) and over hills and dales. It is a building that is over 150 years old and has a bar, dance floor, general store and post office . It is an old country bar, complete with moose and deer hanging on the walls. Their Valentine's Day entertainment was a group called the Baguette Quartet. They played old French dancing music. We had a ball. Many people were dressed for the occasion, wearing red, or french cafe clothing, and everyone got up and danced the fox trot, tango, waltz. We met one of the owners, who was sitting at the next table, Jane Brown. She and her husband were with another couple, and we had a very enjoyable evening dancing and talking with them. We plan on going back for more entertainment Check out the web site. www.baguettequartet.org
www.ranchonacsio.com
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