NAPA VALLEY/SAN FRANCISCO

Let’s go racing! Ok ok ok. So Memorial Day weekend is one of my favorite weekends, and definitely, one of my favorite holidays. We get to honor the women and men who have fought tirelessly and humbly for our country. We get to celebrate the land of the free because of the brave.

I’m an Indiana boy and MDW + Indiana boy = The Greatest Racing Spectacle in Racing. The Indianapolis 500. Watching 33 drivers drive 230mph around a track for 200 laps is one of my of favorite things to do. I’ve personally been to ~16 races. But this year was different. After Grace and I got married, I promised her that I would take her to Napa and San Francisco; two places she had never been to. This Memorial Day Weekend, we did not go racing, but we did jet around vineyards, went to BottleRock and hangout out with amazing family and friends. This was a trip of many “bests.”

Luckily for us, my Aunt Sarah, Uncle Clay and Cousin Terra live in Downtown Napa so, we had a wonderful place to stay while we venture around Napa. They also graciously gifted us a free wine tasting and tour to an incredible vineyard, AXR. So we started our Saturday off heading up the valley to AXR in St. Helena. What a beautiful little, boutique vineyard, which fun fact, used to be an old brothel. We were greeted with the best tasting rose I’ve ever had. We had some delicious wines and some gouda nachos (they were the best).

Grace was geeking out just a little bit with the design of the tasting house. I was geeking out with how good their flagship Cabernet Sauvignon tasted. A perfect start to our trip.

We popped down the road a few minutes to Titus Vineyards. My brother-in law’s parents, who are frequent Napa visitors, highly recommended this place to us and it did not disappoint!

We bopped around St. Helena for lunch and shopping. We had a delicious lunch at Farmstead. After laying low for a bit, we headed back down to Downtown Napa for one more tasting, but this time, we weren’t sipping wine. About 8 years ago, my dad was running Napa Smith Brewery. I went out one summer and worked at the brewery, brewing beer, selling, etc. During my time, I became good friends with one of the best people, Tim. Tim now runs the operations and product for the Napa Valley Distillery. So we went by to sip on some bourbon and rum.

They have awesome drinks. We learned a great deal about the distillation process and all their pre-bottled cocktails. I’m definitely joining their membership club! After that, we headed back to home base to get ready for dinner. My family are wine people. They can talk about the profile and tastes. So, when I asked my uncle what we were having for dinner, his response was, “It depends on what wine we’re drinking.” Dinner did not disappoint, neither did the wine. We stayed up most of the night catching up outside in the nice brisk Napa night with, of course, some wine (okay, a lot). But we had to call it a night in preparation for BottleRock. We woke up early and walked over to Oxbow Market to have a breakfast taco, coffee and to explore a little. Grace was in her element!

After Oxbow Market, our really good friend from High School, Melissa and her boyfriend Bosh (Josh with a B) met us at my uncles house for a morning cocktail, you might have guessed it some AXR rose! We hopped in an Uber and off to the venue. We met up with our amazing college friend Caroline and her friends.

Me in my Hawaiian shirt and Grace in her Napa hat; we were sure to have an incredible day.

Not just a music festival, BottleRock is also a culinary experience. They bring in the top Napa food spots and wow it was delicious. One of the main stages is a cooking stage where celebrity chefs cook with the musical artists. I have to tell you, seeing Matty Matheson whip up some food with Big Boi was quite entertaining.

We ended the evening by going to the silent disco and then watching Santana, Big Boi and Mumford & Sons close out the night with some absolutely amazing music. Truly, a fantastic day with friends. No “Sunday Scaries” for us; our trip was just beginning. The next day, we headed down to the Bay for the next couple nights. My uncle was going down to Sausalito to sail with some friends so we hitched a ride with him and took the ferry over to the city with Caroline.

We ferried right by the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. If you know Grace, she has started a kick of watching various documentaries and stories about escaping Alcatraz. It was the best day on the bay!

We landed at the Port of San Francisco and headed to Caroline’s apartment! Caroline’s apartment was very Grace & Caroline-esque aka adorable and very well decorated. No surprise they are great friends. We immediately felt at home. Caroline and Grace were sorority sisters at IU and roommates Senior year. Caroline is originally from the Bay Area and is now killing it at Square’s headquarters.

We dropped our bags and headed out for some authentic burritos in Dolores Park. Caroline took us to what she said was her favorite burrito spot in the city, Taqueria El Farolito. I have to tell you, this was the best burrito I’ve ever had. Melissa came and joined us as we drank some beers and enjoyed the sunny afternoon in the park.

Caroline and Melissa toured us around the area. Grace obsessed over the Victorian house painted matte black. Melissa showed us Clarion Alley, an alley with epic murals. We also walked up some steep hills!

The next day was our day. We made it a goal not to Uber during the day, so we walked to Caroline’s favorite breakfast spot, The Mill, which is well known for the toasts. We had the best avocado toast (so Millennial of us) and an incredible cinnamon toast (reminded us of Petit Chou back home).

We headed East a little bit towards Alamo Square Park where we met up with some ladies…the Painted Ladies. “Everywhere you look, everywhere you went. There’s a heart, a hand to hold onto.” I sure got lucky with this heart and hand.

We ditched our ladies and headed down to Hayes Street where there were some really interesting shops, and you guessed it, the best ice cream. It’s never too early for ice cream when you’re on vacation, amirite? A Strawberry Tres Leches for me and a vegan Dandelion Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies & Cream for G. We left wanting more. After bouncing around Hayes, we wanted to head up North towards the Golden Gate Bridge, but we weren’t sure how we were going to get up there….

…until we came across Scoot (recently acquired by Bird). They are on-the-go Vespas and worked out way better than hailing an Uber. We watched the 20-min instructional video, strapped on our helmets and we Scooted throughout the city all the way up to the Bay and the Bridge. We definitely lucked out on the afternoon weather and were able to see the bridge all the way to Sausalito.

We Scooted away from the bridge and down to for a late taco lunch in the Marina neighborhood. Half price margs and $2 tacos? on a Tuesday? Need I say more.

We went back to the apartment to hang low and get ready for the evening. I made Caroline, Grace and Caroline’s roommate, Ashley, some old fashioned’s with Napa Valley Distillery’s S.O.B (Son of a Bourbon). We then headed to a newly remodeled bar called Peacekeeper before meeting up with more friends for dinner.

Dinner was quite the affair. One of my really good high school friends, John Mike and his girlfriend Jac made it out after work. We had Caroline and her roommate, Ashley and Melissa. We were lucky enough to also be joined by Kristen, one of Grace’s best friends from childhood. Not many can say they travel to a city and share a meal with good friends from all corners of our lives. We are truly blessed.

Our one tourist-y request to Caroline and Melissa was to hop on a cable car. They grudgingly agreed and we had the whole trolley to ourselves. Quite the highlight for $7/person for a 10-minute ride….oh well! After visiting Caroline & Ashley’s favorite bar, Jackalope, we ventured to Melissa’s apartment in Nob Hill for our second Airbnb stay of the Bay. We had a great time staying with Melissa and getting to know more about her life in San Francisco. How many people can say they are great friends with an opera singer? Not many! Her apartment explains her in a nutshell: cozy, music, and, of course, University of Michigan.

Our last morning we woke up and walked to a vegan cafe in Melissa’s neighborhood called Nourish. We had another, you guessed it, avocado toast and kombucha. The vacation detox needed to happen at some point. Melissa walked us through Chinatown and up some more absurd hills. We said our goodbyes and we headed to the airport. We were sad to leave, but excited to head home to Bella and to prep for our new member of our family coming in a few short days, Beatrix (the cutest mini golden doodle pup you have ever seen).

Napa & SF, friends & family, thank you for a wonderful trip. We will be back! Until next time…G&C