As I looked high above the vineyards last week, I couldn’t help but think, how lucky am I to be in a hot air balloon at sunrise in Napa Valley, Calif.? I took a wonderful vacation last week to the California coast and experienced wine country for the first time. We started in Los Angeles for a night and drove up the Pacific Coast Highway to spend our second night in Monterey. Along our drive we stopped at the adorable town of Solvang. We really enjoyed walking around the shops, and the authentic Danish pastries looked too good to pass up! The drive up the highway was unbelievable, and the sunset at Big Sur is something I will never forget.

Our stay at the Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa was wonderful. Since there was a 15-degree drop in temperature up the coast, I was happy to sit in front of the lobby fireplace and sip tea before bed. The next morning it was off to Sonoma County for a wine tasting at Paul Hobbs. The highlight of the drive was passing the San Francisco skyline on our left. When we arrived at Paul Hobbs, the staff warmly greeted and led us into a contemporary dining room for the tasting. We learned a lot within our first tour; and I have to say, as someone relatively new to the wine-making process, I had no idea it was such an artform. With our first wine tasting and tour under our belt, we drove to Napa Valley and dined at French Laundry. (More to come on this experience in a future entry . . . wow!) The second half of the trip was filled with Napa tastings and dining, a hot air balloon adventure and bike riding in San Francisco and Sausalito! I absolutely loved my California coast experience and can’t wait to share more with you soon!

— Christie Rhodes, advertising manager eastern region