The End of Another Chapter

Today was my last day of working before my 3 week vacation. On a more serious note, it is also my last day of scheduled work until April. I am trying to not dwell on that fact but it keeps creeping into my thoughts. I am constantly on the look out for possibilities but so far nothing has fallen into my lap. My co-worker at NVBT, that I have been working Wine to Waves with, is going to give me the names of her contacts with Destination Management Companies in San Francisco. Hopefully, that will get me days here and there and it will get me experience working in San Francisco. Okay enough of that.

This last Wine to Waves trip went very well. I had no trips to the hospital, though we did have an accident that put one of the guests in the van for the rest of the day. This was a group of nine friends that bike, vacation, drink & buy wine together, from Colorado. Since they were all friends some things were easier, we didn't have to facilitate conversation and they were very good about taking care each other. On the flip side though, we were not quite a part of the group and they had a tendency to make a group decision to change things that took away our control. Our weather was very nice except for some fog in the last two days and I felt much stronger on the bike this time compared to last.

Now onto the best part. Europe. It is only 2 days til departure, I guess it is time to start getting ready. Actually, the wardrobe is planned, clean and set aside. Now to figure out accessories, bags and books. Mom arrives tomorrow and my sister and family will come down for a visit on Friday. Then we leave on Saturday around 1:00pm. I hope to blog a bit from Europe but if not I will give a full wrap up with photos when I return.

Enjoy November everyone, see you when it is over.

Thanks for reading.

Pic 1. - Autumn light shining in a yet to be picked vineyard.
Pic 2. - My well organized group on morning one.
Pic 3. - It doesn't take long to get into action at Hess Collection.
Pic 4. - Cellar door at Hess
Pic 5. - Breakfast practice for France
Pic 6. - My co-guide, JW, working hard.
Pic 7. - Just north of Bodega Bay
Pic 8. - The last lunch in Calistoga.

Three Drummers and an Alto.

Last weekend, the "Girls" threw a baby shower. Now this wasn't just any shower, this one was for our much anticipated twin boys, who are due to arrive in early January. Mom looks fantastic and is so organized, though none us are surprised by that. They have a ton of loot though definitely not enough diapers. The party-goers consisted of our friends from college and the two grandmas. Friday night, TD and I made all types of appetizers; mango salsa, mushroom spread, artichoke something or other, believe me they tasted incredible, I'm just not very good at describing them. TI was the ringleader, as usual, she found the perfect decorations, a brilliant cake lady and brought the beverages. LK made some diaper drum cakes, so cute, and organized our gift to the growing family. KA sent her good wishes from Atlanta and we all wished she could be there. Fortunately for JH, she had a personal gift retriever and opener, free of charge. EI is doing a great job at being the oldest cousin.

So after a wonderful day with our friends, my parting words to the boys were to wait for their aunt to get back from Europe before they arrive.

Pic. 1 - JH with the loot. Doesn't she look great?
Pic. 2 - The amazing drum cakes.
Pic. 3 - A roomful of friends, big ones for the grown ups and little ones for the guests of honor.
Pic. 4 - Amazing chocolate drum favors made by TD's mom.
Pic. 5 - Yes, the boys have no choice but to be Aggies.
Pic. 6 - Two very happy grandma's practicing.

Some Days Clarity, Other Days Pain

Instead of working today I went for a bike ride. Kind of ironic. Generally, I know I want to go for a ride and know that once on the bike I will be happy but the actual putting on of the gear and getting out the door can be a mental battle. Today was one of the rare days that I was extremely eager to get out and ride. The weather is beautiful, I could ride my speed on my bike, not worrying about guests that don't understand the intricacies of a hybrid bike and I could go as far as I wanted. I planned 40 miles, knowing that I would probably go 30 only. When I ride my bike, problems that I have been mulling over develop solutions with only the assistance of a familiar road and my mp3 player. Well, that is most of the time. Today, was different, today the whole ride was pain. I hit the 7.5 mile mark and was already thinking about going back, usually I have settled into a nice rhythm but I continued on anyway. At 10 miles, I needed to stretch and my saddle was already becoming uncomfortable. When I hit the turn around point in Winters, I took a short break but all that was on my mind was how much I didn't want to bike the miles back instead of reveling in the scenery. I remount and head back. The 15 long miles felt like the entire 30, all I can think about is each individual pedal stroke. I notice that my bike is dirty and the chain needs to be cleaned. Then each bump in the road is bothering me and my feet are becoming numb. I have to continuously stand up and stretch my legs. Of course, as I get back into town, all the lights are against me. I am so relieved as I pull into my house and I all I want is a hot shower. It is an extremely disturbing experience to not enjoy something I love so much so my solution...go out tomorrow and try for 50 miles. ;)

Thanks for reading.

Funny Business at Work.

Working in Napa has been a great experience all around. NBVT has tripled in growth over the last 3 years and really doesn't show signs of stopping. And though we are hiring more guides and expanding the facilities the business still feels small. In the morning everyone is joking around, making digs at each other and having a really good time. And it is encouraged. The people working there appreciate what they have and really put a lot of energy and enthusiasm into there jobs. Everyone does a little of everything. The shop guys drive the vans and lead tours during the winter or in a pinch, the guides wash the vans, change bike tires and check in guests. The supervisors do it all. In addition, the owner's parents have been around lately. Dad was painting door frames and working on bikes.
Sometimes though funny things happen to your schedule. I was originally scheduled to work Monday - Thursday and then start a W2W tour on Sunday. Last week, the Thursday was cut. Then while at work today my boss asked me to work on Saturday since he needed another guide and then I could get things together for our Sunday morning departure. Then in the afternoon he told me he didn't need me tomorrow either. So now I have 3 days on my hands to fill. I think I have some vacation planning that could use some attention.
Other days you have to be serious. On Monday, one of my guests had an accident and broke her arm. That really got my attention since that is the second trip to the hospital in 3 weeks for my guests. Let me just remind you cyclists out there, never use just your front brake, you are liable to end up on the ground. The whole group was a bit shook up about that but we recovered and vowed to have fun for our lost comrades. I love the fact that I can be outside all day, enjoying people that are enjoying life.

In other news:
Thanks to those that have left comments, I enjoy reading them. Unfortunately, not all of the names that show up are identifiable to me. So if it isn't obvious by your screen name who you are, I would love you to give me some more info, either in the comment field or e-mail me, so I know who is paying attention.
I added a link to my new Flickr account. I will still post photos on the blog but if you want to see more, check it out.

Thanks for reading.

What else am I up to? Part 1

This new life is weird. Okay, that is a simplification but it is accurate. The 8am-6pm days are long gone and weekends no longer hold much meaning. My days off can be anywhere from 4 days consecutive and may encompass a weekend to one day in the middle of the week. Working in Napa has been a lot of fun and I am sad to see it coming to an end for the year. However, it's end means that my vacation is almost here. Don't laugh. I know many believe I am on a long vacation but being responsible for people's vacations is stressful. Which brings me to the 1st part of what I do with my non-work time... plan a vacation for myself and others. I am realizing that I must be crazy, didn't I just say it is stressful to be responsible for others vacations? Oh well, they survived Ireland, they will survive this. What is "this" you ask? For those that don't know, (I am just realizing that many haven't heard about this adventure) my mom, the Z's, the W's and I are headed to Europe for a few weeks. The W's are already there, DW is working in Zurich for a week, then they are off to Amsterdam for a week. Finally on 11/3, they will meet the rest of us in Brussels for the start of our adventure. After 2 days in Brussels we will head to Ghent for 2 days and then Brugge for 3. Belgium will be all about beer, chocolate and moules frites. Then I get to show off the love of my life to everyone. We will be in Paris for 7 glorious, marvelous, heavenly days. We have rented an apartment in the 11th, which I have never done before and a leisurely, tentative schedule. The Z's will be leaving us at the end of the week while rest of us fly to Barcelona and explore yet another new country. We will also have a nice little apartment there, not too far from the old part of town. So stay tuned for stories about our European Adventure 2007.

Thanks for reading.

Wine 2 Waves

Last week I got to do my first over-the-road (tour director speak for multi-day trips) tour that was not in Alaska. This was a 5 day bike tour for NBVT, there were two guides and 8 guests. Well we started with 8 guests but that is part of the story. The tour starts in Yountville with a nice breakfast at Pacific Blues, then we head towards the Carneros region with a stop at Artesa Winery, which has an amazing view of the south valley and on a clear day, San Francisco. Then on to Folio, the new Mondavi venture, where we had a picnic lunch then headed on to Sonoma. My job on this day was to drive the van, pick up lunch and deliver luggage. I really enjoyed it. That night our guests stayed at two very nice hotels, MacArthur Place and El Dorado Hotel and we all ate dinner at the El Dorado Kitchen, right on the square. Unfortunately, one of the ladies on our trip had some trouble with her sit bones and was in a lot of pain so when we got ready to head out the next morning she wasn't up to it, so she road in the van. JW drove in the morning, so she picked up lunch and luggage. We had a beautiful ride up through the Valley of the Moon, then over the hills into Rohnert Park near Sonoma State University. We did have one hill that I was not up to but the rest of the ride was rolling and fun. We had another picnic lunch in Cotati, the JW took over the biking. There was a tough hill in our path but right before it one of our guests had an accident. It was on a downhill and his back tire slid out from under him. He really banged up his arm and I had to take him and his wife (the van passenger) to the hospital in Sebastopol. From there I checked on all my riders as I headed on to Bodega Bay to deliver luggage. There are really only two nice hotels in Bodega Bay, The Inn at the Tides and the Bodega Bay Lodge and Spa. I had to shower quickly and get back on the road to get my guests from the hospital in Sebastopol. I turned out his road rash needed serious cleaning out and 10 stitches. We jammed back to Bodega Bay in time to pick up the rest of the group and go to dinner at Rocker Oysterfellers. Crazy name but great food. Though it stormed overnight, it was beautiful and clear the next morning for the ride up the coast and then inland through the Russian River Valley. We lunched at Korbel, after a little champagne tasting, then continued on toward Healdsburg via the funky town of Guerneville. At this point two of our guests left the tour. The rest of the guests stayed in an amazing place right on the square, called Healdsburg Hotel. It is relatively new but used existing buildings and has a trendy, modern feel. We had dinner at the Dry Creek Kitchen, the Michael Palmer restaurant attached to the hotel. I don't know who Micheal Palmer is but apparently he is famous and we had phenomenal food once again. The next morning we headed of to Calistoga, it was only a half day so we lunched at the Calistoga Inn and Brewery. The rest of the days consisted of sitting in a cafe and reading, then some time in the hot spring pools of our hotel. That night we ate at Brennan's, what can I say, not a bad days work. On our last day, it rained and it was my day on the bike. I did my best to not too obviously convince the ladies (the husbands were a no go, one had a sore arm the other had better sense) that biking was not the best idea. So we packed everything up on the van and went to taste at a winery (I know, shocking), the ladies hoping that the rain would let up and me knowing that this day could get very wet. Well, we biked, there was no stopping them. We got wet, cold, went very fast and had a lot of fun. We looked like drowned rats when we got back to Yountville, so we showered and went off to have some hot, Mexican food to close out the tour.
The tour was great and I can't wait to do the next one, I just hope that I am in better shape and the rain holds off until November.

Thanks for reading.

Pic 1 - Entry to Artesa in Carneros
Pic 2 - Carneros vineyards
Pic 3 - Getting ready in Sonoma
Pic 4 - Windmill between Sonoma & Rohnert Park
Pic 5 - Bodega Bay from the Inn at the Tides
Pic 6 - Inn at the Tides
Pic 7 - Monte Rio thinks very highly of themselves
Pic 8 - Hop Kiln Winery in the Russian River Valley
Pic 9 - Vineyards in the Russian River Valley

From Alaska to Napa

After my few days off and whirlwind travel to see everyone, I started my next stint in my new career. I have been working quite a bit in Napa and at least some of it has been on the bike. As a guide I have to split time driving the support van and being the bike guide. Obviously, I enjoy one much more then the other but I am getting to work. And I must say I am very lucky to be working in such a beautiful place. We often forget how beautiful the world right around us is and we go looking across the world for something to impress us. I am very guilty of this, look at how much time I have spent in Europe, especially France and though I believe that there are some places that strike a deep, resonant chord with an individual and deserve our extra attention since it makes us feel so good to be there (my heart is always in Paris,) we should spend some time appreciating what is in our backyard. Being a guide allows me to an extra opportunity to do this, I get to see Napa and California through the eyes of people from all over the country and beyond. September and early October are a great time to visit the wine country, since it looks like how people imagine it. Heavy, bunches of grapes hanging on fully, foliaged vines that are tinged with color. As we head toward the end of October, there are fewer grapes but more color, and the smell of fermenting fruit fills the air. I am truly enjoying working in Napa and though the commute is a bit long it is all worth it. It has also given me a great chance to visit my Aunt, Uncle and cousins as well and generously they have offered me a bed to combat the time commuting. NVBT is also planning on expanding their offered tours beyond the day trips and the Wine to Waves, so that could provide not only more work but even more opportunity for me to explore my backyard.

Pic. 1 - The NVBT support van, oh yeah, nice back drop.
Pic. 2 - A back road in the Carneros area.
Pic. 3 - View of the south Napa Valley from Bouchaine Winery.
Pic. 4 & 5 - Early morning in the Napa Valley.
Pic. 6 - Somebody in Yountville already has my dream home.
Pic. 7 - Duh!