Thanksgiving Extravaganza 2007

[Insert Karen's voice here.]

My parents and Joey's brother, Jeremy, came to visit for Thanksgiving this year. It was great to have visitors to our new digs.

This is us at Robert Sinsky Winery. My favorite thing to do is set the timer on my camera and then run really fast to get into the photo in time. This time I put it on a super pretty red car. I'm sure the owners of the car would have been pissed if I scratched it, but ...pheww.. my camera is like a soft cloud upon nice paint jobs!

After Jeremy flew away on the plane, my folks and KaJo visited the petrified forest. That's where some folks dug up some trees that had turned to stone after the eruption of Mt. St. Helena. Something about the ash settling in to where the tree cells used to be... so the cells are replaced with silica and the form is preserved. So the folks dug up these trees and now charge money (six smackers) for people/suckers (like us) to see the tree/rocks. Not a bad way to make a buck (or six).

Below... mom and dad with a tree/rock.

Outside the gift store at the petrified forest, dad and I had a chance to pose/blend in with the wildlife in the Napa Valley.

Next, we headed over to the Old Faithful geyser. This part of California was popular for it's hot springs and mud baths back in the day. The whole area has underground springs which flow over hot magma and then erupt (the water, not the magma) out of holes in the ground. The geyser goes for about a minute (maybe 2) and then rests for about 30 minutes before it erupts again. If the eruptions are not regular, then sometimes that can be a sign of an earthquake in the area over the next few days. (as a note, there are earthquakes here quite frequently, but we usually don't notice because they're so small. But if you spend your days sitting down at a desk, then you have a better chance of feeling them. I haven't felt one yet.) The Old Faithful geyser is privately owned and charges people/suckers (does this sound familiar) $8 ($7 for AAA members) to see the 2 minute eruption.

The eruption.

Mom and Dad like the eruption... see how they smile!!There's a small 'zoo' at the geyser (aka, a fence with some goats in it). Dad got to work on his animal skills (aka, scratching animal bums) and tried to teach a little boy all about animals.

Lastly, we went to the Bale Grist Mill. This is a state operated original mill that still makes flour and polenta on the weekends with two-ton grinding wheels from France. Our tour guide was the miller and he was super cool. The mill proved to be the highlight of our tourist destinations that were not wine related. They charged us $2 for a truly educational and interactive tour that was awesome. Here's a photo of the mill wheel.

As far as wineries go, we visited Clos Pegase (of course) where mom went back for seconds of the port wine that we make (and then I think she drank my taste of it, too!); we stopped at Grigch Hills Estate Winery for our tasting of their biodynamic wines and mom and dad had the chance to learn about biodynamic agriculture; and then we finished at Robert Sinsky Winery where they had tiny nibbles to eat with the wines. The nibbles were a good idea at this point since I think my mom needed some food to soak up the giggles!

Here's mom saddling up to the wine bar at Grigch!