So, I went to California in September

I was happily watching the No Reservations holiday special until it ended (sigh) and am now being subjected to "Most Extreme Christmas Towns" or something of that nature. I tried browsing jobs, but that got depressing, and then I got to thinking about that time I went to California and didn't blog about it. Maybe I should remedy that. I'll try to keep it relatively brief, but I can't make any promises.

First of all, Gabby is awesome. End of story. We went to college together, where we met through our homemade comedy group, and have kept in touch since she graduated two years ago. It was very kind of her to have me out to stay! She drove an hour away from home to pick me up at the San Francisco airport, fed and housed me, trusted me to not make her look bad by putting me to work for a day (I didn't!) and put up with my frequent attacks of narcolepsy which occurred whenever we were in the car for more than 15 minutes. How embarrassing.

Well, to start, the flight from San Antonio to Phoenix was horrific. We flew through a storm over the desert, so the plane bounced and dropped and lurched quite a bit, and I clutched my copy of Neil Gaiman's short fiction to my chest so hard that I think the letters of the title were imprinted on my chest by the time we landed. To make matters worse, the guy next to me was browsing what seemed to be a textbook of horribly graphic photographs of injured soldiers in the Middle East. They were sickening but impossible not to glance down at from time to time. As a result, me knees were shaking for multiple reasons as I disembarked and made my way to the next terminal. But luckily the flight to San Francisco was smooth as could be, and I could happily watch California drift by below without fearing for my life. Once landed, I hung out in the airport eating a box of Wheat Thins (3 servings, yeah right) and watching Arrested Development on Netflix while waiting for Gabby. Thank God for airport wifi.

Gabby lives in Cotati, which is in the Sonoma area, an hour north of San Francisco. She works at an elementary school in Santa Rosa, and I went to work with her on Friday as a volunteer, which meant I hung out with/babysat/played with fourth graders for a few hours until they were picked up. Once we got gome from work, we tarted up and then went out to downtown Santa Rosa, where we had dinner and a beer at Gabby's favorite Irish pub, Stout Brothers. While there we were given free sample shots of Sailor Jerry rum, which was being promoted that night, along with dog tag necklaces, shot glasses, and mix CDs. Awesome! Next, we hit up a house party thrown by one of her work buddies. Free booze, but the nastiest non-public bathroom I've ever seen. Four men should not be legally allowed to live together, because the results are biohazardous. Is that a word? I don't care. Very nice guys, though!

View of the fabulous Ledson Vineyard from the drive

Saturday was the day of wine! We got up at a decent hour and had breakfast at a lovely little diner in Santa Rosa. We had to wait to get in, which is always a sign of a good place if it's not a chain, if you ask me. And indeed, I don't know which was yummier, the cinnamon pecan pancakes I devoured or the waiter that brought them over. Ooh, those green eyes. Anyway, it was cloudy and sprinkling a little as we made our way to Ledson Winery, an impressive structure surrounded by Northern California's trademark dark green hills and a beautiful spread of vines. The inside of the mansion was gorgeous, and we had a great tasting; I recommend buying anything of theirs. I wish I could've sent some home! I was not a fan of the dessert wine by itself, but it was suggested that we chew up some chocolate chips before taking our next sips, which we did, and wow. What a difference! It tasted incredible. 

Next we went to a much smaller establishment called Blackstone, with whose wine I was considerably less impressed, though still pleased. It was a lovely setting, though; beautiful back gardens. Next we moved on to Kunde, an extravagant winery in the midst of a festival, but so packed we couldn't get near the tasting counter. However, there was free cheese, and we paused to take some silly pictures amongst the grapes. We couldn't decide where to go next until Gabby remembered a very enjoyable visit she'd had to Coppola's Vineyard on the other side of the county; and so, we set off in search of it. I enjoyed watching the clouds skim the tops of the hills as we passed by, but inevitably, I fell asleep; when I came to once more the clouds had drifted away, revealing glorious autumn sunshine. However, we were a little lost, so we stopped at a kitschy farmer's market for directions. After some help from some locals, voila! We turned around and ten minutes later we were at Francis Ford Coppola's little slice of heaven.

A fountain at Coppola's winery. (Not my photo)

And what a slice it is. The estate is massive, complete with a welcome center, classy jazz music being emitted from outdoor speakers, fountains, and a dark wooden bar serving not just wine but the most fabulous of cocktails. Oh, and did we mention the restaurant? By the time we had walked through the displays of notable Coppola films, we were starving, and the heavenly smells of Italian food were wafting in our direction. Fortunately for our wallets but unfortunately for our stomachs, we decided to hold out until we were closer to home. We also passed on wine tasting, as this was the most expensive place we had visited, but at least we can say we've been there!

Saturday night we had all intentions of making ourselves a nice dinner. But we returned so late in the afternoon from wine country and then the grocery store that we ate our sandwiches at dinnertime, and our dinner supplies (fresh bread, noodles, pesto, garlic) remained untouched! We watched Kenneth Branaugh's "Much Ado About Nothing" while nibbling our sandwiches. A lovely movie, even if the casting of Keanu Reeves and Denzel Washington as half-brothers was a bit strange. Later, inspired by our visit to Coppola's vineyard, we brought up "Bram Stoker's Dracula" on Netflix. What a trip. Not a good movie, I'd say, but generally interesting.

Sunday was a day that I'll always remember. We got up early and packed some apples and crackers for the car before heading out on the road to the forests. It took us about an hour to get there, traversing the twistiest of back roads, but when we did get there...wow. Our destination was Armstrong Redwoods National Reserve, a parkland filled with Redwood trees, wildlife, and not much else. When we got out of the car it was raining ever so lightly, so we put our hoods up, I cuffed my jeans to avoid soaking them (I hate when my jeans are wet around my feet!) and we set off into the forest.

How can I describe this place, never having been anywhere like it before? Allow me to wax poetic, if you will. As the forest swallowed us into its midst, all sound seemed to disappear. I don't even recall hearing birds. I heard only the drip of water from the leaves, and the soft, squishy sound of our shoes pressing lightly into the moist needles lining the path. We met few people as we wound our way around the towering trees, only exchanging softly spoken "good mornings" as we passed. I was in complete awe of the size of the trees; I do love my forests here on the east coast, but the Armstrong Reserve took my breath away. The trail took us on a tour of the oldest trees in the area, the tallest, the thickest; and eventually, deposited us back into the parking lot, where we removed our wet outer layers and settled down for the drive to San Francisco. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect morning.

The city greeted us warmly with sunshine as we made our way over the bridge. Upon arriving at the other side, we swerved into the parking lot for the overlook and dashed down some stairs, across a street and onto the overlook. We stopped for two pictures and book it back to the car, eager to avoid being ticketed for not paying for our parking spot! Then we drove into the heart of the city, in search of Haight Street and lunch. Having never been to San Francisco before, I was thrilled by the steep incline of the streets; I giggled uncontrollably as we went down the steepest of them, and Gabby joined in laughing at my childish excitement. We got a bit turned around in search of Haight, due to street closings and vague memory, but eventually we found the famous street, got a parking spot in front of a stylish cafe, and went in search of Gabby's preferred eatery, Squat and Gobble.

Lunch! Gobble gobble!

Once there, we ordered dessert crepes and cappuccinos, and sat down to wait. My "very berry nutella" crepe arrived, steaming and stuffed to bursting with strawberries, blueberries and nutella, with a pile of fresh whipped cream to add to taste. It was devoured in a matter of minutes. Our stomachs happy, we set off down the street for some sightseeing. On the corner of Haight and Ashbury, two employees of Ben and Jerry's dressed as hippies stood outside the store on stilts, blowing bubbles into the faces and hair of passersby: easily an image that conveys the attitude of  that neighborhood, I think. We popped into Goorin Bros hat shop, which was filled with temptations, a store filled with handmade goods from Asia, and an overpriced antique store chock full of little treasures. From there we got back into the car and went down to the docks to meet Gabby's former roommate for a walk along the bay.

Bubble-blowing hippies on stilts!

Pier 39 was a little overwhelming. Carousels and pearl shops and candy, oh my! But we enjoyed watching the sea lions for a while, then took a walk along the water. I was sorely tempted by the various food stalls we passed; I was salivating at the smell of freshly-steamed seafood, but we weren't stopping for dinner; we had to see as much of the city as we could in very little time! Oh, and the restaurants we passed...so much temptation! When we got to a sandy area I stepped down onto the beach, closer to the Pacific Ocean than I'd ever been before. After a few moments' quiet reflection, we made our way to Ghirardelli Square.

I have to say, I could have done without the Ghirardelli experience. Yes, the square was lovely, but the cafe was so overcrowded and the food so overpriced that I didn't want to stay. I ordered an iced mocha and one chocolate-covered strawberry before realizing my companions weren't ordering anything; so I fought my way to a table to await my $10-order. The mocha, when it finally came out, tasted like a cup of chocolate with some coffee-flavored syrup dumped in as an afterthought. It was horribly sweet. So yes, could have done without that waste of time and money. I dunno, maybe I'm just biased, as I grew up with Hershey;s chocolate. And the town itself, the chocolate capitol of the world, was just two hours away from the town where I grew up. And it was just 20 minutes away when I was in college!

After that, we were running very short on time; I was flying back to Philadelphia that evening and had to be at the airport by about 8:30. So, we went in search of a quick bite and ended up at a tiny pizza shop, where I ate a heavenly slice of potato and pesto pizza. I know, it sounds bizarre, but the stomachache I had the whole way home was totally worth it. After that, it was time to drop Sarah off at her (very cute) apartment and head to the airport. It was so sad to say goodbye to Gabby!

The flight home was smooth sailing; I managed to sleep for most of it, and landed in Philadelphia before I knew it, just after 6 AM local time. My dad was waiting, a cup of Dunkin in hand for me, and I wondered why I'd ever left in the first place. The jetlag didn't hit me until about Wednesday, which was good, considering I got off the placn, went home, took a shower, then went to work at the library for a full eight-hour day!

I haven't seen Gabby since, event though she was back in the area for Thanksgiving and then for Christmas, but I really hope she knows how grateful I am to her for showing me such a good time. I sent thank-you notes to all of my hosts, and I brought presents where I could, but I don't think I can ever thank them all enough. Actually, I haven't seen any of them since! But I hope they know how much they all mean to me.

Gabby and I trying on hats and scarves in Coppola's movie museum!

And there you have it. Aidan's Grand American tour 2010, complete. What will 2011 bring? England and France, hopefully. Stay tuned for more :)