A Tradition Worth Keeping

In the previous post, I was hinting that a visit to Apple Hill might be an annual tradition amongst our little group of friends. My husband and I have a little thing about making our own tradition. And one of them that's stood the test of time for us is going for a drive the day after Thanksgiving. You see in the almost long-forgotten past when people had to wake up at 4 am to line up outside the store for Black Friday deals, we vowed that we won't be among those people who'd spend a good day off just to shop. Nothing wrong with shopping, but between us we both agreed that we better use that day to be outdoors. And besides, we always shop all year long for Christmas presents.

In the past we find that driving to the wine country - Napa or Sonoma - is the perfect decision. I don't know how long we've been doing this, but we've been doing this the entire time of our marriage. 2022 was no exception. We decided to drive through Napa Valley and push as far as we could or wanted to.

You can see the brown grape leaves on the side. This was in the fall following 3 drought years and the sight of brown leaves was devastating for us. Little did we know that not long after, we'd get the blessings of rain, so much rain that in one season the state is no longer in severe drought condition, or something like that.

This is a regular spot for us to stop. Next to this is a grocery store where they have the best breakfast burrito that we drive an hour to get. In fact we met another couple there who said they drove 1.5 hours to get the breakfast burrito too. The store is called Sunshine Foods. While they ran out of the burrito that day, my husband and I decided to get a couple of their wonderful mini cakes.

Across from the grocery store we spotted a cafe and wanted to check it out. We never got there because, lo and behold, just next door is the gas station that is more than a filling station. They have pastries and bread and coffee too. What a joyful discovery and this plaque is also another first time for us to notice after years of coming here.

People waiting for their orders. Nice to see you can get real food when you gas up.

Downtown Saint Helena with the historic building on the left.

We kept on driving and when we arrived at Calistoga, we decided it's time to get another cup of coffee. Also good time to stretch our legs and walk around a bit. Such a lovely fall day. We saw a trail along the river and followed it for a bit.

A couple of cool murals and a very wise advise and back to the car for more.

I'm going to cut this here and will continue next post. There were too many photos to share, I beg your indulgence.