July 1, 2008

Napa, Part I

OK, so the short, non-photographic version is that Napa was lovely. Not our scene, but lovely. On one level, it was just great to have a weekend together. Mr. Scientist Man doesn't get to take two days off in a row very often. I think I'll just book us in fancy hotels every four months or so just to make him take a break.

I've mentioned before that we both enjoy getting maximum bang for the buck. Napa isn't. Jrex's sister bought us two nights in a hotel room for his birthday present (last Friday, he turned 40!!). It turned out to be $198/night for a basic room with one smallish bed, a kitchenette and a small shower. The hotel had mineral pools and spa services (for more money), but was relatively middle-class and not that elegant. For $89 a night, I would have felt like we were in the ballpark, but not for $200! Of course, "free" was great bang for the buck...

The hotel was in Calistoga which is at the very northern end of Napa Valley. I'll post pics and reviews of vineyards and restaurants tomorrow. Jrex did great research and found family-run vineyards that produced leaner style wines. Many Napa wines have a big, bold fruity taste, but they're one-note strong. We tend to like wines that linger and shift as you drink them. Interesting + unusual=fun.

The good news is that at 40, Jrex isn't planning to leave me for a young, hot nurse or blow our nest egg on a sports car. He says he's been having his "what should I do with my life?" crisis for the last 15 years and doesn't need to have one now. He is ready to wrap up training and start whatever is next (not that it means 'wrap up' will happen for a year and a half or so...but that's 'soon' on a Jrex scale...). The other good news is that we still really enjoy being together.

I feel privileged to have this man as a life companion. I love his wit, his endurance and his desire for off-the-beaten-path adventures.

Happy Birthday, love!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, Jrex is 40?? I know you'll understand me when I say that I didn't realize he was so young. He just always strikes me as being about 43 in terms of life stresses and attitude. He's been 43 for about...20 years now?

Can't wait for pictures! And advice as to which wines we should buy.

Rachel said...

Happy birthday to J-Rex, and glad you were able to pry him away from the lab for a couple of days. I like Napa in the fall around harvest time.

Snickollet said...

Happy birthday, J-Rex! Glad you had fun--looking forward to hearing more.

Mama Nabi said...

Aw... HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, J-Rex... may you find your way to one of our labs just so that I can spend some quality real-life time with OTRGirl. (Okay, so the last part is extremely selfish of me... sorry.)

I agree with you re: wine. I am not so big on BOLD... I like whimsical.

The last part is so sweet - I, too, am glad that you two are there for each other and stuck it out through diffcult times. You really do complement each other.

Anonymous said...

you two were clearly made for each other! happy b-day J.R. :)

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear that you guys had a good time! =) There are so many birthdays around this time of the year!

Anonymous said...

Looking forward to the wine recommendations:)

So glad you had a wonderful time and Happy Belated to J-Rex, he's a keeper and so are you!