Saturday
My dad was driving up to meet me and my mom at my brother's place in Vallejo around 3:00 pm, but he was running late due to an argumentative phone call that kept him from leaving on time, as well as job-related distractions on the road that forced him to pull over and write some emails. He wouldn't have been able to arrive on time at all, so we took my brother with us to Berkeley for dinner and a movie and asked my dad to meet us at the theater instead. Transcendence was supposed to start at 4:20 pm, and he arrived at 4:22 pm jogging at us from the parking structure down the street. After buying everyone's tickets, I made my way inside Shattuck Cinemas.
This theater looked pretty frumpy on the outside, so I was expecting some old, frumpy theater seats. We were confused walking in to sit down because the trailers were already playing and it was dark: the seats looked weird and deep, and after my mom sat down I went to sit right next to her and felt like I was sitting in between cushions. What was this squishy thing at our backs? Leather cushions. This thing is a full sized leather couch. With cup holders! This small showing consisted of about eight rows of two leather couches with excessive foot room on both sides of the aisle. My mind was blown. I took off my shoes and made myself at home in the most comfortable theater I've ever been in.
So, Transcendence. I was temporarily disoriented at first, because when it started, it said the story was placed in Berkeley... where I currently was, watching this movie. LOL. Anyway, the film was terribly interesting, as it has to do with real world preconceptions about the exponentially progressive nature of technology nowadays and whether this is going to turn into something that can help shape the world into a better place or use the new technology as a tool for power with the guise of being for the good of humanity. There is a lot of fear over the unknown. I'm not sure if I liked the story-line or not; there was a lot going on, and it was very heady, romantic, conceptual, and twisted. But I definitely recommend watching Transcendence yourself.
After the movie, we walked across the street to a pizza place called Jupiter. "Get off Uranus and get to Jupiter!" It was a hip little place with a bar and all the young folks from UC Berkeley stopping by. The wait was fairly long, but I enjoyed a root beer on tap and a caesar salad before my pizza came. The pizza was very good; I had the Triton which had fennel pork sausage with basil and onions on a mozzarella and marinara base on hand-stretched dough. My parents enjoyed a multi-mushroom pizza that they felt was very good, as well.
Even though we all wanted to stay up a little more, we were very sleepy and needed to get an early start the following morning. My mom and I made our way to a hotel in Fairfield where they gave me some chocolate chip cookies (uh, best hotel ever) before going up to our room. It was a bit noisy from some stomping above us and the rustling of sheets were distracting, so both my mom and I had a hard time staying asleep and it caught up to us early the next day.
Sunday
Wake up call at 4:45 am. Nooo..... We drove our way in darkness to the Marriott hotel in Napa where we were supposed to meet up in the lobby for our sunrise hot air balloon ride with Balloons Above The Valley. I helped myself to some pastries and coffee while we waited for numerous other people to arrive. There were three 20-person balloons and one private balloon going up today in this company alone, but out in the air we saw probably 15 other balloons rising up across the valley.
It was a chilly, pleasant morning, and the heat of the burners were very comforting while they were on despite how noisy they were. When the burners were off and no one was talking, we experienced a serene silence over spectacular views of the valley. We scheduled the flight at a good time of the year, I think, because the summer had yet to turn the grasses brown: everything was still green and fresh. We didn't get quite as much silence as we wanted, though, because our pilot felt compelled to tell us the history of Napa Valley. I wasn't really listening. Instead, my dad and I were talking about selfies (he had only recently heard of the term), and joked about someone falling over the side of the balloon taking a selfie on their way down.
As we were landing, some of us were panicking about it being on a sloping hill that looked cliff-like because all they could see were treetops. I couldn't see that side so I wasn't really frightened, but the crew on the ground grabbed a rope from our balloon and hauled us up the hill to a flatter surface to disembark. The crews weren't really used to us landing so far back from the road, so we had an unexpected but pleasant hike on our way to the vans that would take us back to the hotel and a champagne brunch. A very pleasant morning!
My mom was inclined to drive to Sonoma afterwards to a particular winery that made aged balsamic and other olive oils. She ran out of a bottle of it a while back and missed the taste. We accidentally passed it by 17 miles because she thought they were called Cohen Brothers Winery, but it was really B.R. Cohn Winery. It was a pretty detour though, as we passed some mansions and one that looked like a freaking castle. The winery had all of their products available to sample and were very delicious. My mom bought three bottles of the 25 year old balsamic vinegar. If you've never had aged balsamic, it is much sweeter and less pungent than regular balsamic vinegar. It tastes delicious on a caprese salad.
My dad purchased chocolate raspberry cabernet fudge and some chocolate covered blueberries. I spotted the chocolate section too and purchased some chocolate covered fruits as well: cherries, pomegranates, and coconut/pineapple. As soon as we were in the car, my dad opened his chocolates to try and let me taste one too. My mind was blown. It took me a moment to make up my mind, but I assured myself that this was indeed the best chocolate I have ever had in my entire life. Coming from me, that is saying something. I made note to like the company on Facebook: Bissinger's Handcrafted Chocolatier. They're based out of St Louis, so I'll be sure to visit their shop in person if I ever have the opportunity. This chocolate. Wow. I can't even.
Next we went back into town to The Sonoma Cheese Factory for cheese tastings, and I purchased some garlic jack I already knew I liked, as it is sold in our local grocery store. After sampling some blood orange olive oil there too with a piece of bread, my mind was blown yet again, so I purchased it as well. I could see a lot of potential use for it on fresh salads. Even though we had just eaten a large brunch, my mom and dad felt compelled to order paninis while we were there. Why? I don't know. I didn't order one, because I wasn't hungry, but that didn't stop me from ordering chocolate hazelnut gelato. It wasn't as legit as Gelatiamo in Seattle, but it was pleasant, even on a chilly afternoon.
My mom and I went to visit my brother again briefly. We had intended to meet with my dad there, but he had to pull over for a nap because he was falling asleep at the wheel, though he neglected to mention this to us as we waited for him. Booo. So, my mom and I said au revoir to go home for our own short nap. Zzzz.
The panoramic picture you took is beautiful!
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