the Hwang out

Greetings from Seattle!

~Sinae & Aaron

Greetings from Seattle!

~Sinae & Aaron

Greetings from Seattle!

~Sinae & Aaron

Greetings from Seattle!

~Sinae & Aaron

Greetings from Seattle!

~Sinae & Aaron

Seattle, here we come!!!

~Sinae & Aaron

Berto, Bo, Ed, Steve and I took a road trip to Mammoth over the weekend. Somewhat gravelly and loose up at the top (Skid Mark) but conditions were much better on the lower half. The flow through Bridge the Gap > Brake Through > Seven Bridges was so much fun. At the end of the day, nobody came away unscathed as our bodies were battered and bruised. A few laps in the pool, a dip into the jacuzzi, and some braughwurst / beer / Advil and our pain vanished.

We spent Sunday exploring the various lakes in the area, then a leisurely drive back to civilization.

~Aaron

Spent the night with Tina and Tim. Wish we had budgeted more time to explore the city. Though brief, it was the quintessential San Francisco experience….chilly, crisp air (though it wasn’t as bad as our hosts had led us to believe….whimps), fog rolling in, we even took public transportation! Even the duplex we stayed in reminded me of that house from ‘Too Close for Comfort’…Monroe use to crack me up!

Golden Gate park was amazing. The de Young Museum was amazing. Wish we had more time…

Thank you, Tina and Tim for your hospitality.

~Sinae & Aaron

This was our second day in Napa.  My opinion….it’s the best way to see the place, especially if you’re newbs like us.  You get to see off the beaten path wineries, share the experience with fellow lushes, a guide to educate and answer questions for you (Rod….simply awesome), and most importantly, you don’t drink and drive!  We saw the following wineries:

• Jessup Cellars in Thomas Keller’s Yountville.  Great way to start off the day because we learned so much from just this one place.  3rd level sommelier (forget his name) provided a wealth of information - just like Miles from Sideways, but bigger and less neurotic.  Best part of it was…it’s FREE!  Picked up 2004 Zinfandel, 2005 Merlot.
• Arger-Martucci Vineyards.  Fred was so informative and told a terrific story.  Rod prepared a tasty lunch for us…turkey crescent sandwiches and hummus for Sinae.  Sat poolside and enjoyed the view and lunch, with some wine of course.  Picked up 2005 Syrah.
• Robinson Family Vineyards.  Family owned winery with the nicest people and the most beautiful grounds.  We spend around 2 hours there just relaxing.  Didn’t buy anything which was too bad because they were a great bunch of people and the wine was good too.
• Andretti Winery.  Just eh.  Touristy, large scale operation.  If we ended the day at Robinson Family I think everyone would have been happy.  Not Rod’s fault…it was a group decision.  Wine was good though.  Picked up 2005 Zinfandel/Primitivo Blend. 

~Sinae & Aaron

Someone described the experience as ‘Philippe Starck meets trailer park’….well that pretty much sums it up.  I’ll definitely stay here again just to enjoy the breakfast at the Boonfly Cafe, the foie gras terrine at the Farm, and to lounge in the infinity pool.

Ok…say what you will about the outdoor shower.  I thought it was weird at first too and hesitantly tried it cuz it was there and I stunk.  After that I made excuses to use it and took 8 showers during our 2 night stay!

Worst part of the experience….we had to leave.

~Sinae & Aaron