Sonoma Coma!

Babyboo and I came back from gallivanting in wine country all weekend in Northern California. And while we went there primarily for a friend's wedding, I do not believe Babyboo got the memo; she treated this trip as a vacation for herself as she booked spas, restaurants, vineyard tours, and wine tastings in a schedule so jam packed that she double booked us on the actual wedding day. (Whoops!) I wanted to start the trip out right and was so close to renting a cherry red Ford Mustang convertible but Babyboo promised me that I can have one later when I enter my mid-life crisis and instead, we opted for the equally as sexy and show-stopping (not really) but culturally appropriate (Korean) Kia Optima. Grreat! :(

Despite that initial hiccup, the trip proceeded amazingly as we were immediately baptized in a West Coast burger spiritual awakening at the first In-N-Out Burger (church for burgers) that we saw. I cradled my burger lovingly for a couple minutes before gorging. If you have never had it, it is something special:toasty bun, fresh beef patties (I think I heard the cows moo just outside) covered in melted cheese and grilled onions, hand-leafed/picked produce and all ready to be eaten with a fistful of freshly made fries (none of the ingredients are ever touched by microwave, heat lamp or freezer). The In-N-Out corporation is not paying me to endorse them, so I will stop lusting but order a "Double Double, Animal Style, with a Neopolitan Milkshake" if you ever head West.

With full bellies, we headed up towards Sonoma (50 miles north of San Fran) and hit up several wineries along the way. The micro-climates of the region were confusing and annoying as we started out in cold, foggy weather in one area but became hot, sunny and clear in another and I dearly wished I had brought my rip away hot pants for such occasions. All that attitude faded away after only a couple of hours and maybe it was the fresh air, the beating sun, the rolling hills or most likely, the flowing wine, but I felt myself unraveling from the stresses and tensions of New York and into a free-spirited, laid-back lull in what the locals call, "the Sonoma Coma."

Babyboo, however, was an utter taskmaster and had a (letter pressed) printed schedule (on invitation paper) of all the events she had planned for us. The worst of all was that while I was still dehydrated from the tastings before, she made us go on a 4 hour bike tour of surrounding vineyards. Biking + Wine tasting = Bad Idea jeans. I cannot emphasize how dangerous and dehibilitating this ride was with fears of getting 'BUI' citations (biking under the influence) and dealing with an uncomfortable bike seat that I believe has rendered me sterile (I am still waddling).

The wedding itself was beautiful, picturesque and seamless but we almost missed the whole thing. Our little confession is that hours before the ceremony, we went to an innocent, private wine tasting at an estate nearby but as we were tasting this and that, the proprietor became overly generous and opened several special bottles for us to which we could not refuse and we ended up completely over served. In dizzying fashion, I do not remember how we walked home but we definitely passed out in our room because I woke up with red wine stains on my shirt and a bag of spilled Cheetos crunching underneath me with only a half hour to the ceremony. Cold showers were had, liters of water were chugged and somehow we got ourselves to the wedding. The funny thing is, later as I was piecing the events from the afternoon, I found an order form receipt in my wallet for several large orders from the aforementioned proprietor. So that's how these places stay in business!