The
rain and the wind kept seven flying Rotarians and their partners on the ground,
but failed to dampen the enthusiasm for a great four-day weekend in the Napa
Valley.
Arriving from as far as Los Angeles and Banning, the group made its first stop at Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts. We started with a tour of the center which gave us an overview of the many food and art events that were happening that day. After a light lunch we spent the afternoon going through the galleries. Of particular interest was the display of recycled art including two urns approximately 6’ high and 30” in diameter made entirely of bottle caps, a seahorse from recycled food graters and a family sculpture display from old coffee urns. Several photos are at the web site http://www.petermore.com/IFFR_SW/index.htm
Leaving
Copia, a brief drive north brought us to Yountville and our accommodations for
the weekend at the Napa Valley Railway Inn. The unique hotel is made up of
railroad cars, each car its own room. After checking in, we toured Domain
Chandon and learned how the winery makes its sparkling wines. Dinner Friday
night was at Brix in Yountville where we were joined by Larry and Marlyn
McClaskey, local flying Rotarians who had graciously agreed to be our hosts at a
Sunday evening barbecue.
Saturday
was a day of a variety of things to do and places to go. After a leisurely
breakfast, members visited the Napa Valley Museum in Yountville or participated
in an accelerated wine course at Goosecross Cellars where we learned the nuances
of proper wine tasting. Winery tours in the afternoon provided the opportunity
to put newly learned “skills” to work. Stops included the Robert Mondavi
Winery and the Niebaum Coppola Winery with its Centennial Museum featuring
memorabilia from many of Francis Ford Coppola’s films.
Dinner Saturday evening was at the Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant at
the Culinary Institute of America. We were joined by the lone motorcycling
Rotarian, Lee Blankenship, also on four wheels due to the weather.
Sunday
the weather began to clear and we were treated to the brilliant fall colors of
the valley. Sam and Elena Bishop enjoyed brunch on the Napa Valley Wine Train.
Peter and Shirley More, Bert and Greta Vos, Bob and Trudy Phillips and Larry and
Diane Wolfsen had brunch at Miramonte in St. Helena, Geoff and Vicki White had
breakfast at Auberge du Soleil north of Yountville on the Silverado Trail. As we
wound our way through the valley we visited several unique features of the area
including the Petrified Forest (large redwood trees blown over and covered by
the eruption of Mt. St. Helena over 3 million years ago) and the “Old
Faithful” geyser near Calistoga erupting every 14 minutes with a 350 degree,60
foot geyser of steam and water. Late in the afternoon we visited the newly
opened Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa.
Leaving
the museum we went to the McClasky home for a wonderful evening of food and
fellowship. While Larry prepared dinner, Marlyn gave us a tour of their
beautiful hillside home. To make it official, we ended the evening with a
meeting to discuss possible upcoming fly-in events.
Monday
morning the White’s enjoyed a dawn hot air balloon ride over the valley.
Participating
IFFR members included Peter and Shirley More, Los Angeles; Bert and Greta Vos,
Banning; Bob and Trudy Phillips, Thousand Oaks; Larry and Diane Wolfsen, Santa
Cruz; past IFFR International
President Sam and Elena Bishop, Soquel; George and Carol Chaffey, Lafayette;
Geoff and Vicki White, Columbia and Larry and Marlyn McClasky, Santa Rosa. We
were joined by Lee Blankenship, Salinas, representing the International
Fellowship of Motorcycling Rotarians (IFMR).
Photos
of the event as well as a list of possible future fly-in events can be found at http://www.petermore.com/IFFR_SW/index.htm
Despite the weather it was a great weekend due in no small part to the hard work and planning and organization by Peter & Shirley More.