Calistoga, Napa Valley

March Break is over and regular school routines will resume tomorrow - accompanied by an extreme cold alert and freezing temperatures.  I started sorting through our vacation photos and I thought I would post about our overnight excursion to Napa.  We had sunshine for our entire visit to the Bay area.  I always like to plan a getaway out of the city and this time we planned an overnight visit to Napa and stayed at the Indian Springs mineral baths.   The Indian Springs resort has these fun Public bikes for guests to enjoy -   a sweet ride!

Below are the pools.  The large mineral pool was built in 1913. It is Olympic size and family friendly - the girls even made some new friends.  The pool is heated to 92-102F . The bottom photo is the adult only pool which is heated to the 80s.

Down the main road, we made a quick stop to see the Geyser.  In the late afternoon, the geyser was erupting every four minutes. 


Another fun activity was a visit to the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone.  We reserved a workshop (kids are free , adults $20) to learn about making gnocchi and ricotta cheese.  The Culinary Institute grounds are beautiful.  There is a bakery/cafe and a more formal restaurant. We had lunch in the cafe.  If you are a food enthusiast, I would recommend planning a visit.  There is also a shop stocked with many interesting culinary items (if you attend a workshop you will receive 10% off at the shop).





Our final stop was to taste the famous Chardonnay at Chateau Montelena.  You may have seen the film Bottle Shock which made this winery famous.  The grounds are absolutely stunning.  I believe they will take picnic reservations if you plan your visit in advance.  The staff are very friendly. They gave the girls grape popsicles (cab sav – no ferment).






Spring is a beautiful time to visit Napa. Two of my favourites -  the wisteria and the callas were in bloom everywhere.



Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!