So, it was about time that I got together with my sisters and spend some quality time. Even though Carol lives close in proximity, we are both busy with our jobs, families, etc and don’t get together as often as we like. And Ruth is in Minneapolis, and though we saw each other quite a few times a few years ago when Mom was sick, we haven’t had time do get some real, sister to sister time together. In 1994 we had gone to Puerto Vallarta, and in 1996 we had gone to Reno, but we needed this time together and we wanted to pick somewhere to go and relax. Carol first mentioned San Francisco and as we talked Ruth mentioned Sonoma/Napa. Amy had gotten married in Napa Valley in 2000 and Ruth had really enjoyed the area. It sounded good to me, although I am not a wine drinker, just the beauty of the area, and a chance to be with my sisters was something to look forward to. We arrived in San Francisco and got our car and headed toward Sonoma. It was a beautiful drive and we enjoyed stopping at Sausalito and exploring the shops for awhile. Once we arrived in Sonoma we headed toward our hotel, the Lodge at Sonoma Resort and Spa . The Lodge is beautiful with several different rooms available. We had reserved a cottage for the 3 of us, however once we checked in they indicated there was a mistake and our cottage was not available. After much negotiating, and apologizing on their part, we accepted a room with 2 queen beds, ordered a cot, and they reduced the price of the room and gave us a bottle of wine. One of the days we spent at the Spa. We each had a treatment which included the day use of the facility, so we enjoyed resting by the pools, having drinks and just enjoying each other’s company. On another day we hired a guide and did a walking tour of the Sonoma area. He met us at the City Park and took us to City Hall and all around the area giving us the history as we walked.
I have done this before in other cities, and it is fun and informative. Most of the time it is with a group of people, but this time it was just the 3 of us with our guide. When we were done with the tour we went to lunch in downtown Sonoma, and went to a cheese factory that he had pointed out on our walk. The 3rd day we spent visiting the wineries. Although I don’t drink wine I enjoyed each and every one! They all have something unique to offer and it was fun to learn about their processes, and to visit their gift shops, talk to the proprietors and other tourists.
As we headed back to San Francisco we got caught in the rush hour traffic, on the busy freeway, with lanes merging in from all directions. Carol was driving and suddenly the traffic came to a dead stop. To avoid hitting the car in front, and also seeing the car behind bearing down on us, Carol swerved briefly into the other lane and side swiped a truck, scraping our passenger side and tearing off the mirror of our rental car.
We were all pretty shook up, as we pulled over. The truck driver also pulled over, but was antsy to go. His truck didn’t have damage, but we felt we needed to call the highway patrol. After waiting for over an hour for them to respond we decided to just head to the rental agency in San Francisco and turn it in. We were spending one more night, this time in San Francisco so we didn’t need the car anyway. We turned it in, gave them all the information and took a cab to our hotel, the St. Francis Westin. For our last day of our adventure we explored the City of San Francisco. We had been there before, but it was fun to go again, and take in some new things. We went to the shopping district,
checked out the Neiman Marcus and some of the other big stores. We made our way to Union Square then down to the Wharf and Pier 39. We went over to Chinatown
and to the North Beach area and checked out some of the shops in the area. San Francisco is a beautiful city, and of course I will be back again someday. The following morning Ruth met up with her hubby Earl who had flown in to meet us. They got a car so they drove Carol and me to the airport, and they headed back to San Francisco to spend a few more days, then on to see their kids in Colorado, before heading home. Another fun trip- except the minor fender bender. And don’t believe it when the rental company tries to talk you into the extra insurance. My own insurance paid all but the $500 deductable, and my Visa picked up that cost as a benefit for premium members. So all and all, we had a wonderful time and will look forward to more sister trips to come.To see more pictures from this trip, click below
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