Walla Walla | Washington Wine Country

I took a little road trip across Washington state to Walla Walla to experience the Washington state wine country.  Napa just wasn't enough for me this summer, apparently.  We drove for a few hours, found our hotel in the middle of town, and then wandered the streets to check out the area.  The next day, we hopped in the car and hit up the vineyards.  

Walla Walla is a very interesting small town.  There isn't a ton there except wine tasting and vineyards.  We had a great time sipping wine and enjoying the sunshine in the desert-ish lands of Washington.

"Hot Poop" was some kind of record store... I don't know.

It was a two day wine drinking adventure that included a little side shopping, and some delicious meals recommended by the locals.  We chatted up the locals as well as a few travelers we followed around.  

Wine tasting/drinking is really always a great girls' trip...  I don't have a lot to report.  We came, we drank, we conquered.

Sleeping Lady Resort + Tech Training

Last school year I applied to take part in a year long technology opportunity for school.  I applied with a group of three other people and we were all accepted.  Part of this opportunity means spending a week in training over the summer, as well as monthly meetings throughout the school year and providing building training at our school.  

I spent a week this past summer in Leavenworth, WA at Sleeping Lady Resort learning all about educational technology and spending hours in front of a computer screen, iPad screen, and other screens to keep up to date on the latest.  The resort was AMAZING (I am seriously contemplating buying the sheets from there...), so it wasn't all that difficult to spend the week learning.  

We spent 8 hours a day in tech training, with breaks for delicious food... I tried a LOT of different kinds of fish since I didn't have to commit to any full meal.  Halibut, scallops, salmon, grouper, and more... and it was all delish.  Not to mention the soups.....oh yum.  I should make more soups this fall/winter.

At night I got to retreat to my lovely room.  Rooms had no tv or anything (technology retreat and all...), so most evenings we spent at the bar playing games and enjoying grapefruit beer, my new favorite summer beverage before calling it a night.  

But training was really great.  We were given a Surface 4 to learn and love... then we played with iPads (and got one to take with us!), drones, 3D printers, Spheros, and podcast equipment.  We learned some new software to go with our hardware.  You can hear my amazing podcast jingle, giggle, and loud voice on our group podcast HERE.  It's embarrassing.  I should probably not be on an ongoing podcast.  

We practiced our coding to control the Sphero bots.  I enjoyed trying to make mine go out the door.   

Then I attempted to design something on the 3D printer and realized I have terrible measurement sense because it came out itty-bitty.  Still super proud that I figured out how to put a hole through the middle to make it a keychain, so that was a win.  

Then I tried my hand at controlling a drone and got it stuck on the ceiling.  So all in all, technology training was a giant win for me!  

Every day we had a 2 hour break in the afternoon before dinner and our night sessions.  One day I went into town and wandered around.  One day I spent napping because it was POURING rain... and the last day I spent at the pool.  In the evenings we had a few drinks, played games, or hit up the hot tub to relax.  Not a bad work trip.  I was exhausted by the time I got back home.  

But the BEST part is that I left with new technology for me as well as my classroom.  I'm super excited to start using it right away!  I am continuing training this year to learn even more ways to use technology to make learning meaningful to students and provide training for our staff.  

Road Trip Day VII & VII: Napa Valley

'bout time to wrap up this SUMMER vacation I took... 

Our last few days of the trip were spent in beautiful and sweaty Napa Valley.  My new favorite vacation destination.  Partly because it was scorching hot and I LOVED it, and then there was all the wine, of course.  Big fan.  

We took recommendations from a few friends who were frequent fliers in the Napa area, and set out to taste and tour.  We had a hotel booked for one night so we found our accommodations and hit the road.  First was a wine tour at Castello di Amorosa... since I had never been on one before.  It was interesting to walk around and learn a bit more... but I don't really feel like I need to go on more wine tours.  Not to say I wouldn't go again.  I just wouldn't go again unless I was with people who really wanted to go.  But I did learn a bit and enjoyed walking around and listening to our Italian accented guide.

Once we got to the caves I was a bit more intrigued.  It was just beautiful.  This castle was modeled after Italian castles, so they had all these rooms that were for show but not for use.  Once we got to the wine rooms that were used, I really enjoyed the tour.

I probably could have hung out here all day if they were serving wine in this room.... but they weren't.  So we went back upstairs to drink wine.  You can't buy this wine in stores, so it was fun to taste and pretend to be fancy.  

The tour was a few hours, so we were short on time.  We drove to find another vineyard that was still open and ended up at Mumm for some lovely sparkles, which are always a good idea.  Always.

The best part of Mumm may have been the patio area.  It was gorgeous outside in the early evening and I could have stayed for hours enjoying the atmosphere.  Good stop for sure.

We had dinner at the hotel and vegged.  In the morning, we stopped at the local indoor shopping/market and grabbed a delicious breakfast and blood orange mimosas.  When in Napa, do as the Napans do.

It was suggested that we go to Chandon while in town and this was a must do, and I will do it again I'm sure.  Easy location to enjoy wine tasting while walking around, taking in the view, and taking your time.  It is a busy place, but we scored a couple adirondack chairs looking over the vineyards.

Finally, we wrapped up day two at a place recommended for their rose'... of course I don't remember the name of it.  And of course, the rose' was sold out, but I still ended up hitting the road with a lovely bottle of unoaked chardonnay.  I may have had a few other bottles from our adventures stuffed in the trunk as well.

So... I really liked Napa.  I'm ready to go back anytime.  Just throwing that out there.  

This trip was wonderful.  I loved exploring the West Coast, and really love that it is a whole new part of the country that I am able to easily check out anytime!

Road Trip Day VI: San Francisco Tourists

After our day of visiting famous author's homes and wining and dining out on the town, we spent the next day doing every touristy thing we could think of in San Fransisco.  First up was Ghirardelli Square.

There's not a ton to DO at the square, but we walked around a bit and had some lunch.  Since we had parked the car and were paying a good amount to park, we decided to spend the day walking around. We headed down to Fisherman's Wharf.

The one thing we did NOT do was Alcatraz.  We had both been there before and just decided to skip it this time around- but we did admire the prison from a distance (which is how all prisons should be admired in my book).

On our walk, we realized there was a Madame Tussauds museum on the way.  I had never been and thought it could be fun.  We weren't convinced we should go, but we did manage to get our tickets for $10 off after expressing our indecisiveness with the guy working at the front.  What an...experience!

I got to meet all kinds of famous people.  This was a really weird experience for me.  It challenged my comfortability with personal space because these wax figures look SO REAL.  I had a hard time getting close to them because I felt uncomfortable.  I had to force myself to get close to look at them because I was so afraid they would come to life.  It took me almost the entire museum before I felt better about it.

They have so many props out and by the time we hit the pop culture floor, I was having a total blast.  There were barely any other people in the museum with us, so we got to walk around and be silly.

Are celebrities really this small?  Because I look like a GIANT person in most of my pictures.

After our silly side tourism, we grabbed some tomato soup in a sourdough bowl at Boudin Bakery and enjoyed the pigeons (they were not enjoyable, but they were everywhere).  We walked the wharf and then continued on our way.

We HIKED our way up to Lombard Street to get the viewing watch the cars curve their way around.  These streets were by far the largest incline I have ever walked.  I had to take a break at one point, but we made it to the top.

We walked back to the car and went on our way to search for the Painted Ladies.  I love these houses!  We did not go to the Full House house, but I felt just as good about visiting these adorable homes.  I would hate living in them, though, because people are just taking pictures of your house all day every day.  

Next, we met up with our friend once she got off work and we went to eat at the Cliff House, where we enjoyed a fantastic dinner and ocean side sunset.

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