The Elstons Take California!

Amanda turned the big 3-0 this year! Can you believe it? I bet that makes you feel old. It sure did for me. Well, she celebrated her 30th the way all spring chickens with no chickens of their own should - by visiting her favorite niece and nephew in California for Halloween! Don't worry, it wasn't all about the kids and the holiday - it was about drinking too! We went to 4 breweries and 2 wineries during her visit!

Decorating her own birthday cupcakes!

On Del'Osso Family Farm's Scarecrow Ride

 

Pumpkin Blasting 101

 

Our first brewery - Altamont!

(For reference, the above all happened prior to the last post about Halloween. The rest was all in the last two days of Amanda's visit!)

First stop: Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma. We loved the funky outdoor seating area (even with ominous storm clouds overhead) and enjoyed the free tour after our sampler, a few pints and some lunch. The kids were not into the tour so much, but Gram came to the rescue and whisked the kiddos back to the car so they could play and we could listen to the tour in peace. Thank goodness for Gram!

Second Stop: Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville. This time, Mike took a turn in the car with the sleeping children while the Elston's headed in for a tasting. After our special "seated" tasting, we walked around and viewed some of the memorabilia before I switched spots in the car with Mike, so he could do a tasting too. Of course, as soon as I get to the car, the kids woke up, and we spent the rest of the time wandering the grounds in the rain. It's definitely a neat place and worth the drive up there if you're in the Napa area.

 

"Run! The Indians have found us!"
Don't ask me why there's a tee-pee at the winery, but the kids loved it!

That night, we went to Santa Rosa for Russian River Brewery. Unfortunately, it was a rainy, cold night, and it had been a long day of drinking... so this stop was not as exciting as it could have (should have) been! We had to skip dinner at Russian River because their wait was over an hour for a table, so we went to Third Street Aleworks for dinner, before heading back for our "dessert" of the Russian River sampler.

Pop's thinking... OMG, another sampler?!

Yep, this is how we kept them entertained.

The next morning, we headed toward San Fran with a quick stop in Bodega Bay.

It was windy and cold, and we weren't exactly dressed for the beach, but it was pretty!

She could not love the beach anymore.

Don't mind my cray cray bangs...

We made it into San Fran about 30 minutes before our 1:00 tour was going to start at Anchor Steam Brewing Company. We ate the couple snacks we had in the car, and braced ourselves for the 2 hour long tour... no food and two kids who normally nap at this time?! Yikes! Although Mike and I didn't hear much of the tour because we were chasing after and hushing the kids, we still had a nice time.

Love this picture!

The secret to enjoying the tasting part of the tour.

Mike's dream.

After the tour we had an "eh" dinner and went to Pier 39 to kill some time before we took Amanda to the airport. It was so cold that Pop had to buy a coat and Mike bought hot chocolate! After walking around, we drove up to Coit Tower (accidentally, we kinda just discovered we were there) and saw the city at night, before heading to the airport and saying goodbye to Mandy Pandy.

After our crazy drunk fest of a weekend (just kidding, we weren't like, completely wasted...), Pop caught a nasty cold and we had a pretty low key week. The day before Gram and Pop left, we took them to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. We were all so glad that we made this stop, because this museum was really pretty cool. Even if you're not a big train lover like Pop and Andrew, it was very interesting and impressive. Pop and Gram did a tour, while Mike and I let the kids run around and explore the trains at their own pace. We all especially loved the sleeper train that you walked through and it felt like it was moving! They also had a model/toy train area where the kids could play at train tables. We will definitely be making a visit back there again in the future!

Andrew tried to listen to the tour guide, but after watching a 20 minute
movie on the railroad in America, he had met his limit for sitting still.

I Spy.... Addison!

In the dining car... and no, they are not real people!

The next day, Gram and Pop packed up to head back to Florida, and I think Andrew's face below summed up how he felt about that. He so loves having visitors, and he doesn't do great with goodbyes anymore. But, we are all excited for the next Elston family reunion - HAWAII, BABY!!