Bothe-Napa Valley State Park

June 23-26, 2018

The most traffic backup was going through San Francisco on Hwy 1/101. I knew there would be delays but I didn't think it would take as long as it did. The alternative would have been going east on Hwy 17 and then up I-580 through Oakland and many other Bay Area cities, so no regrets. We had a lovely drive along the coastal Hwy 1 route. The big regret it the outrageously hot temperatures in Napa! Once we got to Napa we stopped at Genova's to get some things for a nice dinner. I even got some Zinfandel wine in a can to have with it. It was highly rated, we'll see. 

By the time we got to Bothe it was 106! Oh brother! It really didn't take long to set up but we were both exhausted from the heat. I even felt quite weak and dizzy. John read his Kindle and sat in the shade with Tony. I had to lie down in the trailer with the ice pack I brought and cold compress. If it is like this tomorrow, we agreed we will leave early in the morning. I am happy to report that we got cold in the night and the rest of our stay only had temps up to the mid 80's. 

The next morning we went to the cemetery and put flowers on a few of the graves, including Mom's. She liked to do this and I took her there often. It was a little bit hard but knowing it would have made her happy helped a lot. After that we thought to try Rutherford Grill without a reservation. That left us the choice of the outside patio and appetizer menu only. It was shady so we chose to stay and had guacamole, artichoke-spinach dip, and grilled artichokes with a margarita to cool us off. Now that the sadder moments are past us I figured we might try to see Chuck if he is at Caymus today. If he is not there I will text him and try to see him tomorrow with some photos he might want. The surprise was, he was there, and met with us also giving us free wine tasting! I was thrilled that he had such an interest and indeed wanted the few photos I brought to him. If he only knew how many more I have! I will be sure to bring them to the Glos Family Reunion planned in early October. He will have a chance to decide about many photos, some he may want. Anyway, it was a nice visit and he gave us 2 6-pack bags of wine to take home with us! Such a generous and nice man. Our day was complete with our ravioli dinner, a bottle of Zinfandel from the gifted wine, and multiple card games. 

Today I contacted the St. Helena Historical Society to offer them the rest of the photos Chuck did not want, along with some baby shoes. To my surprise, they wanted everything and were quite thrilled to receive the items. I assured them I do have more and in time they will get it. This time John and I had reservations for Rutherford Grill so we had a nice table inside and I could order the beloved ribs for our lunch. John shared them with me because he wanted the guacamole again. With the ribs, coleslaw, and fries, we still could not eat it all but it made a nice snack this evening. We decided that tomorrow we will head home. We are tired and we both want to watch the next World Cup game the following day, which is Brasil vs. Serbia.  

Now home, safe and sound. Trailer is stored and all went well. No health issues. Thanking God for that!