Back again, really, truly!

After a severe hiatus, I am back to the blog!  I have to say that once my finals hit with spring semester, I didn’t little but sit in agony, starring in vain at my computer hoping my papers would type themselves – when all was done, I realized I had completed over 100 pagers of research in 4 papers (in addition to the 2 finals I took)….yay me I got out alive!

A day after I completed my finals, I was off to NYC to visit Amy again – we had a blast including 4 museums, a trip to our friend January’s new country house and plenty of shopping.

Home again with just enough time to finish laundry and organize the house before my summer school classes started. 

My class this summer is Records Management, which on the surface sounds incredibly boring, but in reality touches every business and organization and is an integral part of information technology.  I really am enjoying all the theoretical and conceptual research around the future of information management and how private industry is impacting the field.

The next event was dinner with Leslie’s new fiancé!! Jason was in town for our inspection, and I have to say he passed with flying colors!  We really look forward to getting to know him better and spending time with both of them before (and after!) their wedding next year.

It was then time for Amy to come visit us here in California! I picked her up from her Uncle and Aunt’s house in SF and we were off to Napa Valley.  En route we stopped at Domaine Caneros, one of my favorites for its sparkling wine and views of the Caneros valley.  We had a lovely afternoon snack on their balcony while enjoying the warm sun and beautiful weather.  We spent the afternoon walking around the cute boutiques at St. Helena.  Our hotel, the Rancho Caymus Inn was a very nice little place attached to the restaurant La Toque – a 4 star restaurant I hope to come back and eat some day. That evening we walked next door to another restaurant – a casual one called the Rutherford Grill – great for a laid-back evening and the corn bread is to die for!!

 Our second day was started by walking around Calistoga for the morning. We proceeded down the Silverado Trail to the Rombauer Winery which consistently has one of the best Zinfandels out there, including the case I purchased. J We then visited Clos du Val and were greeted by the swallows nesting in their rafters (you get a free wine tasting and wet-wipes if you get hit with bird poo!) and the resident Black Standard Poodle ready and willing to play fetch all day with anyone who would pay attention to him!  On the suggestion of one of the wine pourers, we decided we could treat ourselves to lunch at Auberge du Soleil. If you have never heard of it or stayed here, put it on your life to-do lists.  It was one of the best lunches I have ever had, set on the balcony overlook all of the Napa Valley – perfect! We then were off to Prager Port for a tasting – a little place which is a must visit if you are in the area.  This evening for dinner we went to the popular Mustard’s Grill – our calamari salad was excellent, but the sandwiches we had were just ok, nothing to write home about and they didn’t have on the menu the desert we had read about being a ‘signature’ item. 

The third day we headed back to San Jose, but our trip back was anything but ho-hum.  We drove across the Napa Valley via Sonoma and Santa Rosa to take a lovely jaunt through the Russian River Valley.  After 3 days in 90+ weather, the 58 degree costal climate was the perfect anecdote. Lunch was in Point Reyes as a fabulous little gourmet café.  We also found the Cowgirl Creamery which makes cheese on-site and exports them throughout the region – so yummy!

Without time to pause Reeves and I were off to Vegas a day after Amy left to celebrate Mike’s 40^th Birthday.  We had such a great time celebrating everything Mike! We stay at the great Venetian hotel, had a amazing dinner at the Delmonico Steakhouse and saw the slightly naughty Cirque du Soleil show called Zumanity.  Additionaly, we learned to play craps and I think I am hooked!  We shared the weekend with Dick and Trina as well as Omar and Lora.

Next is New Orleans in about a month for the annual meeting for the Society of American Archivists – should be quite the party!