Trip Report Golden State of Mind: Our August 2017 California Adventure

11 Days
10 Nights
9 Miles walked on our busiest day
8 Months of planning
7 Days with a rental car
6 Hotels
5 Boat rides
4 Flight segments
3 Disney park days
2 East coasters
1 Unforgettable vacation​

Hello and welcome to my trip report! For those who don't know, here is the essential information:

Me (Bee): 28, opera singer/voice teacher
DW (M): 28, writer/academic administrator
We: grew up in Florida, have visited WDW many times, have been together 10+ years, have been married almost 3 years, now live in NJ just outside of NYC

Dates: August 4-14, 2017
Flights: Southwest, EWR-MDW-SMF and LAX-MDW-EWR
Transportation: Rental car, Lyft, local public transportation
Major locations: Sacramento, Napa Valley, San Francisco, Muir Woods, Sequoia National Forest, Los Angeles, Anaheim
Lodging: 6 different hotels varying from 1-3 nights in each

And here is a link to my PTR: Not our typical Disney trip

I will add the usual disclaimer about us having only smartphone cameras. I am working on uploading all my photos to a third party site which is free and allows me to easily embed them here; however, they only allow 150 uploads per day so it will take some time. All my photos are uploaded and ready to post!

The first six days (August 4-9) we toured various parts of northern and southern California. From August 10-13 we visited Disneyland, including both parks and Downtown Disney. On August 14 we flew home to New Jersey. If you'd like to skip ahead to the Disneyland part of this trip, click here. Otherwise, continue reading for the entire trip report!

 

[coachwnh]

Really enjoying this report. Thanks for taking the time to take us along.

 

[Songbird76]

Woohoo!! I want to see EVERYTHING. No Disney link needed for this girl!
(And my thoughts exactly when I saw the Sheriff detention facility sign.)

 

[Songbird76]

Day 1, cont.
The outside of the building looked like all the other Fairfields that have been built recently. We stayed at one in Delaware in April for an out-of-town audition I sang and it literally looked exactly like this. A new Fairfield just opened in our town in NJ and the only difference is it's built on the side of a hill and it's a few stories taller; other than that, same color scheme, same design, same, same, same.

Same, same, same, same, Arby's is different?

It looks exactly like the one my cousins stayed in when we were in South Dakota last Summer, too. At least it looked nice and comfortable!

 

[Tuvalu]

Bathroom pic for @MinnieM123 and others who like seeing nice bathrooms!

What, no flowers??

 

[bee]

Really enjoying this report. Thanks for taking the time to take us along.

I'm glad you're enjoying it! I'm enjoying writing it and reliving the trip and I'm glad people are out there reading it!

Woohoo!! I want to see EVERYTHING. No Disney link needed for this girl!
(And my thoughts exactly when I saw the Sheriff detention facility sign.)

Glad I wasn't the only one!

Same, same, same, same, Arby's is different?

It looks exactly like the one my cousins stayed in when we were in South Dakota last Summer, too. At least it looked nice and comfortable!

I'll admit I had to look up the Arby's video, but yes! We had no complaints, other than we wished the Marriott company had at least tried to make their buildings look a little more unique from the outside.

What, no flowers??

Darn, now I have to raise my bathroom standards even higher!

 

[Songbird76]

Lets compare to my road trips
I do all the driving, adjust the AC, use a smart phone to navigate.
My wife and I share the music duties but usually I have to remind her that we need to change the CD because we have heard this song already.

I think for the sake of the marriage I will not assign title for our roles, if you get my drift.

Max

How about Grand High Poobah of the automobile? My husband would be similar as I have ZERO sense of direction, and since my drivers license was not valid here, I can't do any of the driving (now my US license is expired, so I can't drive there anymore either), and I'm a freezebug, so no one wants me to control the AC...I just bring a sweater. We share music duties, which mostly comprises of us diving for the dial and changing to a different station if an Adele song comes on.

 

[littleroo]

So I downloaded ballz... still trying to figure it out but it is very addictive!!

I am glad you two didn't get a ticket!! Hopefully the rest of the day is drama free!!

 

[Songbird76]

Day 1, cont.

It's hard to read the sign, but this is the Woodland Opera House. I had no idea this existed but it has a pretty interesting history!

Did you go back and see a show? They were doing My Fair Lady, according to the sign...one of my favorites!! I played Eliza in my high school production many many moons ago. I love that show!!

 

[Songbird76]

Day 2: Saturday, August 5
Driving, wineries, driving, and Oakland

Though we'd set the alarm for 7:00, we both woke up on our own shortly after 6:00. We got dressed and were some of the first guests at breakfast, which began at 6:30.

My breakfast: mixed fruit, and cheese "omelettes" with salsa

Breakfast TV!

The breakfast was pretty good for a free breakfast. The hot things were hot, the cold things were cold, and the coffee (not pictured) was strong. Since we were up early we got to enjoy our breakfast in relative peace with only a few other families around us.

Back in the room we repacked everything and left a tip for the housekeeper. When I approached the front desk to check out and return our keys I was pleased to see Esmeralda again. She asked us about our stay and wished us safe travels on the rest of our trip. Later the hotel sent me a survey about our stay and of course I mentioned Esmeralda's wonderful service.

The view outside

I couldn't help but notice that it was darn pleasant outside! It was only 68 degrees, and warm in the sun but cool in the shade.

We began our drive toward Napa Valley around 8:30. We knew we'd be quite early for our first tour and tasting (scheduled for 11:00), but we figured we could stop at any interesting sights along the way.

The first album we listened to was:

As a child and teenager I hardly listened to any secular music as my parents were very strict and only played Christian and classical music. Even "Christian Rock" was not allowed as it was one step away from ACTUAL rock music (aka THE DEVIL!). In the late nineties and early 2000s my little brother and I would sneakily, quietly listen to Britney Spears et al. on my clock radio that was supposed to be tuned only to classical stations and right-wing talk radio. Such rebels!

The point of all that is that I had heard of the Beatles but didn't really know they were important and couldn't have named one song by them until late in high school. In college M and I got into them and bought CDs of most of their albums. Though I have various favorite Beatles songs, I think Sgt. Pepper is my overall favorite album as a cohesive musical experience.

A few photos from the drive:

I know I teased more dramma and police involvement, but it will have to wait one more post! Sorry!

Up next: The police dramma. Really.

Just out of curiosity...is your parents' strict music rule why you got into opera? My mom loved musicals and played a bit of piano, so when I went to elementary school, I just thought EVERYONE knew songs like "I'd do anything" from Oliver, or "Do re mi" from The Sound of Music, or "Oklahoma" from Oklahoma. It was quite shocking to me to find that the other kids had no idea what I was talking about. But I have always loved musicals because that's what I grew up with. I didn't know who Michael Jackson was until I got into school. So I wondered, did you grow up with arias, or were operas forbidden because of the steamy subject matter?

 

[bee]

So I downloaded ballz... still trying to figure it out but it is very addictive!!

I am glad you two didn't get a ticket!! Hopefully the rest of the day is drama free!!

I don't think there was any more dramma...on this day!

Did you go back and see a show? They were doing My Fair Lady, according to the sign...one of my favorites!! I played Eliza in my high school production many many moons ago. I love that show!!

Nope, we left Woodland the next morning.

Just out of curiosity...is your parents' strict music rule why you got into opera? My mom loved musicals and played a bit of piano, so when I went to elementary school, I just thought EVERYONE knew songs like "I'd do anything" from Oliver, or "Do re mi" from The Sound of Music, or "Oklahoma" from Oklahoma. It was quite shocking to me to find that the other kids had no idea what I was talking about. But I have always loved musicals because that's what I grew up with. I didn't know who Michael Jackson was until I got into school. So I wondered, did you grow up with arias, or were operas forbidden because of the steamy subject matter?

Great question! My parents were never really into opera. I don't think they objected morally (although let's be real some operas are more racy than anything on the radio!) but rather they didn't really care for the style of singing. We did have VHSs of musicals like The Sound of Music, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and of course various Disney musical movies. I got into musical theatre in middle school and high school, and MT is a "gateway drug" to opera for a lot of people! I took an opera and MT survey course my freshman year of HS and saw my first live opera ever, Don Giovanni. I thought it was SOO COOOOL and gradually got more interested until I decided to major in voice in college...and here we are! My parents still don't love opera but they will occasionally see one I'm in if they're in town.

 

[Songbird76]

I'll admit I had to look up the Arby's video, but yes! We had no complaints, other than we wished the Marriott company had at least tried to make their buildings look a little more unique from the outside.

I think most of Marriott's hotels look pretty much the same. We stayed at the Towneplace Inn and Suites in Wyoming in April, and it looks almost the same as the Fairfield Inn and Suites. Anything with the Marriott name on it is cookie cutter design, I guess.

 

[Songbird76]

I don't think there was any more dramma...on this day!


Nope, we left Woodland the next morning.


Great question! My parents were never really into opera. I don't think they objected morally (although let's be real some operas are more racy than anything on the radio!) but rather they didn't really care for the style of singing. We did have VHSs of musicals like The Sound of Music, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and of course various Disney musical movies. I got into musical theatre in middle school and high school, and MT is a "gateway drug" to opera for a lot of people! I took an opera and MT survey course my freshman year of HS and saw my first live opera ever, Don Giovanni. I thought it was SOO COOOOL and gradually got more interested until I decided to major in voice in college...and here we are! My parents still don't love opera but they will occasionally see one I'm in if they're in town.

That's really cool. I have actually never developed a taste for Opera. I don't mind singing it, particularly the chorus parts (some are downright fun), but I have a hard time sitting through one if I'm not singing it. But then, I don't have much vibrato, so my voice is more suited to musicals. The one thing I DID develop an appreciation for was Jazz. I HATED Jazz music my whole life, but my scholarship required that I audition for and participate in 2 audition ensembles, and as there WERE only 2 most of the time, that meant Jazz. I was so relieved when I didn't make it my freshman year. (The director said, and I'll never forget it, "You have a great voice for Jazz, but your sight reading sucks. Come back in a year, and maybe you'll stand a chance.") So I made it the next year and was DREADING it and it turned out to be one of my favorite genres. And that director was one of my all time favorite professors, too. Anyway, thanks for sharing!

 

[geebee721]

Following along! Glad you made it to Cali on time! We get so spoiled with direct flights to MCO, that when we go somewhere and need to get a connecting flight it makes me so nervous! Can't wait to read more!

 

[gdisneyfans]

Along for the ride! Really enjoying your photos. Looking forward to reading more!

 

[MinnieM123]

Considering you flew out of Newark, I'm impressed that you actually made it to your destination (albeit, via the scenic, connecting flights route, that is . . . )

This is a great TR so far. You two are on a roll -- lots of fun places and experiences. Oh,I love how you got pulled over by the cop--glad he let you two dangerous types go with just a warning!

Really looking forward to the rest of your TR!

 

[bee]

Following along! Glad you made it to Cali on time! We get so spoiled with direct flights to MCO, that when we go somewhere and need to get a connecting flight it makes me so nervous! Can't wait to read more!

Welcome, @geebee721! We too take direct flights to MCO and agree that connecting flights are nerve-wracking!

Along for the ride! Really enjoying your photos. Looking forward to reading more!

Welcome, @gdisneyfans!

Considering you flew out of Newark, I'm impressed that you actually made it to your destination (albeit, via the scenic, connecting flights route, that is . . . )

This is a great TR so far. You two are on a roll -- lots of fun places and experiences. Oh,I love how you got pulled over by the cop--glad he let you two dangerous types go with just a warning!

Really looking forward to the rest of your TR!

Welcome, @MinnieM123! We really did and saw a lot in a short amount of time and we'll still be talking about our amazing experiences for a long time!

 

[bee]

Day 2, cont.

We arrived at Grgich Hills Estate about fifteen minutes early for our 11:00 "The Unforgettable" tour. We spent a few minutes walking the grounds before checking in with the hosts outside.

A host named Eric greeted us and checked us in for our tour. Inside he poured us a tasting of their 2013 "Essence" Cabernet Blanc. We enjoyed it and walked around the tasting room as we waited for our tour to start.

Soon Eric found us and brought us outside to meet our guide, Gustavo. There were six other people, probably also in their mid-late twenties, in our tour group. One of the other hosts poured us all a second tasting, this time 2016 Rosé. Although I'm more of a red drinker I did like both the Cabernet Blanc and the Rosé.

We began our tour with an indoor introduction to the life of "Mike" Grgich, the founder of the winery. Next we went outside to see some of the winemaking equipment, and then we got to see some of the grapes up close.

I took a photo of this sign as Gustavo lead us inside through the "forbidden" door!

This is an old sign from when it was just a "Cellar" (where they made the wine from grapes from other vineyards) as opposed to an "Estate" (where they made wine from grapes grown onsite).

Remember the wine stains on these barrels. It will come up later!

Up next: We taste more wine!

 

[bee]

Day 2, cont.

After the tour Gustavo brought us to a private tasting room.

Each place setting had five pours of wine, five cheeses, an information booklet, and a bottle of water.

You may notice there are five glasses on the table but six wines listed on the left of the book. After we tasted the Sauvignon Blanc (far left) Gustavo poured us the 40th Anniversary Chardonnay. We continued through each of the tastings and there wasn't a single one I didn't like.

Gustavo was full of information about the wines, and the cheeses! We ended up buying a bottle of the 40th Anniversary, which we're saving for a special occasion.

Although the tour "officially" was supposed to last 90 minutes, we actually stayed about two hours. The tour cost $65 per person and we got a small discount since we purchased a bottle at the end. We found the experience absolutely worth the cost for everything we saw, learned, and of course tasted. Gustavo was a personable and knowledgeable guide and was happy to answer everyone's questions throughout the tour. I would highly recommend this tour.

A stool made of an old wine barrel!

Up next: Lunch! And coffee!

 

[MinnieM123]

Winery and brewery tours are always fascinating. (Been on a few in the Northeast and also one in North Carolina.) What amazes me is that they all have gorgeous grounds, and the interiors of their buildings are so beautiful--love all the wood. Napa Valley has always been written up as a "must do" and I'm happy that you both got to experience it.

 

[bee]

Winery and brewery tours are always fascinating. (Been on a few in the Northeast and also one in North Carolina.) What amazes me is that they all have gorgeous grounds, and the interiors of their buildings are so beautiful--love all the wood. Napa Valley has always been written up as a "must do" and I'm happy that you both got to experience it.

We loved our winery experiences and are so glad we incorporated them into the trip! We live a few blocks away from a brewery but we've never visited. I guess we should get on that!