California Trip Part VI: Napa Valley

All summer long, I've been blogging about my trip to California. First about Truckee and Lake Tahoe, then Bodie Ghost Town, the Mammoth Lakes area, Ahwahnee Hotel, and most recently the rest of Yosemite National Park. Today I'm going to share photos from the last leg of my trip, Napa Valley.




On the trip from Yosemite to Napa, I spotted this little guy riding shotgun in a Mack truck.



The first winery we visited was Inglenook Winery, owned by Francis Ford Coppola.  The winery has gorgeous grounds.

The vines on the outside of the building are my favorite part.

The wine trolley helps keep folks safe as they visit the different wineries.

 

The Embassy Suites in Napa has a beautiful courtyard with many things to photograph.

Next we visited Robert Mondavi Winery.  Its grounds were also very picturesque, but in a different way from Inglenook.  Our tour guide Arlyss was excellent.

Francis Ford Coppola Winery up in Sonoma Valley was the last winery we visited.  Really more of a gift shop/movie memorabilia showcase/restaurant/pool than a winery, this was my least favorite.  If you're a big fan of Coppola's movies, you'll get a kick out of the memorabilia on display, but if you're looking for a more traditional winery, this isn't it.

Although not in Napa Valley, we ventured out to Point Reyes on a windy evening.  The cypress grove was on my bucket list.

A long walk to see the lighthouse was a bit underwhelming.  I'm sure  if I had been dressed more appropriately for the weather and the wind wasn't howling and my ears weren't aching I would have appreciated it more.  Looking at the photo now in the comfort of my home I appreciate it infinitely more.

The drive back to Napa was gorgeous at dusk. Good-bye California! Until next time!

Tools I used to create the photos this post:  Canon EOS 6D, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, Canon 24-105mm f/4L F/4.0L IS EF USM AF Lens, Zenitar 16mm f/2.8 Fisheye, Adobe Photoshop CS6