Trip to Napa and Driver’s Ed!
Today, Brittany started driver’s ed! Yikes! She’s really excited, but we are pretty nervous! 😐
We know she’ll do great, but the issue is that she tends to be a little more distracted in driving than Sarah is. Her big issue is that she’s addicted to music and thinks that she has to have it on all the time. I have a feeling that we’ll have to disconnect the radio in the their car so that Brittany will concentrate on the roads. 🙂 I’m sure she’ll be fine. I think we were the same way when Sarah got her permit and started driving! 🙂
Also, today, I took off to Napa California for an executive briefing and technology discussion with Autonomy, one of our vendors we work with. I’ve never been to the Napa Valley before and it is beautiful! The weather is great too (upper 60s, low 70s)! The hotel (the Auberge du Soleil) is absolutely incredible! It is more of a resort than anything else! When I got there, they checked me in, took took me on a golf cart tour of the property, and then dropped me off at my villa which is stunning! 🙂
There are a ton of perks and amenities here. Everything in the room (snacks, food, etc.) is included free of charge, the pool area is absolutely gorgeous, there is a walking trail around a sculpture garden, a spa, jacuzzis, a relaxation pagoda with a Japanese garden, and much more. I even have access to “borrow” 1 of 3 convertable Mercedes Benz vehicles to take a spin around the countryside with! I wish I had more time than just this afternoon and tomorrow, or I would take them up on it!
How’s that for cool! I guess everything is not “really” free, as the price of the room is around $900 per night! 😐 The service is impeccable and everyone really goes out of their way to make you feel important. Far cry from a Motel 6, eh? 🙂 I heard that just 2 days ago, Julia Roberts was staying there for a getaway. Just missed her! 🙂
I wandered around the property, enjoying the weather for the afternoon, and taking a ton of pictures. The main house in itself with the pool area below is breathtaking!
Obviously you can tell I don’t stay in places like this too often, right? 🙂 After my stroll and relaxing afternoon, I went to a reception and dinner and met everyone that had come to the briefing. It turns out that there were only 6 other companies represented, so it was quite the small gathering. Dinner was absolutely outstanding! We had poached main lobster with brown butter, orange, apple, and hibiscus for starters, then we had our choice of Fairytale Pumpkin Soup or Hopper Shrimp Risotto. For the main course, we had Lock Duart Salmon and Spiced Local Lamb Loin, and for the dessert, we had Toasted Vanilla Angel Food Cake with strawberries and vanilla ice cream and Crisp Filo Wrapped Chocolate Dumplings with tarragon ice cream and arbequina olive oil! Yum!
I met some great people and am looking forward to the meetings tomorrow. It will be interesting to find out how these companies use the technology that we use and how we can better use it ourselves. Well, I guess I’ll close for now and go to bed while eating the dark chocolate-dipped and dusted almonds they gave me for my “turn-down” snack. 🙂
