My views do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.
While limited to traveling in the US, my mom had spent some quality time with Megan in Washington, she’d come to California for my cousin’s wedding and my birthday; now it was time for a visit focussed on Wendy. Wendy thought it would be fun to get out of town for a couple of days, and she wanted me to come along too! We started brainstorming all of the fun places we could go that would only be a couple of hours away when Wendy’s friend came back from Calistoga raving about her experience. After three tries, we booked a room for two nights at the Roman Spa.
My mom worked in Napa before she met my dad and moved to Sacramento, so she had a group of friends we would go visit as I was growing up. I remembered that we would go to a giant swimming pool in Calistoga, but I hadn’t spent any time there as an adult.
But before we get to Calistoga (after all, it’s about the journey rather than the destination, right?)…
Our absolute favorite restaurant in Sacramento is Tower Cafe. It’s in the building where the original Tower Records store was (remember when we had to go to a building to buy music?) Now the cafe is right next to a quirky movie theatre that plays independent films. But the thing about Tower Cafe is that it has a unique international menu (although it’s very difficult to try something new when you already have a couple of favorites) the food is so good and the ambiance is incredible. The outdoor dining area has so much greenery that the busy streets outside disappear. Inside, the high ceilings are craftily cluttered with knick knacks and statement pieces from all over the world. When people tell me they’re coming to Sacramento, I tell them they have to eat at Tower Cafe. You’re going to want to have breakfast there and then you’re going to want to come back for lunch or dinner.
But Tower Cafe had been closed for the whole pandemic. When we were looking for places to support by ordering take away, they were closed. When outdoor dining became an option, they were closed. Every time my mom came to town we asked if there was anything she wanted to do, and she wanted to go to Tower. But it was closed.
The week before my mom arrived I saw a post on social media that Tower would be reopening (!!!!) the day after my mom left. Then, the day before we were going to Calistoga, Wendy drove by Tower and it was open! We had to stop there for breakfast on our way out of town.
We arrived just at the time that they were starting to serve lunch, but they still had a couple of breakfast dishes available. The staff was just as awesome as we remembered (it was very difficult to get a job serving at Tower because their turnover rate was so low). They told us that they hadn’t really advertised their opening because they were still under-staffed. Good thing we were stalking them! The Chinese Chicken Salad (with avocado instead of chicken for mom), the steak fries and the award-winning french toast were still to die for.
Six minutes before we got to Calistoga, we turned off the road and wound or way through the forest to Schramsberg Winery so Wendy could stock up on her favorite champagne (which she has yet to find anywhere besides the winery). We were surprised and delighted by the pond outside.
We arrived at the Roman Spa just late enough to be able to check into our room. The obvious next step was to get in the pool.
There were three pools. The big one (pictured here) was the coolest of the three (but was still warm enough for my mom who won’t get in the water unless it’s at least 90 degrees); then there was a little hot tub that was really hot; and finally there was an indoor pool that was in the middle as far as size and temperature- they were the Three Bears of swimming pools (though which one was just right depended on the time of day). I tried to remember the last time I’d been in a swimming pool- It was that island off the coast of Australia that wasn’t Vanuatu where I went with the Captain first (don’t get any ideas- the Entertainment Director, the Cruise Director and HR came too) and then with a bunch of friends- it was Suva! Fiji! Wait! No! It was Vanuatu! I was thinking Vanuatu was just lagoons and waterfalls, but we did end our day in a swimming pool! That was the last time- my last day on land before the pandemic.
We floated on our noodles and chit-chated until it was time to go to dinner. After some minimal internet research, I made a reservation at the Calistoga Inn Restaurant and Brewery. It turned out to be a seven minute walk from our hotel room.
We were seated outside, and the temperature was perfect (as in, not too hot like it had been in Sacramento). We took a look at the menu and decided we wanted to get all the sides!
I can’t say enough about this dinner- it rivaled with a Tower experience. The food was so good, the waitress was so personable, and there was a guy playing live music! Wendy kept remarking, “I love this song!” It couldn’t have been more perfect.
We spent the next day hanging out in the pool between massages and trying to get hungry enough to eat again. We walked up and down the main street (which was about four blocks), and enjoyed each other’s company and undivided attention.
On the way back we stopped to check out a campsite that Wendy wanted to visit for future reference. They had Yurts!
We also stopped to visit with my mom’s friend, Joan, in Napa for a solid post-pandemic catch up.
And, of course, we had to go to Tower one more time the night before my mom flew back to Washington (this time, Megan got to come too!)
So those are all of the adventures I have for now! I am officially caught up in real time. I am still waiting to hear back from Princess about my next contract, so in the mean time, if I have any more fun adventures, I’ll tell you about them here!