On New Year's Day, 2001, my girlfriend Kathy and I were having dinner with her family, when Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald suggested that we all take a trip out to the Napa Valley sometime during the coming summer. After long and careful consideration (READ: as soon as we finsihed chewing), Kathy and I eagerly accepted.

So on the morning of the last Wednesday in May, Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald, Kathy's sister Tracy and brother-in-law Nick (for more on Nick, check out our trip to Peru), and the two of us boarded a plane for San Francisco. Highlights of the trip included wine tastings, dinner at the famous French Laundry restuarant, wine tastings, a hot air balloon ride over the valley, wine tastings, a tour of Jarvis winery, and wine tastings. Did I mention that we did some wine tasting, as well?

Needless to say, some of my memories of the trip are a bit hazy... Fortunately, I got some great pictures (see below) and managed to buy a T-shirt at nearly every winery we visited (a rather unusual quirk I exhibit wherever I travel). It was the first trip to Napa for both Kathy and myself, and we had an amazing time. Special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald for taking us!

Kathy and me on the terrace at Opus winery (home of the famous Opus One wine).

The whole family under the latticework on the terrace.

In the garden at out hotel. Kathy made me take this one...

With Mike Grgich, founder of the Grgich Hills winery.

At the Jarvis winery, built into a hollowed-out mountain.

The view during our ascent in a hot air balloon..

The aerial view of Napa Valley- grape vines as far as the eye can see.

Kathy, who is not terribly fond of heights, happy to be back on the ground.

Nick and me keeping the rest of the group from floating away again..

The beautiful back yard of the Joseph Phelps winery.