Diane's Birthday Weekend

We celebrated a special weekend in Sonoma valley for Diane's birthday.  The goal was to visit art, drink some nice wine and relax in a comfortable country setting. 

Continue reading to see how the goals were met! 

For Diane's birthday, she wanted to get away and have a mini-vacation.  She did a search and found a B&B that was comfortable and quiet.  We visited a number of art and historical sites as well as having delicious food.

Beltane Ranch: Comfortable, Historical

We stayed at the Beltane Ranch.  It's a working ranch with horses, orchards, vineyards and, best of all, an historic farmhouse for visitors.  They only have a few rooms.  It's a small place but that's what we like in a B&B.  There's a garden and a view out our door and big windows that face the setting sun.  We loved the Sauvignon Blanc they grow on the property.

This ranch has an interesting history.  One of the original owners of this property was a leader in the abolitionist and civil rights movements.  Mary Ellen Pleasant was a black woman who was an entrepreneur on both coasts and a fascinating story.  We learned about her by surprise while visiting the ranch and were intrigued enough to do some reading after we returned home.  It is worthwhile learning about this part of our common history.

di Rosa Preserve: Colors, both Artistic and Avian

Our first visit was to the di Rosa Preserve.  This is a private modern art museum that reminded me of the Maeght Foundation museum in Provence but more experimental and without the fantastic architecture.  There is plenty of interesting and provocative art here, both inside the two structures and around them in the garden and surrounding landscape.  Several peacocks roamed about in full color too since their mating season has not yet ended.  The females were no where to be found.  With the number of males parading around, I'm sure they are ready for the season to be over.

Vallejo Home: History and Lessons Learned

To catch more of the local history, we visited the Vallejo estate, Lachryma Montis.  General Vallejo was a military leader who shaped the transition of California from a Mexican district to an American state.  An interesting character, he was a leading proponent of statehood for California and all his surviving children were college educated, including his daughters.  He was a trusting man who lost much of his fortune (ill begotten as it may have been) by making deals with those that swindled him. 

Later we wondered around the Sonoma Plaza, picking things that caught our eye.  A story for another day.  Dinner was at Cafe la Haye.  Our food was tasty and the pinot  noir delicious, a great way to end a wonderful day.

Clos Pegase Winery: More Art, Captured and Brought Home Alive

This Clos Pegase Winery is in Napa valley, near Calistoga, and well worth the drive.  We took the curvy Trinity road from the Sonoma valley over to Napa.  We visited the famous Oakville Grocery for lunch, sitting in the sunshine with a view of the vineyards while eating.

The architecture and the art around the buildings surprised us with its quality.  Diane recognized several of the artists before we picked up the handout for a self-guided tour.  Also on display were the paintings of the artist in residence, Jim Stallings. 

We felt captured by the different topics in his work and especially by one that so called to us, we had to bring it home.  It is named "Crimson Mist" and imagines dramatic clouds over a calm landscape or crashing waves on a beach.  Very beautiful and we feel lucky to have found it.  Unfortunately, we purchased it before he was able to photograph it and post it to his website.  You'll have to watch the slides to see Diane's smiling face above our painting.

Diane's birthday is past and she's as lovely as ever.  She has smile on her face that hides a secret only someone in her place in life can know.