Our twelve-month-in-the-making group expedition to California wine country came and went without a hitch. Stellar pre-planning (thanks Mr. and Mrs. Serpent), good peeps and great wine made for a fun-filled week. Plus, having Joe around never hurts.
Mandy and a future glass of Cab Sav.
Eleven people, massive house, vineyards as far as eyes can see on all sides, infinity pool, tennis courts, party van, and lots of booze. Um yeah, life didn’t suck.
Cool lighting effect. This is at a private tasting in the dungeon of a 12th Century Italian castle turned winery. A personal favorite of the dozen or so that we hit.
Group shot in the barrel room after a private tasting. Birthday girl, Brianna (brown dress) planned a perfect four-day itinerary, while Joe (left) made sure VIP treatment was standard at every stop. Awesome week. Thanks to all!
more Napa here.
I’m way behind on this one, but you probably aren’t paying too close of attention — so with that said - just last night Mandy and I got back from seven nights in San Francisco and Napa Valley! Here’s part one of the trip. The occasion: Brianna’s 30th b-day extravaganza. Bri, thanks for supplying an excuse to spend a week in one of the country’s most fantastic destinations.
Wouldn’t be SF w/out major cloud cover.
Sean hooked us up with two nights in his company’s killer apartment, complete with perfect view of the rock. This was taken from our roof deck (admittedly a bit zoomed, but still…).
Prisoners at Alcatraz.
more SF pics here. Napa coming soon…
The MacNoggles punkin carvin’ tradition continues (see the ‘08 efforts here). Surely we didn’t watch Labrynth yet again this year?! Yes, yes we did. Slap that baby, make it pee.
Mandy’s wicked good wicked witch.
My Michael Jacks-o-lantern (although I think it more resembles a goat impersonating MJ).
John’s insanely good Jimmy Fallon pumpkin (he works for Jimmy).
Mindy’s Two-Face pumpkin.
Thanks to a Mark Fox invite, we headed to NW NJ for a 3.5 hour hike in the woods. Beautiful falls colors, perfect temps, nice one-day reprieve from the concrete jungle.
Perfect weekend for the hike. Reds and yellows abound.
Our fearless leader revealing why he lured us deep into the woods.
For the first time since the Clinton presidency, Mandy and I returned to Butler for homecoming, 10-yr class reunion and a healthy dose of ‘remember that time we…’ stories. Fun friends, big laughs, great weekend in the 317.
I’m fairly sure the bulldog’s paw is on my wife’s caboose.
Stupid Frat Guys.
Ten-Year reunion at the Red Room in Broad Ripple. Probably dancing to ’90s rap here. Paperboy or Young MC would be a high-percentage guess.
Debut at Lucas Oil Stadium! Thanks for the extra tik, AP. And thanks, Seattle Seahawks, for being so terrible. 4-0, Go Horse!
Mini-Cooper and a whiter, older version of Dwight Freeney.
Practicing my putting with Connor, the human golf club.
Email I received from Mandy last week:
“Hey, I just entered Kona into a contest. If he wins, Friskies sends us a camera for him to wear for a week.” Fast forward to tonight, where he begins his one-week stint in the world of feline journalism.
Repurrter.
While brother Hilo enjoys the newly discovered, on-demand aquarium screensaver.
Our almost-four-year-old nephew makes his debut in the world of sport.
For absolutely no good reason, Mandy and I hopped in the car on Friday morning and drove to Montreal. Who would have thought that a city so easily mistaken for European would be reachable on less than a tank of gas? What the city lacked in sightseeing ‘musts’, it more than made up for in flavorful French restaurants, street performers on cobblestone and overall Euro-charm. C’est la vie.
Would recommend Montreal to any Northeasterner looking for an unlikely roadtrip.
Duck crepes and melon sangria on a backdrop of open-air live jazz. great lunch!
Bucket of garlic moules (mussels). Yum. French cuisine x 3 meals a day x 3 days = happy stomachs (sad wallets).
A few more pics from Montreal here
