Busy weekend.  Busy busy.  Yeah that’s us.  OK maybe not so much.  We were “occupied” though, to say the least.  Donette’s Mom came in to town Saturday night, so we ran down to the airport and picked her up.  Our plans to entertain her during her stay are sketchy, to say the least.  Our first big item on the schedule was to take her wine tasting down in the Napa/Sonoma area.  This, despite the fact that she has no use at all for wine tasting.  Well…  Hey, our options are sort of limited around this place.  It’s a nice area to see, and there was just a little bit of fall color to enjoy.  (Mingled with the rather devastating fire damage from the recent wildfires.)  It was an entire day of driving, to be sure.  Our first stop was one of my favorites, Soda Rock.  Great wine, great place…  But the drive is horrible.  It’s not in Napa or Sonoma actually, but clear past them in the Alexander Valley, a solid hour’s drive past Napa.  Whew, it was a long trip.  We had a shipment to pick up there though, so we made the drive.  (Granted, it only costs about $10 to have it sent to our doorstep.  With gas at $3.50 per gallon, and a 2.5 hour drive each way…  Yeah let’s just not do that math.  It’s a fun place, go with it.)  Next on our little circle was our Sonoma spot of choice, Walt.  I like to fancy myself a Pinot Noir man, and I find theirs to be the best.  At the end of the day, I am 99% sure I couldn’t tell a Pinot from a generic red blend, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.  Although this was only our second stop, I was already a bit worn out from driving so we didn’t stay there long.  They were super busy (as always) too, and I didn’t feel like waiting around, so we picked up our shipment from them and then left to grab some lunch at a nearby deli.  From there, our third and last stop was our Napa favorite, Cuvaison.  This is our most recent membership, and I must say we’re very happy with it so far.  (Or maybe the new just hasn’t worn off yet.)  They have a nice variety of wine, and so far we enjoy them all.  Their tasting room is very nice too, with great views, and they manage the crowd by asking that you call beforehand to let them know when you’ll be there.  It was a good way to wrap up the afternoon, before making the arduous drive back up the hill.  We got back into our home area around 5:30, and went directly up to our friends Michael & Alaina’s house to enjoy a nice dinner.  After some delicious pasta we were all absolutely finished, and headed back to our house for an early turn-in.  Whew, busy day.