Wine Country
While last week's Ajax Experience was a good time, it didn't hold a candle to the fun I had this weekend. I closed down the Thirsty Bear and Kate O'Brien's Friday night with Mats, Carlos and a few others. Saturday morning, Mr. and Mrs. Crazy Bob picked me up and we headed up to Napa Valley.
The first place we headed was Hans Fahden, which is a small winery in the northern part of Napa Valley. It was strange at first - no one was there, not even someone to serve us. Then a guy showed up, grabbed a bottle of wine and proceeded to give us a tour of the place. For the next hour, we toured his "wine cave" and beautiful gardens. Whenever our glasses were empty, he filled them up. The owner has spent the last 30 years building a spectacular garden with trees, flowers and even a couple of ponds. The gardens are so beautiful now that they've become a hotspot for weddings and have hosted over 800 since they started doing it. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been and we couldn't have asked for a better host.
From there, we went to another private tasting, where they kept our glasses filled until we refused. At this point, my toungue could no longer taste the wine, but my brain assured me it was good. After hitting one more winery and sweet-talking our way in (they were closing), we headed back to our hotel to meet up with Cameron and the Tangosol crew.
We had an awesome dinner with several more bottles of wine, then headed to the bars in downtown Santa Rosa. Two hours later we called it a night, much to Crazy Bob's chagrin. He's a big fan of downtown Santa Rosa. Yesterday we drove back to a beautiful day in San Fransisco. I spent most of the day working on AppFuse 1.9.2 (preview, status) and while I didn't finish, I did manage to get a good night's sleep.
This morning, I checked into The W, which is right across the street from JavaOne. The location rocks, the accommodations are swanky, and life doesn't get much better. This afternoon I have meetings with customers, followed by some AppFuse development, followed by JavaOne festivities.
As far as missing Mother's Day (yesterday) and Julie's birthday (Saturday), I'm still not in the dog house. Julie and kids have been living it up in West Palm Beach and having a great time. Today they're heading to Disney World. Sounds like they're having more fun than I am. 