Amazing Adventures in Napa

Free Motion CREA-TV & Reality Lecture/Trunk Show

Last weekend, I had the absolute pleasure of presenting my CREA-TV & Reality Lecture/Trunk Show for the Napa Valley Quilters.  The timing of this trip meant I could bring my little entourage with me:  my mother visiting from Florida who helped take photos/video, and Doug, who served as chauffer and A/V tech support for my presentation! 

There was great energy at their guild meeting, with lots of fun show and tell.  Plus I was delighted to find a number of Reality TV fans in the crowd as I introduced my various quilterly spins on popular Reality TV shows.  

At the conclusion of my presentation, my host Kelly provided us with wonderful suggestions to continue our Napa tour, including a hand-drawn map which was very helpful in planning our route.  Our first stop on Kelly's map was to enjoy a delicious lunch at Rutherford Grill.  

Whitehall Lane Nursery

Our next stop on Kelly's map was to Whitehall Lane Winery where her brother Patrick met us and led us on a wonderful winery tour & tasting.  Patrick walked us thorugh the behind the scenes of their wine production.  Along the way, we sampled a variety of Whitehall Lane wines, and even tasted some of their grapes fresh off the vine (which currently taste like jalapenos!)

Whitehall Lane Winery Tour & Tasting with Tour Guide Extraordinaire--Patrick

There were lots of oak barrels full of wine as part of the aging process.  I loved how some of the wine dyed the exteriors of the barrels.  We purchased several bottles to enjoy at home.

Whitehall Lane Tour

Based on our wine preferences at Whitehall Lane, Patrick suggested our next tour stop: Prager Winery & Port Works.  As we walked in for a tasting, we noted their interesting wall paper:  dollar bills.  Yes, everywhere you looked, dollar bills (mostly US currency with a few international bills to be found) were stapled to the walls, stairwell, and even the ceiling!

Prager Port and Unusual Wall Paper

From there we followed Kelly's map to drive through Calistoga, and more of Napa, en route to the Napa County Fair.  Special thanks to Napa Valley Quilters member Rose for providing us with tickets to the fair.  Doug was very excited to visit Model Railroad display by the Napa Valley Model Railroad Historical Society.  We spotted palm trees, yellow dump trucks, and a gray bus as part of the scavenger hunt, and left with a small prize to commemorate our experience.

Model Railroad Exhibit at Napa County Fair

We ended the day the same way we started:  with quilting and televisions!!  Our last stop at the fair was checking out the quilts on display, many of which were from the Napa Quilters Guild, including Kelly's technicolor TV quilt (which was awarded a 2nd place ribbon!!)

Kelly Van Camp's The TV Quilt--Awarded 2nd Place Ribbon!!

I was fascinated with Rose's quilting in her Picassoesque Quilt.  There were so many fabulous fills and doodles throughout the quilting.

Rose Luce's "Piccasoesque" and Spectacular Quilting Details

What an amazing day indeed!  Many thanks to Kelly for the invitation and perfect suggestions for our afternoon in Napa, to the Napa Valley Quilters for the warm welcome, and to Patrick for the lovely tour and tasting!

Amazing Adventures in Napa