We leave Yosemite for Napa, and then, home to LA.

September 23rd, Saturday-Well, we were both reluctant to leave Yosemite, but we had to go to a wedding reception. We lingered just a bit too long, watching the climbers on El Cap and enjoying the view in the meadows...and ended up an hour late to our lunch date! We had a very nice lunch at the Boonfly Cafe in Napa after a horrendously boring drive out of Yosemite. I filled up with food at lunch because I was pretty sure there would be nothing I could eat at the reception. (It turned out I could eat one of the hors d'oeuvres, but that was it. But they also had a buffet of sorts so I picked at that as well. Petit fours were the wedding cake, so that was out for me. I was glad to have had the creme brulee at lunch.) We stayed at a house rental with our friends, Elise, and her boyfriend Mike. The wedding reception was held at the Frazier Wine Caves and they provided a shuttle bus from the dirt parking lot to the caves. (Imagine ladies in fancy dresses and high-heeled shoes walking on soft, gritty dirt to get on the shuttlebus. I was wearing open-toed shoes with silver nail polish and after the trip in the parking lot, dirt.) The caves were nicer than I imagined and they had tables and chairs and loads, and loads of wine there. (Too bad Daryl and I don't drink. We had sparkling apple cider.) They had also booked two opera singers, a cellist, and a pianist to provide music. (The opera singers were really good, the tenor especially.) The groom met the bride at the opera and he booked the soprano that they both saw the evening they met, so it was part of their history together. The groom also proposed to the bride at the Frazier Wine Caves, which explained the venue. It was a beautiful night so we all sat outside and chatted and got caught up on everything that was going on in our friend's lives in San Francisco. it was so nice to see old friends again and to see two friends getting married.

September 24th, Sunday-The bride and groom decided to have a bbq at their house in Napa, so we all car pooled and got food at the local grocery. I can't believe they decided to have a bbq as they must have been tired from all the wedding preparations. And then we found out the wedding presents hadn't been opened yet, so the bride opened an hour's worth before we all had to quit for lunch. And she still had half a room of presents to go. And they were leaving for Europe the next day! Our friends brought games to play and it was very exciting because we had played Settlers of Catan and Puerto Rico with them in San Francisco for years, and when we moved to LA we hadn't found anyone to play games with. So we were looking forward to playing games. And boy did we! We played a game of Settlers at the bbq and then when we got to the rental home, we played more Settlers, a few Puerto Ricos, and another game called Blokus, which was irritatingly addictive. By the end of the evening Elise, Mike, and I were gamed out. Daryl still wanted to play more. Wow.

September 25th, Monday-Elise, Mike, Daryl and I all went out to breakfast and then parted, they to SF and us to LA. Daryl drove the first leg of the journey and we were still both full from breakfast we didn't get any food on the way back. We just gassed up and I drove the last half back to our place. Traffic was manageable and we got home surprisingly easy. Ah, well, now our vacation is over! The kitty, though, is more than happy we're back. Now she can go back to being evil.