Day 6: Napa to Groveland/Yosemite

Rohan woke us all at 7:20am by standing up in his cot giggling and calling out – better than any alarm clock.  We had all slept pretty well for the first night in the RV - it definitely helped that it was cool overnight.

As we hadn’t had much time yesterday, we unpacked our suitcases into the nooks and crannies of the RV and managed to feel a bit more comfortable in it.  Breakfast was wonderful – toast and honey, rice bubbles and Cheerios.  Delicious!

We didn’t have a full hook up with the RV so the black/grey water wasn’t connected to the sewer.  This meant I had a quick shower in the RV and Steve was send to the shower block.  The boys and I took this opportunity to explore around the campground – lots of dirt.  There were a couple of rocks with obvious holes underneath (we were warned of snakes) so I tried to keep Julian away from them.  Rohan was just happy falling over in the dust.

We headed out later than we would have liked (10:30am) and tried to go to the visitors centre in Napa.  It was surprisingly difficult to find a carpark so we gave up and asked Jane directions to the next large town up the road, St Helena.  Surely they would have a more accessible visitor’s centre (this is called holiday logic!).  

We went up the Silverado Trail, which we both thought looked a lot like the Yarra Valley.  As time was getting on, we decided to go to St Helena for an early lunch and then wineries after lunch.  We passed some famous wineries (can’t quite remember the names…) which looked magnificent from the road.  However nothing prepared us for the beauty of St Helena.  Napa was just a posh town (with an outlet mall ;) and St Helena was somewhere I would have liked to live. Tree lined streets, classic American weatherboard houses and it was clean!  I would have to work in a winery.  See, doesn’t it sound good? The countryside around St Helena looked a lot like Marlborough (including the hills).

Jane took us to the St Helena Welcome centre but before going in we decided to eat lunch in the RV in the carpark.  Peanut butter or honey sandwiches with sliced apple – all very gourmet.  We went into the visitors centre planning on visiting two wineries however nothing goes to plan.  The boys were fidgety, again, so we asked the lady if there was a playground nearby and got directions.  Rohan was livid at having to sit in the car seat again.  He may have been hot as a roadside sign had the temperature at 92F.  

The playground was awesome – there was a section for 1-3years which was sand based and had Tonka trucks in it; a section for 3-5 years which was based on slides; and another section for 5-12 years which had more climbing and hanging on equipment.  The boys had a great time, even with the heat and they were very unhappy when we left.

Because of this little playground diversion, our side trip to Napa could only fit in one winery tasting L .  We went to V. Sattui and we were so happy we did!

V. Sattui had a beautiful building in beautifully landscaped grounds.  The boys enjoyed the fountain.  The cellar door also had a deli and gift shop where you could buy t-shirts if you so desired (Hmm).  The tasting area was very old school and we only saw one Stelvin/screw cap in their range. 

We paid the server $15 to try 6 wines.  We started with a Chardonnay (traditional Californian style – American oak and butter) and then a Gamay Rouge (ridiculously sweet rose style).  We then moved to the Pinot Noir (soft), Zinfandel (full and peppery- delicious), Syrah (dull) and then two Cabernet Sauvignon (good and exceptional).  We walked away with a bottle of the Zinfandel and the exceptional Cab Sav.  We were so happy with the choice of winery as it could easily have been a disaster.

There was a gelati stand next to the cashier, so Julian had his daily ice cream.  He and Rohan shared it by the fountain.

We got back into the RV, at a crazy late 2pm and left the Napa valley to drive the 250km to Groveland/Yosemite.  Rohan and Julian had some afternoon tea whilst we were travelling and then both promptly fell asleep.  Nice.

Steve said that driving the RV was easier today but it is just so long and wide, the steering is vague and it feels like the truck that it is.  Thankfully we only had one issue with Jane’s directions but that was because of road works.  That 250km took about 4 hours which included a fuel stop.  There were some steep hills and some very barren brown grass plains. We went through km of walnut groves and about 200 wind turbines.

Entering Groveland

The climb up to Groveland (>3000ft) was a bit hairy and even Julian and Rohan quit their nattering in the back to allow Steve to concentrate on manoeuvring the RV around the bends.  When we finally made it to the very small town, we were starved and there was a Pizza restaurant called Pizza Factory there, so we pulled in.  Julian said that he wanted fish…

The interior was a bit rubbishy and the counter service was very slow.  However on all the tables they had glass vases filled with little 20mm x 40mm Jenga style blocks.  Every table was doing something with the blocks (Jenga, building) – Steve made them into dominos, Julian made them into whales breaking icebergs and Rohan filled and emptied the vase.  It was a simple fantastic idea which kept all ages entertained.  The Pizzas were really tasty and Julian actually ate 3 slices whilst watching boxing on the TV! :) Can I say “Only in America”?

It was now 7:30pm, dark and we didn’t have a spot for the night.  We hadn’t booked anything and now I was starting to stress.  We knew kind of where it was but searching in darkness is a bit different to daylight.  Thankfully we did find it (just before 8pm), and they had full hook ups available, so that is where we are tonight.  Our tanks are empty and we are looking forward to giving the boys their first shower in the RV tomorrow.